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James McCarthy (footballer)

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For Irish Gaelic football player, see James McCarthy (Gaelic footballer).

James McCarthy
McCarthy playing for Everton in 2015
Personal information
Full name James Patrick McCarthy[1]
Date of birth (1990-11-12) 12 November 1990 (age 33)[2]
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Youth career
0000–2006 Hamilton Academical
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2009 Hamilton Academical 95 (13)
2009–2013 Wigan Athletic 120 (7)
2013–2019 Everton 108 (6)
2019–2021 Crystal Palace 49 (0)
2021–2024 Celtic 12 (0)
International career
2007 Republic of Ireland U17 3 (1)
2007 Republic of Ireland U18 2 (2)
2007–2008 Republic of Ireland U19 2 (0)
2008–2011 Republic of Ireland U21 7 (1)
2010–2020 Republic of Ireland 43 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:18, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

James Patrick McCarthy (born 12 November 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder.

McCarthy made over 100 appearances for Hamilton Academical as a teenager, before being transferred to Wigan Athletic in 2009 for an initial £1.2 million which was a record sale fee for Hamilton Academical. After winning the FA Cup with Wigan in 2013 he moved to Everton, suffering from various injuries including a broken leg in 2018 which ruled him out for over a year.

Born and raised in Scotland, McCarthy elected to represent the Republic of Ireland at international level and made his competitive debut for their senior team on 26 March 2011 in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Macedonia. He was included in the Irish squad at UEFA Euro 2016.

Since being released by Celtic in August 2024 James watches Celtic games on iPtv. He is also known to have taken up the clarinet

Early life

[edit]
McCarthy playing for Hamilton Academical in 2009

McCarthy was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. He is the youngest child of Willie and Marie McCarthy[4] and is of Irish ancestry through his grandfather from County Donegal[5] (although the McCarthy surname originates in Munster).[4] A former student of St Margaret Mary's Secondary School in Castlemilk,[6] he grew up supporting Celtic[7] and tried out for their youth teams, but was turned down due to the large number of players the club had already taken on.[6]

Club career

[edit]

Hamilton Academical

[edit]

McCarthy made his debut for Hamilton Academical against Queen of the South as a substitute on 30 September 2006,[4] becoming the youngest player to play for Hamilton in the 21st century. His full debut came against Airdrie United on 11 November 2006, a day before his 16th birthday. On 6 January 2007, at 16 years and 55 days old, McCarthy became the youngest player ever to score in Hamilton Academical's history when he scored in a Scottish Cup defeat against Livingston.

On 17 May 2008, after a season which saw his club promoted to the Scottish Premier League, McCarthy signed a new three-year contract with the club.[8] He won the SPFA Young Player of the Year award for the 2008–09 season.[9]

Wigan Athletic

[edit]

Hamilton accepted a bid for McCarthy from Wigan Athletic on 16 July 2009.[10] He completed the move to Wigan on 21 July, on a five-year deal, believed to be worth just under £1.2 million. The fee could have risen to £3.0 million depending on appearances.[11] McCarthy made his debut for Wigan on 22 August 2009, as a 74th-minute substitute in a 5–0 defeat to Manchester United. He scored his first goal for Wigan in the FA Cup third round victory against fellow Premier League team Hull City on 2 January 2010,[12] and marked his first Premier League start with a goal in a 2–0 victory away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on 16 January 2010. He was later joined in the Wigan midfield by former Hamilton teammate James McArthur.[13]

After an impressive start to the 2010–11 season, he picked up a serious ankle injury against Bolton Wanderers on 23 October 2010,[14] keeping him out of action for three months. He scored on his return to the line-up against Aston Villa on 25 January 2011.[15] On 5 February 2011, McCarthy scored twice in a 4–3 victory against Blackburn Rovers.[16]

In August 2012, McCarthy signed a new five-year contract at the club.[17] He was part of the Wigan Athletic team that overcame Manchester City in the 2013 FA Cup Final; afterwards he hailed manager Roberto Martínez as "a tactical genius".[18]

McCarthy scoring his first goal for Everton in 2014

Everton

[edit]
McCarthy in action for Everton in the Europa League

On 2 September 2013, McCarthy rejoined former Wigan manager Roberto Martínez at Everton, signing a long term deal worth £13m to become the club's second most expensive player in their history;[19] due to a clause in his Wigan contract, his former club Hamilton received a sell-on fee from the Everton transfer, which they used to invest in the youth system through which the player had emerged.[20] He forged a partnership with Gareth Barry which was a key factor[21] in Everton amassing 72 points during the campaign, a club record in the Premier League.[22] Martínez claimed that McCarthy's performances had been so impressive that his transfer value had doubled during his first season.[21] McCarthy had to wait until the last game of the season to score his first goal for the club when he netted the opener in a 2–0 win over Hull City.[23]

