Jamie McCarthy

[eirebhoy]

Trio wait on McCarthy bids (http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=442745&CPID=14&clid=61&lid=&title=Trio+wait+on+McCarthy+bids)


Skysports.com understands that Celtic, Liverpool and Reading have all lodged bids for Hamilton Academical starlet James McCarthy.

The trio of top flight clubs are amongst a host of teams trying to prise the youngster away from the Scottish First Division side before the transfer window closes on 31st January.

McCarthy made his first team debut for the club aged just 15 and became their youngest ever scorer at 16 earlier this season.

With Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United all keeping tabs on his development, Accies boss Billy Reid has provided a little insight into the current state of affairs.

"We've had three or four bids for him, but we're not in any rush for James to leave the club," Reid told skysports.com exclusively.

"But if James says that he wants to leave and it's the right deal for him and us we are not going to stand in his way."

While the Hamilton board continues to consider the offers, Chelsea have sent chief scout Frank Arnesen up to New Douglas Park to watch The Accies take on Partick Thistle on Saturday.

McCarthy is sure to be the centre of attention, but Reid has given a glimpse into the mindset of the youngster who he predicts will be a big star.

"His attitude is great, he's not fazed by it at all; he's not in a hurry. He enjoys himself at Hamilton Accies and I can honestly say that he's not starstruck," Reid added.

The clock is ticking down on the January transfer window though, and Reid admits to being uncertain as to a realistic timeframe for a deal to go through.

"It could be the next week or it could be the summer," Reid concluded.
He spent 2 days at Celtic this week. Here's an article from last Sunday:
http://www.sundayherald.com/sport/shfootball/display.var.1122009.0.net_worth.php

[drinkfeckarse]

Read the report from Hamiltons game this weekend. McCarthy was again probably the star man. One paragraph said he was full of deft touches and strong running so it sounds as if he has talent that belies his years.

Very promising that a 16 year is running the show for a Scottish 1st Division team in what is a very tough league.

[Soper]

The same Scottish 1st division that Gretna are in?Gretna that got thrashed by a certain Irish team?

[eirebhoy]

The same Scottish 1st division that Gretna are in?Gretna that got thrashed by a certain Irish team?
And if a 16 year old was running the show in the Eircom league it'd be the same. He didn't mention the standard of football.


The Scotsman (http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=109622007)

CELTIC and Chelsea have entered the race to sign Hamilton's James McCarthy after watching the 16-year-old attacking midfielder impress in Saturday's 2-1 win over Partick Thistle.

Chelsea's sporting director Frank Arneson was at New Douglas Park - where Mark Gilhaney and Richard Offiong scored for the hosts and Mark Roberts grabbed a consolation for Partick with half an hour left - while Celtic reserve coach Willie McStay was also at the game and the SPL champions have tabled a £130,000 bid for McCarthy.

Hamilton have already turned down offers from Reading and Liverpool for McCarthy, who this week joins the Republic of Ireland Under-17 squad in Malta and is expected to make his international debut. Although the player is Scottish, he can play for Ireland as his grandfather is from Donegal.

McCarthy has already trained with Celtic, Liverpool and Reading and was in fine form against Partick. "I thought he was fantastic yet again," said Hamilton manager Billy Reid.

[Reddladd]

McCarthy is in the U'17s squad for the two games against Italy. First game is in Whitehall tomorrow evening @ 7pm if anyone wants to check him out.

[drummerboy]

Think I might just do that

[tetsujin1979]

I'm planning on making one of the games, it's looking that the thursday one is more likely

[JimmyP]

Article from FAI:
"Scottish-born James McCarthy has always had ambitions of playing for Ireland"
http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1620

Might go to the Tolka game myself.

[eirebhoy]

Post from an Irish journalist on a Celtic forum:

i spoke to him and agent a few hours ago.

deal: celtic offered 250k plus two players on loan.
pool: deal up to 750k plus 1k a week for the player...
chelsea: will bid in next 48 hrs up to 1m likely...
reading: said they'll match any bid....

fairly dismissive of celtic the way he said it. we took him 'on trial' to look at him while the other clubs just took him in and let him train and look around, let him look at houses etc...

