James McCarthy M free agent b.1990

[Sullivinho]

The Liverpool rumour seems to be gathering the most momentum. McCarthy's Gerrard-ish qualities won't have gone unnoticed I s'pose.

Anywhere but Chelsea.

102 times capped Kenny Dalglish would hardly resent James' international involvement either.

[Stuttgart88]

Arsenal aren't exactly supportive of international football.

[DeLorean]

102 times capped Kenny Dalglish would hardly resent James' international involvement either.

Might resent the fact that it's with us instead of the Scots though! Na, I think Dalglish would be great for him to be honest.


Arsenal aren't exactly supportive of international football.

Couldn't see him choosing Arsenal over Liverpool anyway.

[Jinxy]

Arsenal aren't exactly supportive of international football.

Neither is James McCarthy!

[Sullivinho]

Neither is James McCarthy!

Touché :D

[ken foree]

Arsenal aren't exactly supportive of international football.

..whereas it seems, when there are south american players involved, that roberto martinez is positively GUNG-HO to let his players leave for international duty...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/27/roberto-martinez-wigan-copa-america

douchebag.

[greendeiseboy]

..whereas it seems, when there are south american players involved, that roberto martinez is positively GUNG-HO to let his players leave for international duty...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/27/roberto-martinez-wigan-copa-america

douchebag.

The notable quotation from that is "South American players love playing for their countries"

Is there a veiled reference there, I wonder!!

[theworm2345]

The notable quotation from that is "South American players love playing for their countries"

Is there a veiled reference there, I wonder!!
Its funny that Trinidad and Tobago is mere miles off the Venezuelan coast and he wouldn't let Jason Scotland play for them and then this comes out.

[greendeiseboy]

Its funny that Trinidad and Tobago is mere miles off the Venezuelan coast and he wouldn't let Jason Scotland play for them and then this comes out.

They dont speak Spanish in Trinidad and Tobago.

Jesus I've cracked it - this is what McCarthy should have asked Martinez :-

"Queiro jugar al futbol internacional para mi pais."

[Noelys Guitar]

Who honestly believes McCarthy is injured? Certainly not injured enough to cry off for a month. Yes I too have a dislike for Martinez and Whelan FC but McCarthy himself has cried off so many times that Trapatooni had to call him out publicly. I'd love to know the views of Hunt, Long, Whelan, St Ledger, Lawerence and others on this issue. I bet they are delighted their manager is calling out the turn up when I want merchants. FFS we have Stokes saying he is too tired (he left out the unencumbered by talent bit). And I certainly don't want some PR ex footballers telling me everything is smelling of roses. For me Trap and Tardelli have had a great week. Let Trap have his say.

[tommy_c12000]

From today's Sunday Times:

McCarthy Father Slams Trap:
The father of James McCarthy has reacted angrily to accusations made by Trapattoni that he had left a number of messages on the Wigan player's mobile phone over the past month and had received no reply. The Ireland manager also claimed on Monday that he had heard nothing from the player or his club about his absence from international duty last week. It later emerged that Wigan had contacted the FAI about McCarthy on Sunday night and Willie McCarthy told The Sunday Times yesterday, "James went for a scan on Monday morning at St Helens hospital near Wigan. They found ligament damage in his ankle, which is swollen badly and has been for a couple of weeks. He won't be fit for three or four weeks. I spoke to James and he said there was no missed calls from Trapattoni, so we can't understand the reports that James wasn't returning his calls. James is committed to Ireland. I wonder really does Trapattoni want James in the squad? The communications side of things is a disaster."

[tommy_c12000]

First of all a meaningless friendly should not have been arranged 2 days after the close of the premiership season. Absolute shambolic decision on the FAI's part. McCarthy was never going to show up after Wigan's miraculous escape and expecially with the game against Scotland coming up which he would have been avoiding like the plague. Trap should have handled the situation with some tact and sensitivity and told him to take a break for a week and join the team after the Scotland game and things will be assessed then. Unfortunately that senile man is nothing but a self obesessed egomaniac who is doing his level best to burn as many bridges as he can with promising Irish players.