On 15 March 2015, McCarthy scored his first goal of the 2014–15 season in a 3–0 home win against Newcastle United.[24] He scored his second goal of the season in a 3–0 defeat of Manchester United at Goodison Park on 26 April.[25]

McCarthy scored his first league goal for Everton in the 2016–17 season against Bournemouth at Goodison Park in a 6–3 victory on 4 February 2017. Earlier that day, he had provided an assist to Romelu Lukaku, allowing Lukaku to score the fastest Everton Premier League goal of all time.[26] McCarthy eventually missed the rest of season due to a hamstring injury he had sustained whilst on international duty in March 2017;[27] Everton manager Ronald Koeman expressed his displeasure at Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill selecting a half-fit McCarthy repeatedly, which had aggravated existing hamstring issues.[28]

On 20 January 2018, McCarthy suffered a broken leg (tibia and fibula) in an attempt to block a shot on goal by West Bromwich Albion's Salomón Rondón, resulting in the striker accidentally kicking McCarthy's lower leg causing it to fracture. Rondón was visibly upset by the incident and also became emotional when recalling it in an interview some months later.[29] McCarthy was ruled out for the rest of the 2017–18 season, and only made one further senior appearance for Everton, coming off the bench for the last 15 minutes of a home league fixture against Manchester United in April 2019, at which point his team were already 4–0 ahead.[30]

Crystal Palace

[edit]

On 7 August 2019, Crystal Palace signed McCarthy from Everton for an undisclosed fee.[31] He made his debut as a 70th-minute substitute for Andros Townsend in an away 1–0 defeat to Sheffield United on 18 August. He received a yellow card for retaliation four minutes later.[32] The move allowed McCarthy to resume his midfield partnership with James McArthur for much of the next two seasons.[33]

Celtic

[edit]

On 3 August 2021, McCarthy joined Scottish Premiership club Celtic on a four-year contract.[34] His contract with the club was terminated in August 2024.

International career

[edit]
McCarthy playing for the Republic of Ireland in 2013

Early years

[edit]

At the age of sixteen, McCarthy accepted an invitation to play for the Republic of Ireland.[35] He was eligible because his grandfather, Paddy Coyle, was born in The Rosses, County Donegal.[36] However, McCarthy also stated that he would have played for Scotland if they had offered him an international call-up first.[35] Despite multiple attempts to persuade McCarthy to switch his allegiance to the country of his birth, he reaffirmed his decision to play for the Republic of Ireland.[37][38][39]

McCarthy made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland Under-17s in January 2007 against Italy.[40] He scored his first goal against Greece when winning his third cap in March of the same year.[41] He was quickly promoted to the Under-18s and played his first game at that level versus Germany in November 2007.[42] He scored twice in the return game that same month.[43] McCarthy played one game for the Under-19s in September 2007 against Portugal.[44] and was subsequently selected for a number of these squads in 2008.[45] McCarthy came on as a half time substitute for the Republic of Ireland Under-21s in their European Championship qualifier on 31 March against Turkey. McCarthy made an instant impression, creating opportunities for the lone striker, as well as making many intelligent runs in behind the Turkish defence.

Senior team

[edit]

McCarthy received his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland national squad in February 2010, for a friendly with Brazil played in London.[46] He made his debut as a substitute, replacing Stoke City's Liam Lawrence after 70 minutes.[47] McCarthy withdrew from the Ireland squad for their 2011 Nations Cup match against Wales.[48] This led to media speculation that McCarthy may switch his allegiance to Scotland, as his appearance in the friendly against Brazil did not tie him to Ireland under the present rules.[49] The speculation was fuelled by Wigan manager Roberto Martínez who insisted that McCarthy was still considering his international future, even after McCarthy and Giovanni Trapattoni had a face to face meeting in which McCarthy reportedly confirmed his commitment to Ireland.[50]

The question of McCarthy's international allegiance was finally resolved in March 2011 after he accepted a call-up for Ireland's Euro 2012 qualification match against Macedonia, in which he came off the bench replacing Robbie Keane to earn his first competitive cap, rendering him ineligible to play for Scotland.[51] On 4 May 2011, McCarthy was called into the Irish squad for the games against Northern Ireland and Scotland. He reportedly went "AWOL" after not showing up for training. Later Martínez, the Wigan manager, came out and said he will be out "for at least four weeks".[52]

On 7 May 2012, Giovanni Trapattoni confirmed that McCarthy had asked to be withdrawn from consideration for the Irish UEFA Euro 2012 squad following his father's diagnosis with cancer.[53]

McCarthy played in nine of the ten matches in Ireland's unsuccessful 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign picking up the man of the match awards against the Faroe Islands and Sweden.[54][55][56]

He was selected for the Ireland squad for UEFA Euro 2016 and started all four of his nation's matches at the tournament.