[The Legend]

All this fuss, he must be good!

[Paddy Garcia]

"Rafa Benitez was very impressed by him. He told me that he regarded James' technique as better than Steven Gerrard's was at the same age. He made a major impression in a training game by unleashing a 25-yard rocket that flew past Jerzy Dudek. Wherever he goes, I can see James playing first team football very quickly."

http://www.unison.ie/sportsdesk/stories.php3?ca=12&si=1760870

[livehead1]

"Rafa Benitez was very impressed by him. He told me that he regarded James' technique as better than Steven Gerrard's was at the same age. He made a major impression in a training game by unleashing a 25-yard rocket that flew past Jerzy Dudek. Wherever he goes, I can see James playing first team football very quickly."

http://www.unison.ie/sportsdesk/stories.php3?ca=12&si=1760870

What a load of rubbish. Better technique than Gerrard at his age. Now correct me if im wrong, but Gerrard is around 25, i think the youngest he was when Benitez arrived at Liverpool was 22, a full 6 years older than McCarthy is now.

[livehead1]

Heres the article in full:
E-Mail Print Version Add to Clippings


Scots green with envy as McCarthy prepares to don Irish jersey
Tuesday January 23rd 2007
ADVERTISEMENT






JAMES McCARTHY, the hottest teenage talent in British football, will make his debut for Ireland tonight.

All eyes will be on the 16-year-old Hamilton Academical midfielder when he lines out against Italy in an U-17 international at Whitehall (kick-off 7.0). Glasgow-born McCarthy has already played seven times for the Accies first team and has been invited to Liverpool, Celtic and Reading on trial - Liverpool have already approached the Scottish Division One outfit with a €1,140,000 bid for the young gun.

Chelsea chief scout Frank Arnesen watched the teen sensation in action last Saturday and the Premiership champions are ready to match the offer from Anfield - as are Reading, while Sheffield United have also entered the chase.

McCarthy's advisor, George Gray, is determined to have the player's club future mapped out by the end of this week.

"We're expecting Chelsea to make a firm offer within 48 hours and Liverpool want something done by Wednesday so we've plenty to think about," said Gray. "It's hard to say which will be the right club for him. Hamilton obviously have their own opinion but James will ultimately decide what he wants to do.

"Rafa Benitez was very impressed by him. He told me that he regarded James' technique as better than Steven Gerrard's was at the same age. He made a major impression in a training game by unleashing a 25-yard rocket that flew past Jerzy Dudek. Wherever he goes, I can see James playing first team football very quickly."

Celtic, the club McCarthy supports, are clearly regretting letting him go two years ago after he had trained with them for several months, but Gordon Strachan hasn't given up hope of luring him back to Parkhead. When he returned to the Glasgow giants on trial last week, he was no longer mixing with fresh-faced teens but with Gordon Strachan's stars.

Dubliner Darren O'Dea and Aiden McGeady - another Glasgow native to declare for Ireland in recent years - made sure they had a word in McCarthy's ear.

McCarthy is eligible for Ireland through his Gweedore-born grandfather Paddy Coyle, who recently passed away.

"Grandad was a big influence on me when I was small and always said he wanted to see me play for Ireland so I was delighted to get the chance to do so," explained the teenager.

"It'll be a great moment for me to wear the Irish shirt for the first time. My parents are coming over and lots more of my relatives will be there as well."

McCarthy's decision to declare for Ireland caused consternation in his home country, although under FIFA rules he can do a U-turn until he his capped at U-21 level. Gray has no sympathy for the Scots, claiming: "I told them he was the best talent Scottish football has produced since Kenny Dalglish but they never showed any interest in him."

Irish youths team manager McCaffrey expects the Scots to fight tooth and nail to persuade the youngster to change his mind.

"If I was in their shoes, I'd be pestering him too so I can't believe they'll just let it go," said McCaffrey. "James has great potential. He just has fantastic ability. He could be a real player for us. He is strong and will get stronger. He's got pace and a great range of passes. He doesn't do tricks but he can really go from box to box.

