Alex McCarthy

[Optimist]

Agreed, this is all suggesting that Feds is off in the summer. Will be a great battle between McCarthy and Andersen for the No.1 spot next season.

[Svlad Cjelli]

Agreed, this is all suggesting that Feds is off in the summer. Will be a great battle between McCarthy and Andersen for the No.1 spot next season.

Will it? What will be great about it? Surely that can only result in one of them losing patience and wanting to go.

(I pray to God it's the right one who does!)

[Snowball]

Not weird, even if McArthy cannot play for us this season.

We have a very good Championship keeper still improving
(he is starting to control his box more, more variety in clearances)

We have a hugely promising back up keeper in Andersen and good reserves
and if sh!t happens there's always an emergency loan.


Meanwhile our top three get a fillip.

McArthy helps Ipswich to take points off all our rivals.

Excellent all round.

[Optimist]

Agreed, this is all suggesting that Feds is off in the summer. Will be a great battle between McCarthy and Andersen for the No.1 spot next season.

Will it? What will be great about it? Surely that can only result in one of them losing patience and wanting to go.

(I pray to God it's the right one who does!)

Yes it will. Because they are both good enough to start week in week out in the Championship, and obviously they'll both want to start, so it will be interesting to see who BMc gives the nod to. If Andersen is second choice next year I doubt he'll go off in a strop, he's turned down AC Milan's bench to sit on our bench and signed on for three more years with no guarentee he'll play a league game in that time. As for McCarthy, I agree he's more likely to lose patience, but he hasn't yet...

[Z175]

Surely the key is not whether we can keep all three happy and at the club, but whether we should.

To me Federici has to be number 1. He went from a promising young keeper to an experienced one last season, but endured some costly errors.
But he has been phenomenal this year and really established himself as a stellar championship player.

I know some fans have issues with an interview with Sky Sports over the summer and perceive some of his atleticism as showing off. Yet that interview could be interpreted at face value, not necessarily cynically. He wanted to play at the highest level, which is natural when you are a young player and first choice in a team that lost the playoff final surely.

And his flamboyancy when saving has never cost us anything - its more the rolling the ball out or punching thats not his strength. As a shot stopper hes immense, so as earnt the right to save however he likes. As he always jumps and flies for anything, however innocuous, it makes him much more likely, imho, to save a belter.

So given our number 1 is so good, why are we persisting in having the best 2nd and 3rd choice keepers in the league. This won't get us promoted. If we were brave we would sell Kebe to a rival, sell two keepers and use the money to sign Maynard or Rhodes, which with the remaining keeper and HRK or Antonio on the right, would give us a better chance of going up.

Frankly I feel we'll look to sell one, but right now we would only sell potential. If McCarthy can become thought of as the next Foster or Carson while on loan, his value will increase. Hammond will be polishing his phone.

Of course its sad if arguably our two best academy players ever, Sigurdsson and AM, never play very much for Reading, but our reality should be the here and now.

[Lydia Dustbin]

I like Alex McCarthy and I really, really hope that he doesn't leave. I like Adam Federici too.

[Svlad Cjelli]

I like Alex McCarthy and I really, really hope that he doesn't leave. I like Adam Federici too.

But which is better? There's only one way to find out ......

[Bacon Double Cheese]

Paper, Scissors, Stone on the pitch at half time

[DOYLERSAROYALER]

Leeds fan's view of McCarthy....


"An awesome prospect of a goalie. Was fantastic at Leeds, can't thank him enough. Alex should thank our leaky defence for aiding his development. He's going to get loads of practice at Ipswich too! I can see the Tractor Boys limping to safety with the addition of McCarthy."

[Ian Royal]

Agreed, this is all suggesting that Feds is off in the summer. Will be a great battle between McCarthy and Andersen for the No.1 spot next season.

Will it? What will be great about it? Surely that can only result in one of them losing patience and wanting to go.

(I pray to God it's the right one who does!)

Not sure about that. It means they both step up a place in the pecking order. Presumably if it's McCarthy we can upgrade a younger player for valuable bench experience and give Andersen more loan time elsewhere, hopeflly at a decent level. At which point he's not harming his career and knows there's a decent chance McCarthy is off to better things soon anyway, so he can be a bit more patient.