He needs to realise that he is not in club management anymore but in international management where managers are at the mercy of the clubs who pay his players their wages. The clubs call the shots these days and like it or like it not, the fact is that international football is not as an attractive prospect as it was say 20 years ago. Relationships between clubs and countries need to be fostered carefully and not burned in the manner Trap is doing. Just look at all the great players who retired prematurely from International football in recent years - Shearer, Nedved, Giggs, (Keane!), etc, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I admire Robbie Keane's passion and respect him from the way he came out and said all those things. I'm as passionate as the next guy about the Irish team. I've been obessed since my earliest memory of the 3-1 defeat to Spain at Lansdowne road back in the early 90s. Before each qualifying game I would stay up saying prayers every night 2 wks before hand hoping that God would help the Irish team to perform to their potential (I never asked for a win, perhaps that's where it has all been going wrong). Many an Irish loss evoked an uncontrollable tantrum in me that had my mother on her last thether. I look back on it now and feel genuinely sorry for all the hardship I put her true, she most definitely was more nervous than me during the Irish games, and she wouldn't even have known any of the players.

My point is club's call the shots now and international managers need to respect that to a certain extent and concentrate on developing strong relationships with club managers rather than confronting and questioning every injury that is purported.

To borrow the great man's line after he turned 70 last tuesday, The times are a-changin', but unfortunately you can't teach an old ignorant dog new tricks.

[Fixer82]

Relationships between clubs and countries need to be fostered carefully and not burned in the manner Trap is doing. Just look at all the great players who retired prematurely from International football in recent years - Shearer, Nedved, Giggs, (Keane!), etc, etc.


Keane didn't retire prematurely.

Re clubs calling the shots i disagree. I think it's generally down to the player's character. If a player insists, especially early on, that playing International football is important to them, very few managers it seems stand in their way.
I think it's down to young players who take it for granted and don't appreciate the honour of being called up that is the problem. Not their clubs.

I'm not naming any particular players as I don't have the inside track. But I know back in the day, once fit, a herd of wild horses wouldn't have kept O'Leary, Moran, McCarthy, Aldridge, Quinn, Irwin, Bonner etc from turning up

[Stuttgart88]

It all depends on whose version of events you want to believe. McCarthy's dad, or Tardelli who says that Mary O'Brien of the FAI was in touch but got no response. (I'm not sure if it was said anywwhere that Trap himself sent the texts or whether it was Ms. O'Brien, or whoever).

If Mr. McCarthy is correct then it is a terrible case of mismanagement by the FAI.

If Tardelli is correct it's a sign of bad attitude from the player.

We don't know the truth yet and it's unlikely we will from the outside.

I don't think anyone is arguing that the timing of the game was daft and that anyone involved on Sunday would have been entitled to ask to sit it out.

[Stuttgart88]

back in the day, once fit, a herd of wild horses wouldn't have kept O'Leary from turning upA holiday might have though :)

[Drumcondra 69er]

First of all a meaningless friendly should not have been arranged 2 days after the close of the premiership season. Absolute shambolic decision on the FAI's part. McCarthy was never going to show up after Wigan's miraculous escape

Yet Kevin Foley, Stephen Ward and Stephen Hunt all managed to turn up after Wolves' miraculous escape.....

[Noelys Guitar]

The problem for McCarthy is he has previous. Its not a one off him not showing up. And he is nowehre near an established player in the Irish squad. If he had 15 caps and had done the business in say 4 or 5 qualifying games then he would have a little more leeway. But thats not the case.

[geysir]

"I spoke to James and he said there was no missed calls from Trapattoni, so we can't understand the reports that James wasn't returning his calls."
FAI officials say "seven or eight" attempts to make contact with the player were unsuccessful.

I wouldn't worry yet about McCarthy's long term future with Ireland, I still think he will be a big player for us.

[Fixer82]

oh yeah....touché

He certainly paid for it though. Though he wouldn't at that stage have been one of the players with something to prove like Walters, Stoke, McCarthy etc...

[geysir]

You're talking about O'Leary, Fixer?
I suppose O'Leary got the hump just as much as Charlton did, after that Iceland tournament.
O'Leary had nothing to prove as a CH at that stage but he also fancied himself as a certain starter for the Ireland team and probably would have expected Charlton to need him more than he needed Ireland.
Also, having Dunphy as a defense lawyer did little for O'Leary's case.