"There is a lot of pressure on him now and he's had huge publicity because everybody wants to find out about him, but he is being well looked after and his parents are lovely people.

"I think he's well grounded. Darren O'Dea told me that, when he met him, the lad was talking away to him like he knew him all his life." Terry Dixon was the last youngster to declare for Ireland in similar circumstances - he is also eligible to play for England.

Within a year of making his U-16 debut he was drafted into Ireland's senior squad and, although an horrific knee injury has hampered Dixon's progress at Tottenham, McCaffrey is hopeful the London-born striker will return to action by the end of the season.

"The surgeons have wrapped the ligament around the knee and he is making good recovery but the whole episode shows how fragile football can be," added McCaffrey.

Stephen Finn

[youngirish]

What a load of rubbish. Better technique than Gerrard at his age. Now correct me if im wrong, but Gerrard is around 25, i think the youngest he was when Benitez arrived at Liverpool was 22, a full 6 years older than McCarthy is now.
Yeah pure cr*p. He'll probably turn out to be overhyped sh*te. You can never have any clue at 16 how good a player is going to be. Even outstanding players at that age (eg Rooney) could easily have fallen by the wayside and Mc Carthy is no Rooney at present.

As I've said before he should stay at Hamilton where he's getting regular football because at Liverpool he won't get a sniff.

[Fergie's Son]

Well good so far but he is very young so who knows what could happen. Additionally, he could always switch back to Scotland so let's not get too carried away.

Shame about Dixon.

[NeilMcD]

What a load of rubbish. Better technique than Gerrard at his age. Now correct me if im wrong, but Gerrard is around 25, i think the youngest he was when Benitez arrived at Liverpool was 22, a full 6 years older than McCarthy is now.

Well Benitez travelled around looking at set ups in all the top European clubs a few years ago so it is quite possible that he did see Gerrard at 16 or 17 playing for Liverpool youths or England possibly. He did not say it was when Benitez was at Liverpool

[livehead1]

Well Benitez travelled around looking at set ups in all the top European clubs a few years ago so it is quite possible that he did see Gerrard at 16 or 17 playing for Liverpool youths or England possibly. He did not say it was when Benitez was at Liverpool

possibly, yet i still get the impression its an agent spurting sh*te about him to increase interest and his market value.

ALSO, may be unlikely but theres no internet stream for the game tonight is there?

[eirebhoy]

The rain has started and there's no way I'm getting the bus and standing in whitehall on my own for 2 hours in this weather. My fingers are numb after a 15 minutes walk. He starts anyway.

Why I'm interested to see him is because he's not a McGeady who a 6 year old could see is talented. He's not setting the world alight in Scottish division 1 yet every team is interested in him. I just want to see what the fuss is about. :) He seems to be a bit like a Fabregas type player and even Barca couldn't see his talent.

[Paddy Garcia]

Yeah pure cr*p. He'll probably turn out to be overhyped sh*te. You can never have any clue at 16 how good a player is going to be. .

He was playing for the 1st team at 15.

[gustavo]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/6285927.stm

[Mento]

anyone go to the game?
a mate of fine wasn't too impressed, said he wasn't involved too much

[eirebhoy]

This is why I really wanted to go to the match. He's not doing anything special at Hamilton either so I want to see what the fuss is about. Apparantly he played in a deap role last night which imo is the most important postion on the pitch so no suprise he played there given he's apparantly on a different wavelength to most players.

I'd say he's just an extremely intelligient player and you obviously can't coach that. Add in his fantastic technical ability and you can see why teams would be chasing him.

[drinkfeckarse]

I haven't seen him either eirebhoy but I think the fact that he's got some nice touches and is a box to box player for Hamilton has got people thinking he's got similar attributes to one Roy Keane in his earlier days. He is not a player that beats 3 or 4 men.

It is obviously important not to get carried away but the reason clubs are clambering to sign him is because along with his ability, there are not many 15/16 year olds capable of being the main man for their team at that level.

As eirebhoy earlier pointed out, I think the scenario is similar to a lad doing the same thing for a mid table EL club. People would naturally be raving about the boy.