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of match played 19 October 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hamilton Academical 2006–07[57] Scottish First Division 23 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 24 2
2007–08[58] Scottish First Division 35 6 2 0 5 1 1[a] 0 43 7
2008–09[59] Scottish Premier League 37 6 3 0 3 0 — 43 6
Total 95 13 6 1 8 1 1 0 110 15
Wigan Athletic 2009–10[60] Premier League 20 1 3 1 1 0 — 24 2
2010–11[61] Premier League 24 3 1 0 2 0 — 27 3
2011–12[62] Premier League 33 0 0 0 1 0 — 34 0
2012–13[63] Premier League 38 3 4 0 0 0 — 42 3
2013–14[64] Championship 5 0 — — 1[b] 0 6 0
Total 120 7 8 1 4 0 1 0 133 8
Everton 2013–14[64] Premier League 34 1 4 0 1 0 — 39 1
2014–15[65] Premier League 28 2 0 0 1 0 8[c] 0 37 2
2015–16[66] Premier League 29 2 4 0 4 0 — 37 2
2016–17[67] Premier League 12 1 0 0 1 0 — 13 1
2017–18[68] Premier League 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 6 0
2018–19[68] Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 0
Total 108 6 9 0 8 0 8 0 133 6
Crystal Palace 2019–20[69] Premier League 33 0 1 0 1 0 — 35 0
2020–21[70] Premier League 16 0 1 0 0 0 — 17 0
Total 49 0 2 0 1 0 — 52 0
Celtic 2021–22[71] Scottish Premiership 10 0 2 0 3 0 7[c] 0 22 0
2022–23[72] Scottish Premiership 2 0 0 0 2 0 1[d] 0 5 0
Total 12 0 2 0 5 0 8 0 27 0
Career total 384 26 27 2 26 1 18 0 455 29
  1. ^ Appearance in Scottish Challenge Cup
  2. ^ Appearance in FA Community Shield
  3. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearance in UEFA Champions League

International

[edit]
McCarthy, 2013.
As of match played 8 October 2020[73]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Republic of Ireland 2010 1 0
2011 2 0
2012 6 0
2013 13 0
2014 2 0
2015 9 0
2016 8 0
2020 2 0
Total 43 0

Honours

[edit]