[paudie]

First of all a meaningless friendly should not have been arranged 2 days after the close of the premiership season. Absolute shambolic decision on the FAI's part. McCarthy was never going to show up after Wigan's miraculous escape and expecially with the game against Scotland coming up which he would have been avoiding like the plague. Trap should have handled the situation with some tact and sensitivity and told him to take a break for a week and join the team after the Scotland game and things will be assessed then. Unfortunately that senile man is nothing but a self obesessed egomaniac who is doing his level best to burn as many bridges as he can with promising Irish players.

He needs to realise that he is not in club management anymore but in international management where managers are at the mercy of the clubs who pay his players their wages. The clubs call the shots these days and like it or like it not, the fact is that international football is not as an attractive prospect as it was say 20 years ago. Relationships between clubs and countries need to be fostered carefully and not burned in the manner Trap is doing. Just look at all the great players who retired prematurely from International football in recent years - Shearer, Nedved, Giggs, (Keane!), etc, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I admire Robbie Keane's passion and respect him from the way he came out and said all those things. I'm as passionate as the next guy about the Irish team. I've been obessed since my earliest memory of the 3-1 defeat to Spain at Lansdowne road back in the early 90s. Before each qualifying game I would stay up saying prayers every night 2 wks before hand hoping that God would help the Irish team to perform to their potential (I never asked for a win, perhaps that's where it has all been going wrong). Many an Irish loss evoked an uncontrollable tantrum in me that had my mother on her last thether. I look back on it now and feel genuinely sorry for all the hardship I put her true, she most definitely was more nervous than me during the Irish games, and she wouldn't even have known any of the players.

My point is club's call the shots now and international managers need to respect that to a certain extent and concentrate on developing strong relationships with club managers rather than confronting and questioning every injury that is purported.

To borrow the great man's line after he turned 70 last tuesday, The times are a-changin', but unfortunately you can't teach an old ignorant dog new tricks.

Ward, Hunt and Foley turned up after wolves equally miraculous escape. And I'm sure he wouldn't have been picked for the Scotland game if he talked to Trap about it.

I wonder will he want to play in future competitiive games against Scotland?

[Fixer82]

@geysir true true. But he certainly made up for it when Charlton allowed him back in. And his desire then was never really in question.
i wonder how Charlton would have reacted to the current crop.
The only real situation he had like this was Paul McGrath the odd time going off on one but Paul had his problems and Jack understood that I think

[Sullivinho]

"I spoke to James and he said there was no missed calls from Trapattoni, so we can't understand the reports that James wasn't returning his calls."

FAI officials say "seven or eight" attempts to make contact with the player were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Wigan, James McArthur is perturbed by a series of mystery calls and texts..

[Fixer82]

ha ha like it! ;)

[Noelys Guitar]

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Wigan, James McArthur is perturbed by a series of mystery calls and texts..

Some chick called Mary O'Brien wants to meet me in Ireland. I wonder if this is a News of the World set up thinks McArthur.

[Sullivinho]

The communication problems between the FAI and James must be addressed and resolved for the sake of future expediency.

I would like to propose 'the Mac signal'. A backlit silhouette of James that can be projected into the night sky from the rooftop of the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown on the eve of a squad gathering, thereby alerting the mercurial talent to Ireland's need.

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/7688/130668472265326.jpg

[DannyInvincible]

Liverpool deal "90% done", according to Goal.com: http://www.givemefootball.com/premier-league/10m-liverpool-target-has-heart-set-on-anfield-swit


Liverpool are on the verge of completing a deal for Wigan Athletic midfielder James McCarthy.

The 20-year-old has been the shining light in a struggling Latics side, who avoided relegation on the final day of the season with victory at Stoke City.

And with Chelsea also interested, Liverpool are keen to push the deal, which could be worth £10 million, through as soon as possible.

“It is 90 per cent done, all sides now seem to accept it is going to happen and it's a matter of everyone trying to get the best deal,” a source told Goal.com.

N'Zogbia has also been linked with a move to Anfield along with him.