[Reddladd]

Went to the game last night to check out McCArthy expecting to see something special but whatever it is he didn't show it on the night.
The players that stood out for me were Shane O'Connor his partner in Midfield and the striker in the first half Sean Scannell.
O'Connor played the deeper role and was on the ball quite a lot.
To be honest McCArthy didn't get involved too much, he certainly didn't seem to be too eager to get on the ball and lacked the enthusiasm of some of the others imho.
Maybe the fact that all this interest and speculation is going on effected his game.

[gustavo]

The man never said he was useless just gave his opinion on the performance last night.

[Buller]

he's the type of player ireland lack, someone to boss the midfield and take control of the game...

[Reddladd]

If you went to the match last night and didn't know anything about the lad and someone asked you to pick the player that was being tracked by Liverpool, Chelsea, Celtic, Barcelona and whoever else, you would not have picked the number 10.
There was alot of copy and plenty of hype and maybe that got to him. I also heard today that it was his debut with Ireland which also added pressure but he didn't impose himself at all to justify all that was being said and written. I'll probably head to Tolka tomorrow night so we'll see if he shows his true potential then.
My point is that a fella that has been able to hack it in 1st team football in Scotland, albeit first division, should have stood out over lads that are playing youth team football with their respective clubs.

[JimmyP]

Apparently his club asked that he only play 1 game, so he won't be playing the Tolka game.

[irishfan86]

Look, he's obviously got something about him. Let's not judge him on one performance at the most turbulent time of his career so far.

Words of wisdom here- he's just entered the Irish setup and there's no need for him to carry our team on his shoulders just yet.

Leave him to the coaches at his club wherever he goes to develop him, and give him time to grow up.

[tetsujin1979]

Looks like McCarthy might be going to Celtic. Or staying put. Or joining a monastery. Who knows at this point?
http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=444682&CPID=14&clid=61&lid=7&title=Accies+starlet+drops+Bhoys+hint&channel=&

[OwenGoal]

So what's the verdict then? Is he the messiah or just another very naughty boy?

[eirebhoy]

From The Times
April 21, 2007
McCarthy takes talk of Chelsea and Celtic in his young stride

Graham McColl

There are few signs in the demeanour of James McCarthy that he could be on the brink of becoming the most illustrious player produced by Hamilton Academical.

As he wanders around the club in sweatshirt and shorts after a morning training session, the 16-year-old appears like any other well-disciplined, slightly bashful young hopeful taking their first tentative steps in an unpredictable game. A grazed knee only emphasises the suggestion of ordinariness.

The prowess and potential of McCarthy, though, has already attracted interest from, among others, Barcelona, Chelsea, Deportivo La Coruña, Celta Vigo, Liverpool, Reading and Celtic. That is despite it still being less than six months since his debut for the club and with him having only 22 first-team appearances to his name — almost half of them as a substitute.

Such interesting destinations are not currently at the fore-front of McCarthy’s mind — a greater preoccupation for him is the spasmodic thigh strain that kept him out of last Saturday’s home match with Gretna and that he hopes will have eased enough to enable him to participate in Hamilton’s match at Dens Park today, where they face Dundee.

“Sometimes I just block it out and just get on with it,” McCarthy says of dealing with the variety of options concerning his next potential club. “Sometimes I have to sit down and talk about it and I do that but then I just get back to my football afterwards and don’t think about it.

“At the start of the season, I was hoping I could break into the first-team but I didn’t think I’d have come this far; to have played near-enough 25 games. I’m very happy about that.

“I’ve trained with Reading, Celtic and Liverpool. I trained with the first-team at Celtic and at Reading and I felt comfortable at all three clubs and enjoyed it but I’m not sure I’d rush to sign with Reading or sign with anybody, like Celtic or Liverpool, because I wouldn’t go right into their first-team; I don’t think.

“I’m really not sure yet whether I’ll be moving in the summer; I don’t know. I’ll need to sit down and talk about it with my parents and my family. I’m really enjoying it here at Hamilton and I wouldn’t mind staying for another season but we’ll see what happens.”