Hamilton Academical

Wigan Athletic

Celtic

Individual

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "James McCarthy". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  2. ^ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 263. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  3. ^ "James McCarthy: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Face of the future". The Irish Independent. 21 December 2007. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  5. ^ "McCarthy follows Irish roots". rte.ie. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Net worth". The Herald. Glasgow. 13 January 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  7. ^ "Scottish-born James McCarthy has always had ambitions of playing for Ireland". Football Association of Ireland. 21 January 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  8. ^ "McCarthy extends stay with Accies". BBC Sport. 17 May 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
  9. ^ "Ireland's James McCarthy is Scotland's "Young Player of the Year"". Football Association of Ireland. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  10. ^ Lindsay, Clive (20 July 2009). "McCarthy agrees £1.2m Wigan move". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  11. ^ "McCarthy completes Wigan transfer". BBC Sport. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  12. ^ "Wigan 4–1 Hull". BBC Sport. 2 January 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  13. ^ "James McArthur completes move from Hamilton to Wigan". BBC Sport. 23 July 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  14. ^ "Wigan boss rocked by James McCarthy injury". BBC Sport. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  15. ^ "Wigan 1–2 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  16. ^ "Wigan 4–3 Blackburn". BBC Sport. 5 February 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Three new contracts confirmed". Wigan Athletic F.C. 23 August 2011. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  18. ^ "McCarthy hails 'genius' of Martinez". RTÉ Sport. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  19. ^ "Blues Confirm Five Deals". Everton. 2 September 2013. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  20. ^ "James McArthur: Scottish sides can follow Hamilton's youth policy". The Daily Telegraph. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  21. ^ a b Barrett, Tony (11 January 2014). "James McCarthy's values are appreciated by Everton". The Times. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  22. ^ Hunter, Andy (15 August 2014). "Champions League remains the target for Everton and Roberto Martínez". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  23. ^ "Hull City 0–2 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  24. ^ "Everton 3–0 Newcastle: James McCarthy, Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley score". BSkyB. 15 March 2015.
  25. ^ "James McCarthy on target as Everton punish Man United". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 26 April 2015.
  26. ^ "Romelu Lukaku hits four as Everton see off brave Bournemouth fightback". The Guardian. 4 February 2017.
  27. ^ "Everton fear latest James McCarthy injury could see him miss six weeks". Liverpool Echo (blog). 31 March 2017.
  28. ^ "The Ireland and Everton relationship is going to get worse". Royal Blue Mersey (blog). 26 March 2017.
  29. ^ Emotional: Salomon Rondon breaks down in tears as he recalls Everton midfielder James McCarthy's horror leg break, TalkSport, 21 November 2018
  30. ^ Everton thrash woeful Man Utd, Sky Sports, 21 April 2019
  31. ^ "James McCarthy joins Crystal Palace". Crystal Palace. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  32. ^ Magowan, Alistair (18 August 2019). "Sheffield United 1–0 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  33. ^ Crystal Palace midfielder McArthur welcomes McCarthy Accies reunion, Tribal Football, 21 October 2020
  34. ^ "Double signing delight as Joe Hart and James McCarthy join Celtic". Celtic F.C. 3 August 2021.
  35. ^ a b Spiers, Graham (28 February 2009). "James McCarthy ignores fans' abuse". The Times. London. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  36. ^ Finn, Stephen (23 January 2007). "Scots green with envy as McCarthy prepares to don Irish jersey". Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2011. McCarthy is eligible for Ireland through his Rosses-born grandfather Paddy Coyle.
  37. ^ McDonnell, Daniel (8 October 2008). "McCarthy pledges allegiance to Irish cause despite advances from Scotland". Irish Independent.
  38. ^ "Wigan midfielder McCarthy says no to Scotland". STV. 5 February 2010. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  39. ^ Guidi, Mark (20 March 2011). "My international future lies with Ireland and not Scotland, says James McCarthy". Daily Record. Scotland. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  40. ^ "Hamilton Republic of Ireland's U17 team impress in victory over Italy in Dublin". FAI. 23 January 2007.
  41. ^ "Sean McCaffrey pays tribute to Ireland's U17 squad in Germany". FAI. 23 March 2007.
  42. ^ "Germany prove too powerful for Ireland U18s". FAI. 13 November 2007.
  43. ^ "James McCarthy scores twice as Ireland U18s defeat Germany". FAI. 15 November 2007.
  44. ^ "Ireland U19 lose first match of double-header to Portugal". FAI. 4 September 2007.
  45. ^ "Ireland International Call Ups for Accies". Hamilton Accies FC. 19 March 2008.[permanent dead link]
  46. ^ "Portsmouth's Marc Wilson in Republic of Ireland call-up". BBC Sport. 22 February 2010.
  47. ^ Robinho has Ireland Chasing his Shadow The Independent, 3 March 2010
  48. ^ Murray, Ewan (24 May 2011). "James McCarthy awol as Northern Ireland are thrashed by Republic". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  49. ^ "Martinez: McCarthy must not rush international decision". Irish Independent. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  50. ^ Fanning, Dion (20 March 2011). "Glut of non-runners makes it difficult to avoid a gamble". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  51. ^ "Republic of Ireland 2 - 1 Macedonia: James McCarthy commits as Aiden McGeady finds net". The Scotsman. 25 March 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  52. ^ "Martinez confirms McCarthy injury". The Irish Times. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  53. ^ "McClean in Euros squad; McCarthy withdraws due to family illness". Irish Examiner. Thomas Crosbie Holdings. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  54. ^ "James McCarthy". FIFA. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012.
  55. ^ "Faroes v Ireland: That one's for Trap, says James McCarthy". The Score. 16 October 2012. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013.
  56. ^ "As It Happened: Sweden v Ireland". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 22 March 2013.
  57. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  58. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  59. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  60. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  61. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  62. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  63. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  64. ^ a b "Games played by James McCarthy in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  65. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  66. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  67. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  68. ^ a b "Games played by James McCarthy in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  69. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  70. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  71. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  72. ^ "Games played by James McCarthy in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  73. ^ "McCarthy, James". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  74. ^ McGilvray, Andy (25 April 2008). "Reid: Young guns can fire us to glory". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  75. ^ McNulty, Phil (11 May 2013). "Man City 0–1 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  76. ^ "Dundee United 1–1 Celtic: Ange Postecoglou's side reclaim league title". BBC Sport. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  77. ^ "Hibernian 1–2 Celtic". BBC Sport.
  78. ^ "Rampant Accies triple award joy". BBC Sport. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  79. ^ "Accies win top honours at First Division awards ceremony". Daily Record. 30 May 2008. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  80. ^ "McCarthy nets young player award". BBC Sport. 6 January 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  81. ^ "Clean sweep in awards for Accies". BBC Sport. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  82. ^ "Brown wins Player of Year award". BBC Sport. 4 May 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  83. ^ "Stars honoured at 23rd International Awards". Football Association of Ireland. 4 February 2013. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  84. ^ "Keane named International Player of the Year". RTE Sport. 2 March 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
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