And if his Ireland no-show wasn't bad enough, now he's been accused of driving without a licence; away off the rails entirely, young James is, God help us and save us!: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2011/05/29/but-where-were-you-wheely-cops-stop-missing-mccarthy-86908-23164942/


... But it has emerged that he was pulled over by police in Glasgow on Tuesday evening. He was quizzed about driving his £50,000 BMW X5 without a proper licence or insurance.

McCarthy was allegedly caught behind the wheel of the 130mph car in the city's Castlemilk area - as his Irish team-mates were about to kick off against Northern Ireland.

It is believed he was alone in the car. He only holds a provisional licence, for a learner driver.

McCarthy could face a fine and be banned from driving. His car could be impounded or rushed.

A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said: "A 20-year-old male is the subject of a report to the procurator fiscal in connection with alleged road traffic offences."

McCarthy has been staying with his parents, William and Marie, this week at their terraced home in Castlemilk.

Or have the media gotten ahead of themselves again? :rolleyes:


Yesterday, McCarthy could not be contacted for comment.

But a source close to the player said: "It is all a big misunderstanding. James has passed his driving test but has an Irish rather than a British driver's licence."

[BonnieShels]

How did he get an Irish licence? He was never resident here and I can't really imagine him putting up with the waiting times in order to drive around the streets of Raheny or Churchtown.
Tosh.

[Charlie Darwin]

Yeah, you have to be a resident to apply for a licence. More bad communication?

[BonnieShels]

Yeah, you have to be a resident to apply for a licence. More bad communication?

Seems like it. Amateurish FAI as always.:o

Absolutely shocking carry on at this stage.

[ajdarcy78]

This is getting a bit like a joke at this stage, the communication issues really need to be sorted out. In saying this I fully expect James McCarthy to have a long career in the green jersey.

[gastric]

Interesting article! To some degree it shows such alleged behaviour - lying - is okay when it protects the FAI's position. I think the inference is that the High and Mighty position Trap is taking is a bit rich in the circumstances.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/the-madness-in-his-method-2660616.html

[dr_peepee]

Or have the media gotten ahead of themselves again? :rolleyes:

I honestly can't believe how you can't see that McCarthy himself isn't at the very least factor in all this.

It's like Manblue and SI all over again!!!

[DannyInvincible]

How did he get an Irish licence? He was never resident here and I can't really imagine him putting up with the waiting times in order to drive around the streets of Raheny or Churchtown.
Tosh.

Family residence in Gweedore maybe? I dunno. Would that suffice?

[BonnieShels]

Family residence in Gweedore maybe? I dunno. Would that suffice?

So he's resident in Gweedore and working for Wigan Athletic... Danny, that's a circle that just won't be squared in my book. :)

Always ye Donegal heads up to nefarious goings on!

[Fixer82]

I actually feel really sorry for Daryl Murphy with all the pull-outs and still no call up. Especially with his team-mate Anthony Croaks acting the bo**ix. And especially after scoring a goal like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQv9wwUwwVk

He never let Trap down as far as I know ad provided the assist for the first goal of Trap's reign. To Andy Keogh. I'd have Murphy in ahead of Keogh for sure

[Stuttgart88]

I don't think Murphy is one of our top 6 forwards, but with 3 or 4 of our top 6 injured Murphy can be considered a bit unlucky. Sammon might have been worth bringing over to get acclimatised and introduced to everyone. All marginal stuff though. I think we have Keane & Long nailed on to start, Cox a possible off the bench and Ward and Keogh long shots to feature in any way. Ward could be useful as an outside or inside left if we need to go to 5 in the middle.

[DannyInvincible]

I honestly can't believe how you can't see that McCarthy himself isn't at the very least factor in all this.

It's like Manblue and SI all over again!!!

I'm not readily familiar with what I presume to have been Manblue's defence of Stephen Ireland's antics. Anyway, let's have a look at things without losing the run of ourselves because you appear to be holding McCarthy responsible for "a year of McCarthy-based drama, regardless of who manufactured it". I'm not necessarily suggesting that James McCarthy is and always will be an untainted angel exempt from criticism. I just think that the media get ahead of themselves at any instance there's even a hint of a story to be written about the lad, usually at the expense of the truth of the matter at hand. I think a lot of what's written about him is rooted in idle speculation due to his circumstances rather than due to his character. It's important to distinguish here so we can identify who is actually at fault for the "drama" as, ideally, we want McCarthy to appear as committed as he can be to us.

