New Eagles signing Alex McCarthy has had a very long road to where he is now. One filled with many loan spells and an injury that required him to have surgery and potentially miss a whole season. Through all of this, McCathy has perciverd and has played some top notch goalkeeping, even though his future was never certain.
McCarthy is a product of Reading’s youth system, being part of the Academy in 2006-2007. He was the first choice keeper for the team, and was given a contract from the first team after his stellar play. Reading however made many loan moves for the young keeper, and shipped him out to three Conference clubs, before joining League Two club Aldershot Town in 2009. He only made four appearances for The Shots.
The next season, McCarthy finally got his big break, and was loaned to Yeovil Town. Making 44 apparences for The Glovers, it seemed McCarthy was finally given the chances he deserved and helped the team to a mid-table finish. McCarthy was even able to keep 12 clean sheets for The Glovers.
After his success at Yeovil, McCarthy got the call up to England’s U-21 squad. Reading still did not want to give him a shot with the first club, and loaned him out to another League One club, Brentford. Coming off his best season, McCarthy only played three times for Brentford in the first half of the 2010-11 campaign.
In the second half of the 2010-11 season, McCarthy was given the chance to replace Reading starter Adam Federici after the starter came off with an injury. McCarthy was now the go-to keeper while Federici was out. McCarthy and his Reading teammates went on a 12 game unbeaten streak in the Championship and earned his side a play-off berth. McCarthy was named the Championship’s Young Player of the Month in March, after his stellar play that gave his side nine wins and three draws.
Still, after a good run in 2010-11, The Royals decided to loan McCarthy to Leeds United. He made six apparences for Leeds in the first half of the season, and then loaned to Ipswich Town in January. Reading won promotion that season, and were now looking to add their exciting prospect to their Premier League squad.
McCarthy started the new campaign on the bench, but was then given the starting role four games into the season. His run as the new starter ended abruptly however. On 6 October 2012, McCarthy went to make a diving save against Swansea City, which resulted in him colliding with the post and eventually needing surgery to repair his shoulder. His season was thought to be over. After being shipped off to numerous clubs for development, McCarthy finally had his big break squashed by a devastating injury.
Even though he was said to miss the remainder of the season, McCarthy fought hard and was able to make the start against Liverpool on 13 April 2013. His first game back was not easy at all. The Englishmen had to make 10 saves in the contest, and was able to stop former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez up close in the box. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers even said that McCarthy’s performance that game was the, “best he’s ever seen.”
Reading was sadly relegated that season, only being able to win six matches. The next season in the Championship was McCarthy’s big break in his Reading career. After only making 26 appearances prior to the 2013-14 season, the 6’4 keeper appeared in 44 matches for The Royals. The, then 24 year-old, was able to help guide his side to a seventh place finish, only missing the last play-off spot by one point.
After a very impressive first full season with Reading. Newly promoted side Queens Park Rangers came knocking on McCarthy’s door and purchased the keeper for an undisclosed fee near the end of the 2014 summer transfer window.
McCarthy was now back in the EPL, and wanted to make sure this time would be different than the last. However, he only made four appearances for The R’s and his side were relegated to the Championship.
McCathy’s career has had its up’s and down’s, but now he joins a Crystal Palace side coming off a very successful season and looking to make sure they can stay up for many seasons to come. He may be seen as a number two, (or number three depending whether The Eagles sell Wayne Hennessey), but McCarthy is a very good buy for Palace, especially for the £3.5 million fee they paid to acquire him.
The tall Englishmen brings a lot to the table for his new side, and has been able to live up to the expectations set on him. Even though he doesn’t have a lot of match experiences, McCarthy may be the one to replace starter Julian Speroni and make sure this Palace squad lives up to expectations.
