McCarthy: Alex Simon (Alex)

2011-2011 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Goalkeeper

Born: Guildford, Surrey: 03-12-1989

Debut: Leicester City (a): 06-11-2011

6’4” 12st 7lb (2006)

McCarthy is a product of the Reading Academy, and progressed through the youth ranks featuring for their Under-eighteen, who finished runners-up in their league in 2007-08, and reserve sides, and he was on standby for the England Under-Nineteen squad in March 2008. He was loaned out to Woking early in the 2007-08 season when he played for them in one Blue Square Premier game on 27th August 2007 in a 1-2 loss at Salisbury City. On 27th March he was loaned out to Cambridge United for work experience for a month and while there he played one Blue Square Premier game on 29th March 2008 when they were beaten 0-3 at home by Kidderminster Harriers. On 2nd February 2009 he was loaned to Aldershot Town for a month. He made his debut for them on 14th February 2009 in a League Two 2-3 away defeat at Exeter City and then played twice more in a 4-4 draw at Gillingham on 17th February 2009 and a 0-2 home defeat by Morecambe on 21st February 2009. He then featured as a substitute before the start of the second half in a 0-2 away defeat at Bournemouth on 3rd March 2009 before being called back to Reading as cover for Adam Federici after an injury to Marcus Hahnemann. The 2009-10 season saw him loaned to Yeovil Town from the start of the season, initially to the end of the calendar year, but this was later extended for the full season. While at Huish Park he played one League Cup tie and forty-four League games, keeping twelve clean sheets and missing two games, one after being sent off in a 2-2 home draw with Stockport County on 12th September 2009, after being involved in an altercation with Norman Bignall, who was also on loan from Reading but playing for Stockport County. He had won several Man of the Match awards and enhanced his reputation. He was loaned to Brentford at the start of the 2010-11 season until the end of the month of August, he made three appearances with the Griffin Park club, on 14th August 2010 in the 1-2 home defeat by Walsall, on 21st August 2010 in a 1-1 draw at Swindon Town and on 28th August 2010 in a 1-3 home defeat by Rochdale. He finally made his debut for Reading on 19th February 2011, when he came on as an eighty-fourth minute substitute for the injured Adam Federici in the home 1-1 draw with Watford. Unfortunately for Reading Federici's injury was a serious one, knee ligament damage, and he was sidelined for almost the rest of the season. This meant that McCarthy was able to make another twelve League appearances and two F.A. Cup ties. Reading won the first of the F.A. Cup ties 1-0 at Goodison Park against Everton before going down by the same score to Manchester City at Eastlands. He made his full debut on 22nd February 2011 in a 2-1 home win over Millwall and saved a penalty in his next game in a 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace. He also ruined any chances that Leeds United had of promotion with an outstanding Good Friday display to keep the score at 0-0. The return of Federici for the 2011-12 season saw McCarthy once more out of the limelight until Leeds had a goalkeeper problem. Leeds first choice keeper, Andy Lonergan, had broken a finger and was out for at least six weeks and deputy Paul Rachubka had been at fault for several goals conceded by Leeds. This had culminated in an horror night and a 0-5 defeat at home by Blackpool, when it became patently obvious that Rachubka was having a major confidence problem and had to be replaced. The only alternative was Alex Cairns, the Junior goalkeeper, who had come on as a second half substitute for Rabchubka in the Blackpool debacle. On 4th November 2011 McCarthy joined Leeds on a one month loan and made his debut on 6th November 2011 at Leicester City as Leeds won 1-0, this was followed by Leeds' next match against Burnley at Turf Moor on 19th November 2011 where he gave a fine display as Leeds won 2-1. This was followed by a poor performance in a 1-2 home defeat by Barnsley on 26th November 2011. There were consecutive clean sheets as Leeds won 4-0 at Nottingham Forest three days later and 2-0 at home to Millwall on 3rd December 2012. This was followed by a 1-1 draw with Watford at Vicarage Road on 10th December 2011, as the point was the result of another fine display by the keeper, highlighted by a penalty save from Marvin Sordell. Andy Lonergan had returned but could not oust the young Reading loanee and had sat on the bench at Watford. On 12th December 2011 the loan agreement was extended for a further month, as Leeds had gained thirteen out of eighteen points since he had taken over in goal. But United's next game was against McCarthy's parent club Reading, who understandably did not want him jeopardising their promotion push. So Lonergan made his return and Maik Taylor was his deputy. After that Lonergan was given precedence over McCarthy for the final three games of his loan period against Derby County, Burnley and Barnsley as McCarthy was unused on the bench. After McCarthy's two-month loan spell ended at Leeds he returned to Reading on 3rd January. On 8th January 2012, McCarthy went on loan to Ipswich Town until the end of the season. He made his debut for them in a 1-2 defeat to Birmingham City at St Andrew's on 11th January 2012 and three days later he played in a 2-2 draw at Portman Road against Blackpool. His third game was a return to Elland Road to face his former team on 21st January 2012. It was not a happy return for the young keeper. In the seventy-first minute Alex McCarthy inexplicably deliberately handled the ball at least three yards out of his area, after fielding an headed back-pass from Ibrahima Sonko, and was immediately red-carded. He went on to make a total of ten League starts for Ipswich before returning to Reading at the end of the season. McCarthy has been included in the England Under-Nineteen and Under-Twenty-one squads and represented the England Under-Twenty-One team on three occasions. On 10th August 2010 he was a seventy-seventh minute substitute for Frank Fielding against Uzbekistan at Ashton Gate, Bristol. He played a full game in England's 4-0 win over Denmark in Viborg on 24th March 2011 and four days later he played the first half of the game against Iceland at Deepdale, Preston before being replaced by Scott Loach. McCarthy was named in the eighty man list of potential players for the Olympics' Team GB Men's Football team. It was announced on 12th June 2012 that McCarthy had made it into the provisional thirty-five players for the tournament. By the end of the 2012-13 season he had started twenty-five League games and had one game from the bench in the League for Reading, together with two starts in each of the F.A. Cup and League Cup competitions. He had made himself the regular Reading keeper and played the first five League games of the 2013-14 season