McCarthy has been committed to Ireland since the age of 15 yet his loyalty has been, in my eyes, unfairly questioned time and time again, and even now again after he's already been capped for us competitively. Committing to us from such a young age over his country of birth ought to command respect alone, but the racist nature of the abuse he had to face from the terraces in Scotland whilst playing with Hamilton week in and week out due to his decision and the fact that he didn't let it sway him, makes his commitment even more worthy of our appreciation. Maybe it is due to this that I'm content to give him the benefit of the doubt and accord him a bit of leeway. I admire the character it took to persist through what he could have easily chosen not to go through in order to play for us.

He's played with us through every level at under-age re-affirming unequivocally his allegiance any time the media ever made a big deal about it (http://greenscene.me/2011/01/trapattoni-and-mccarthy-in-quotes/). The roots of these questions weren't to be found in any fault of character, but rather due to circumstances which have seen McCarthy, a dual national, cast as a real prospect from such a young age where the only certain finality to the question of his allegiance in the media's eyes was a competitive cap, not to mention a surrounding media culture that survives on saturating the public arena with speculation, misrepresentation and quasi-information that has the cyclical effect of boosting interest and sales by leaving us hungry for more.

Essentially, the lad's circumstances have given the media four or five rich years in which to manufacture apparent twists and developments when the reality is that nothing ever changed in McCarthy's mind from day one, in spite of approaches from the SFA. The media are doing the very same with Shane Ferguson now despite him having clearly stated that he has not yet made any decision on his international future; whether it be with us or NI.

When McCarthy pulled out of the friendlies last year with Paraguay and Algeria after having made his senior debut in the Brazil friendly, albeit on the advice of Martinez, it was due to alleged fatigue and back spasms that were affecting his hamstrings. Doubt that if you must, but that's what the lad claimed. McCarthy's next senior appearance was in our game against Macedonia, of course. In the meantime, Noel King had been calling him into our under-21 squad, if I'm not mistaken, and he also suffered an ankle injury that kept him out of action for three months. This kept him out of our friendly with Norway. He had already been overlooked for our friendly with Argentina in November and for all of our Euro 2012 qualifying games, probably due to Trap's conservatism when it comes to competitive games as much as anything else as McCarthy had been playing a more and more pivotal role with Wigan in the English Premier League. When Trap was deciding his squad for our Nations Cup game against Wales, he said of his initial decision to omit McCarthy:


"It’s too tight. He only just returned from injury the other day. McCarthy is important. We need players in this position, who can play the No 10 or maybe behind. He was only on the bench on Saturday. Maybe he play reserve games. We also have other solutions, like Fahey, but we will continue to follow him."

He later called him into the squad after Noel King thought him fit enough for the under-21s but McCarthy was pulled out of the squad by his club due to concerns over aggravating the injury from which he'd only just recovered. Reportedly, he was gutted and had also received a bad knock (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/feb/05/wigan-athletic-blackburn-rovers-premier-league) on the ankle in Wigan's preceding game against Blackburn. Of course, the media saw this as another ample opportunity to stir a panic and suggest that McCarthy was considering switching loyalties to Scotland. Clarity was demanded; completely unnecessary given McCarthy had never been the remotest bit unclear as to where his allegiance lay. Silly and ignorant comments from Martinez, who seemed more intent on trying to persuade McCarthy to put international football to the back of his mind as Wigan faced a crucial Premier League run-in, didn't help matters either, but everything coming from McCarthy, his family and his agent was suggesting that there was nothing to be worried about from our perspective. Sure enough, there wasn't; when his chance finally arrived to represent us against Macedonia in a competitive game, thereby irrevocably committing him to us, he declared his delight to have had the whole saga wrapped up once and for all. He started our next game, the friendly against Uruguay, and so we arrive at our current quagmire.