It is a big help to McCarthy that he is in a supportive environment at Hamilton. He is one of several first-team youngsters being nurtured gently by Billy Reid, the manager, while Braveheart Promotions, the player’s representatives, are also mindful of his youth and of the necessity to tread carefully with the talent entrusted to them.

“It is entirely up to the boy what he does,” George Gray, of Braveheart Promotions, says. “He is a bit of a homebird, so he may decide to remain at Hamilton and, to give credit to the club, they have turned down good offers from clubs and are not pushing to sell him. I will sit down with the boy in the next week or two to discuss it.”

A midfield player blessed with vision and good passing ability, McCarthy, from Castlemilk in Glasgow, made an immediate impression on his teammates because of a level of technique rarely seen in a player of his age. He became the youngest goalscorer in Hamilton’s history when he scored against Livingston in January at the age of 16 years and 55 days and it says much about McCarthy that he found it difficult to celebrate the feat too greatly because Hamilton went on to lose that Tennent’s Scottish Cup tie 4-2.

In an era in which a dearth of naturally talented players is lamented widely in Scotland, he is also special in being almost entirely self-taught. “Since I was four, I’ve been playing football,” McCarthy says. “There used to be a pitch across the road from my street and I would always be playing football when I was young.

“My two big brothers played football. Brian used to play for Partick Thistle and Paul played Junior football. My dad, Willie, used to be with Kilmarnock. My mum, Marie, was always driving me to games when I played boys’ club and if it hadn’t been for my mum and dad supporting me and taking me to football, I wouldn’t be in this position.”

An under17 international with Ireland, McCarthy recently impressed in the European Championships for that age level, in matches with Germany, Greece and Scotland. Victory over the latter emphasised the sharpness of the Irish in spotting McCarthy’s talent and bringing him into their set-up — he qualifies for them through a grandfather from Donegal. Scotland had failed to offer him international football.

Hamilton are currently encouraging McCarthy to attend weight-training sessions in the gym to develop his upper-body strength. He finds it a grind at times — but while he may require extra muscle for the bustle of modern football, this slightly-built youngster has ability in bulk.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/scotland/article1685857.ece

[Paddy Garcia]

"James McCarthy has rejected a move to Liverpool that could have earned Hamilton Accies £1m for the 16-year-old midfielder, his agent has claimed.
Celtic, Rangers, Reading, Sheffield United and Tottenham Hotspur were also interested in McCarthy.

Agent Bill McMurdo told The Sun: "Liverpool wanted to take him to Italy for a tournament last week.

"They agreed to meet Hamilton's asking price, which would have earned them around £1m if James made the grade."

McCarthy has made 24 appearances for First Division outfit Accies after breaking into the first-team at New Douglas Park.

"Sheffield United were also desperate to sign him and said they would put him straight into their reserve side," added McMurdo.

"They said he would be in the first team within a year.

"Reading and Spurs were also after James, while here, Rangers and Celtic are interested.

"But he has decided that he wants to stay with Hamilton for another year.

"I can't fault his judgement. He has only just left school and is from a close family.

"If he feels happier waiting for another season then that is the right thing to do."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hamilton_academical/6638285.stm

[eirebhoy]

His agent must be raging. :D

[geysir]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...al/6638285.stm
He looks about 12 years old in the picture.

[Paulie]

That seems to me to be a pretty mature decision for someone so young. If he's as good as people say there will be as many clubs after him in a year as there are now. It'll do him no harm at all to play another season of first team football.

[OwlsFan]

We shall see. We were also told that McGeady was the new superstar. He was alas hopeless in the recent Old Firm game. Kept slipping (changed his boots), muscled off the ball, running down blind alleys. Very disappointing.

I really hope he'll make it but I am beginning to have serious doubts.

[Torn-Ado]

We shall see. We were also told that McGeady was the new superstar. He was alas hopeless in the recent Old Firm game. Kept slipping (changed his boots), muscled off the ball, running down blind alleys. Very disappointing.

I really hope he'll make it but I am beginning to have serious doubts.

He's been dissapointing for the last couple of months. Especially for Ireland against Slovaks

[SaucyJack]

That seems to me to be a pretty mature decision for someone so young. If he's as good as people say there will be as many clubs after him in a year as there are now. It'll do him no harm at all to play another season of first team football.