Clearly, the undisputed truth has yet to emerge. We've heard so many contradictory stories that it's hard to know what the facts are. McCarthy, his family and Wigan are claiming the lad is injured and will be out for three or four weeks. The FAI were initially claiming they hadn't been contacted in relation to this, but then it transpired that they had actually received word the day before Trapattoni claimed there'd been no communication in a press conference. Tardelli also alleged that McCarthy was contacted numerous times by Mary O'Brien of the FAI but McCarthy's father, Willie, flat-out denied this to be the case. As we've seen above, the FAI aren't immune to telling a lie in order to protect their position. Tardelli has said that McCarthy should have travelled to Dublin to be examined by the FAI's doctor although FIFA's regulations don't oblige a player playing in the territory of another association to do so at all, permitting them to undergo examination in the territory they are based. Strangely, Tardelli also commented that the scans sent by Wigan weren't conclusive or didn't show an injury serious enough to rule McCarthy out but later said that the FAI weren't doubting that McCarthy was injured, indicating that they believe he and Wigan to be telling the truth. Then we have the media reporting an alleged trafficking offence due to McCarthy apparently driving without a correct licence - a non-story really - but his family disputing this and claiming it was a case of an error being made over McCarthy's Irish driving licence. I'm open to correction on the aforementioned facts and details, but I believe them to be correct as reported, so as long as such confusion, contradiction and miscommunication reigns, I don't really feel like I'm in a fit position to cast blame for all this "drama" upon James McCarthy right now.

[DannyInvincible]

So he's resident in Gweedore and working for Wigan Athletic... Danny, that's a circle that just won't be squared in my book. :)

Always ye Donegal heads up to nefarious goings on!

The criteria are laid out here: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/motoring_1/driver_licensing/full_driving_licence.html#l1f4da


The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport has overall responsibility for driver licensing. The principal local authorities, however, are licensing authorities and issue driving licences. There are 29 licensing authorities (Motor Taxation Offices) around the country and you should make your application to the one nearest to where you live.

To apply for a driving licence, you must be normally resident in Ireland. You are considered to be normally resident in Ireland if, because of personal and occupational ties, you usually live here for at least 185 days in each calendar year.

If you have an Irish driving licence, the licence is accepted for use or exchange in all other EU/EEA member states. If you are travelling outside of the EU/EEA and will be driving, you may require an international driving permit.

I don't see what the point in it would have been but could he have exchanged a UK licence for an Irish one or something like that without needing to have been resident in Ireland? Not that it's ultimately all that important really; it's his football that counts, not his driving.

[Philly]

Reading through this thread is a bit baffling. The guy has put up with an unreal amount of stick over the years for playing for Ireland and has never once hinted at changing his mind. He also made his first full senior appearance lately to confirm his convictions.

He has been injured lots this past season and I highly doubt he is trying to dodge further caps. The FAI don't seem to have a proper channel of communication with their players, and that's their problem not Mc Carthy's.

Every time a player gets injured lately people question their attitude, and maybe rightly so at times (see Stokes), but anybody who thinks McCarty isn't interested or committed to Ireland must have amnesia because the past few years prove otherwise.

[Stuttgart88]

I think there is potentially blame on each side, and there also appears to be two very different versions: the FAI / Tardelli version that Mary O'Brien of the FAI made repeated attempts to contact the player, combined with Dr. Alan Kelly's remark that the scan that Wigan sent over revealed very little damage.

The Wigan version is that he's injured and needs a month's rest, and has had no contact. Both are plausible but only one is right and we can't judge which from our position.

Dr_Peepee is right in my opinion when he says that there is always something up with McCarthy and it all just adds up.

In a way I'd understand it if Dion Fanning's guess is true: he is on the verge of a big move to Liverpool and both he and his club want nothing to get in the way of it happening. I honestly think, in all my naivity, that all parties could understand something like this but McCarthy could have travelled over last week, maybe a day or two later, just to train and hang around the squad and only be used in Macedonia if necessary.

Philly is right to point out that the communication channel is the key. If McCarthy isn't returning calls or texts, then he is probably to blame, but it also raises the issue of whether another form of communication should be in place.

The no-showers (the worst being Stokes, the "best" being Walters who appears genuinely injured but still allowed for misunderstanding to arise, the others are in between - unsubstantiated injuries) should all be aware that there is a perception building that they are chancers and flakes. The onus is on them to put the recod straight. Glenn Whelan could talk to Wilson about it. Someone could pull McCarthy up about it. Jeez, even a level headed(!), committed Irish fan like Enda Brady, who appears to have McCarthy's ear could easily spell out what is happening, and what is required to put things right.

[dr_peepee]

I'm not readily familiar with what I presume to have been Manblue's defence of Stephen Ireland's antics. Anyway, let's have a look at things without losing the run of ourselves because you appear to be holding McCarthy responsible for "a year of McCarthy-based drama, regardless of who manufactured it". I'm not necessarily suggesting that James McCarthy is and always will be an untainted angel exempt from criticism. I just think that the media get ahead of themselves at any instance there's even a hint of a story to be written about the lad, usually at the expense of the truth of the matter at hand. I think a lot of what's written about him is rooted in idle speculation due to his circumstances rather than due to his character. It's important to distinguish here so we can identify who is actually at fault for the "drama" as, ideally, we want McCarthy to appear as committed as he can be to us.

McCarthy has been committed to Ireland since the age of 15 yet his loyalty has been, in my eyes, unfairly questioned time and time again, and even now again after he's already been capped for us competitively. Committing to us from such a young age over his country of birth ought to command respect alone, but the racist nature of the abuse he had to face from the terraces in Scotland whilst playing with Hamilton week in and week out due to his decision and the fact that he didn't let it sway him, makes his commitment even more worthy of our appreciation. Maybe it is due to this that I'm content to give him the benefit of the doubt and accord him a bit of leeway. I admire the character it took to persist through what he could have easily chosen not to go through in order to play for us.

He's played with us through every level at under-age re-affirming unequivocally his allegiance any time the media ever made a big deal about it (http://greenscene.me/2011/01/trapattoni-and-mccarthy-in-quotes/). The roots of these questions weren't to be found in any fault of character, but rather due to circumstances which have seen McCarthy, a dual national, cast as a real prospect from such a young age where the only certain finality to the question of his allegiance in the media's eyes was a competitive cap, not to mention a surrounding media culture that survives on saturating the public arena with speculation, misrepresentation and quasi-information that has the cyclical effect of boosting interest and sales by leaving us hungry for more.

Essentially, the lad's circumstances have given the media four or five rich years in which to manufacture apparent twists and developments when the reality is that nothing ever changed in McCarthy's mind from day one, in spite of approaches from the SFA. The media are doing the very same with Shane Ferguson now despite him having clearly stated that he has not yet made any decision on his international future; whether it be with us or NI.

When McCarthy pulled out of the friendlies last year with Paraguay and Algeria after having made his senior debut in the Brazil friendly, albeit on the advice of Martinez, it was due to alleged fatigue and back spasms that were affecting his hamstrings. Doubt that if you must, but that's what the lad claimed. McCarthy's next senior appearance was in our game against Macedonia, of course. In the meantime, Noel King had been calling him into our under-21 squad, if I'm not mistaken, and he also suffered an ankle injury that kept him out of action for three months. This kept him out of our friendly with Norway. He had already been overlooked for our friendly with Argentina in November and for all of our Euro 2012 qualifying games, probably due to Trap's conservatism when it comes to competitive games as much as anything else as McCarthy had been playing a more and more pivotal role with Wigan in the English Premier League. When Trap was deciding his squad for our Nations Cup game against Wales, he said of his initial decision to omit McCarthy:


"It’s too tight. He only just returned from injury the other day. McCarthy is important. We need players in this position, who can play the No 10 or maybe behind. He was only on the bench on Saturday. Maybe he play reserve games. We also have other solutions, like Fahey, but we will continue to follow him."