I'm thinking Cherno Samba here, I'm sure Millwall regret not selling him to Liverpool when they offered a million. (not the exact same circumstances, I know)

[citizenerased]

im a fan of mcgeady he was cletics best player in the two matches against milan..as for mccarthy, he is better off staying another season with hamilton.

[youngirish]

Don't rate McGeady meself, all flash no end product. He needs to improve big time. And he wasn't Celtic's best player against Milan by any stretch of the imagination in either leg.

[elroy]

I'm thinking Cherno Samba here, I'm sure Millwall regret not selling him to Liverpool when they offered a million. (not the exact same circumstances, I know)

Cherno was a legend in Championship manager though!! :D

Dont rate McGeady either myself, alot of hype but not alot of foundation to imo.

[eirebhoy]

McGeady was by far and away the best player in the SPL up until he got injured in October. He had 7 assists (6 in the league and 1 league cup) and was motm in the majority of games. Since then he has got just the 1 assist, but has scored 4 more goals. He has been poor recently but we know how good he can be now.

Strachan was talking about him in an interview recently. He said McGeady feels he has to try and produce brilliance every time he gets the ball. Strachan wants him to play is simple a lot more and produce 3 or 4 moments of brilliance in a match. Strachan will sort him out.

The difference with McGeady and McCarthy (although I've not seen McCarthy) is that McGeady hasn't got a great football brain. McCarthy is apparantly a bit of a genius in terms of intelligience. If you have a great passing ability/technique, a good football brain and a good attitude then you're already a player imo. ie. I don't feel there's much risk of McCarthy not "making it" if reports on him are to be believed. Anthony Stokes has the first 2 but hopefully Keane sorts his attitude out. I think it's very rare for players so young to have the intelligience on the pitch that Stokes and McShane have (things like positional sense just come naturally to those guys), hopefully McCarthy is the same and we've a spine for the future. :)

[Stuttgart88]

I agree re-Strachan being the right guy to get the best out of him.

I thought McGeady was a liability against Slovakia, his passing was dire and lost us possession countless times. That said, with only Doyle to aim for his job wasn't easy but most of his misdirected passes were careless rather than anything else.

I'd prefer him to receive the ball static far less. It's a pity he can't make the US trip as I feel he's still anxious every time he plays for Ireland & he's yet to settle in any way.

[Torn-Ado]

McGeady was trying to be flashy against Slovakia and seemed desperate beat defenders and dribble like he does at Celtic. If he concentrated more on passing and the players around him, he would have faired better.

I still think McGeady will be a quality player for Ireland. He just needs more intelligence

[dr_peepee]

I dunno... He wasn't great against the Slovaks, but I was impressed with how when he got closed down in possession or when on attack he seen nothing on he was able to play around and get the ball back to a defender to start an attack again, something I've not seen from any of our players up to this. I'm used to players running into walls or playing into corner in the hope of a set peice...

[Qwerty]

McGeady always seems to have a way to get out of trouble which is really down to his technical ability, he does try for the killer pass but you know he can do it but it isn't always going to work, is it better to take the option of a safe pass to O'Shea or Kilbane who trip over it or hoof it? I think the team needs to work to get McGeady into more advanced positions before he receives the ball. He really has so much potential you have to be excited about his future.

[galwayhoop]

I still think McGeady will be a quality player for Ireland. He just needs more intelligence

I still think that I can be a top neuro-surgeon. I just need more intelligence.
:p

I still think Staunton will be a quality international manager for Ireland. He just needs more intelligence
:p

I still think George W. Bush will be a quality leader for the World. He just needs more intelligence
:p

Unfortunately intelligence is something you generally have or don't have, it is not acquired. You can gain experience and learn to play more intelligently but you just can't 'get more intelligence'.....unfortunately!!

[Stuttgart88]

Maybe he needs more Omega 3 fish oils in his diet?

[RogerMilla]

spot on qwerty , it's not that mcgeady isnt good enough , it's that he needs to be utilised , he could be every bit as duff used to be if we could fit him into the system.