He later called him into the squad after Noel King thought him fit enough for the under-21s but McCarthy was pulled out of the squad by his club due to concerns over aggravating the injury from which he'd only just recovered. Reportedly, he was gutted and had also received a bad knock (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/feb/05/wigan-athletic-blackburn-rovers-premier-league) on the ankle in Wigan's preceding game against Blackburn. Of course, the media saw this as another ample opportunity to stir a panic and suggest that McCarthy was considering switching loyalties to Scotland. Clarity was demanded; completely unnecessary given McCarthy had never been the remotest bit unclear as to where his allegiance lay. Silly and ignorant comments from Martinez, who seemed more intent on trying to persuade McCarthy to put international football to the back of his mind as Wigan faced a crucial Premier League run-in, didn't help matters either, but everything coming from McCarthy, his family and his agent was suggesting that there was nothing to be worried about from our perspective. Sure enough, there wasn't; when his chance finally arrived to represent us against Macedonia in a competitive game, thereby irrevocably committing him to us, he declared his delight to have had the whole saga wrapped up once and for all. He started our next game, the friendly against Uruguay, and so we arrive at our current quagmire.

Clearly, the undisputed truth has yet to emerge. We've heard so many contradictory stories that it's hard to know what the facts are. McCarthy, his family and Wigan are claiming the lad is injured and will be out for three or four weeks. The FAI were initially claiming they hadn't been contacted in relation to this, but then it transpired that they had actually received word the day before Trapattoni claimed there'd been no communication in a press conference. Tardelli also alleged that McCarthy was contacted numerous times by Mary O'Brien of the FAI but McCarthy's father, Willie, flat-out denied this to be the case. As we've seen above, the FAI aren't immune to telling a lie in order to protect their position. Tardelli has said that McCarthy should have travelled to Dublin to be examined by the FAI's doctor although FIFA's regulations don't oblige a player playing in the territory of another association to do so at all, permitting them to undergo examination in the territory they are based. Strangely, Tardelli also commented that the scans sent by Wigan weren't conclusive or didn't show an injury serious enough to rule McCarthy out but later said that the FAI weren't doubting that McCarthy was injured, indicating that they believe he and Wigan to be telling the truth. Then we have the media reporting an alleged trafficking offence due to McCarthy apparently driving without a correct licence - a non-story really - but his family disputing this and claiming it was a case of an error being made over McCarthy's Irish driving licence. I'm open to correction on the aforementioned facts and details, but I believe them to be correct as reported, so as long as such confusion, contradiction and miscommunication reigns, I don't really feel like I'm in a fit position to cast blame for all this "drama" upon James McCarthy right now.

My surmising of all that is that he walked the walk until he hit the bright lights of the Premiership. He's made the right noises about Ireland in recent times when pressed. But that's it...

[gastric]

James McArthur defends McCarthy in this article - he supposedly is really committed to us.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/lay-off-mccarthy-urges-wigan-teammate-2663879.html

[tetsujin1979]

Linked again with Liverpool in the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jun/02/football-transfer-rumours-didier-drogba-milan

Liverpool have identified Charlie Adam, James McCarthy and Jordan Henderson as prime targets to rejuvenate their midfield, with Wigan's chairman, Dave Whelan, admitting of McCarthy that "in the end, of course, [we will] have to let him go, there's no question about that".

[Cuyahoga]

I see that wigan have given martinez permission to talk to aston villa re their vacant managers job. Hopefully if he gets it it would be good for Ireland as he wont be interfering with james mccarthy's irish career as he has done. I blame him for all the problems with mccarthy. He was stirring it saying james hadnt made up his mind whether he wanted to play for scotland or ireland a few months ago and i would say he told him not to go over to the carling cup as well. ( He could bring him to villa of course).

[AlaskaFox]

Might have him interfering with Ciaran Clark's Irish career though.

[Stuttgart88]

I think Richard Dunne may "interfere" with Martinez if he tried to do that :)

[Cuyahoga]

Ciaran Clark is older than mc carthy and wouldnt be as easily manipulated.

[SwanVsDalton]

*Ciaran Clark gets a call to see the new gaffer*

'Yes, chief you wanted to see me.'

*Martinez spins round in a huge chair, stroking a cat and smiling malevolently*

'Yes Ciaran, I wanted to discuss your international career...muahahahahaha!'

[tetsujin1979]

"I'd never turn my back on Ireland" - James McCarthy hits back over squad pullout row: http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/notw/nol_scottish/nol_scottish_sport/1328010/James-McCarthy-has-blast-at-skipper-Robbie-Keane-over-squad-pullout-row.html