I'm not so sure this means Federici's off in the summer. I'd like it to mean that, because we have two promising young keeper's we've developed through our academy waiting in the wings. And whilst I like Fed and he's a good keeper, he's never really won the fans over to the extent that I think McCarthy could, if he can be no. 1 and perform.

It makes sense to promote and cash in on Feds, especially given the clubs recent model. We won't have to spend August looking for a new keeper and start the season slowly if it's him that funds the deficit. Not that I think we're likely to get more than £2m for him at most.

[Ian Royal]

Surely the key is not whether we can keep all three happy and at the club, but whether we should.

To me Federici has to be number 1. He went from a promising young keeper to an experienced one last season, but endured some costly errors.
But he has been phenomenal this year and really established himself as a stellar championship player.

I know some fans have issues with an interview with Sky Sports over the summer and perceive some of his atleticism as showing off. Yet that interview could be interpreted at face value, not necessarily cynically. He wanted to play at the highest level, which is natural when you are a young player and first choice in a team that lost the playoff final surely.

And his flamboyancy when saving has never cost us anything - its more the rolling the ball out or punching thats not his strength. As a shot stopper hes immense, so as earnt the right to save however he likes. As he always jumps and flies for anything, however innocuous, it makes him much more likely, imho, to save a belter.

So given our number 1 is so good, why are we persisting in having the best 2nd and 3rd choice keepers in the league. This won't get us promoted. If we were brave we would sell Kebe to a rival, sell two keepers and use the money to sign Maynard or Rhodes, which with the remaining keeper and HRK or Antonio on the right, would give us a better chance of going up.

Frankly I feel we'll look to sell one, but right now we would only sell potential. If McCarthy can become thought of as the next Foster or Carson while on loan, his value will increase. Hammond will be polishing his phone.

Of course its sad if arguably our two best academy players ever, Sigurdsson and AM, never play very much for Reading, but our reality should be the here and now.

Think you miss the point of the criticism of Federici's "camera" saves. IMO it's a product of dodgy positioning, and it's that positioning which causes him to let in goals he ought to save. Yes he certainly does pull off more than his fair share where he isn't even close to favourite to stop it, but how does that rate in comparison to the ones he should save? Hard to say.

He's still improving and he's a good keeper. But give me an exciting young home produced England prospect over a good Championship keeper any day.

Of course the good news is that whatever happens, we know we've got talent between the posts for at least another couple of seasons no matter who stays or goes.

[Jon_rfc]

Ipswich fans are not happy.....

http://www.twtd.co.uk/news.php?storyid= ... _loan#comm
http://www.twtd.co.uk/news.php?storyid=19910&p=2#comm

Think they will be pleasantly surprised!

[sandman]

Some pretty spot on comments tbf.

[facaldaqui]

Ipswich fans are not happy.....

http://www.twtd.co.uk/news.php?storyid= ... _loan#comm
http://www.twtd.co.uk/news.php?storyid=19910&p=2#comm

Think they will be pleasantly surprised!

I notice they're moaning about needing a right back. Well, they've got Jaime Peters loaned out to Bournemouth. Makes you wonder if Jewell knows players. He signed two players McDermott didn't want--and McDermott's proved the shrewder there.

[robb the royal]

i love how this topic crops up every time we put a new keeper in goal:

2002: Whitehead is sh*t....Hahnemann is brilliant
2003: Marcus is sh*t...Ashdown is a premiership keeper
2007: Marcus is still sh*t....its a travesty Federici only gets to play in the cup and should be no 1 keeper for Oz
2011/2012: Federici is sh*t....McCarthy should be Englands number 1 keeper.
(and i would guess Whitehead was better than Howie, because Howie was sh*t )

By this basis (bearing in mind Hahnemann was a premiership/International keeper) by the time Jon Henly gets to 21...he will be the best keeper the world has ever seen, even better than the likes of Banks/Schmeichel/Yashin!!! Can we just save time and put him in now?
Having said all of that...Hahnemann WAS better than Whitehead

[Svlad Cjelli]

i love how this topic crops up every time we put a new keeper in goal:

2002: Whitehead is sh*t....Hahnemann is brilliant
2003: Marcus is sh*t...Ashdown is a premiership keeper
2007: Marcus is still sh*t....its a travesty Federici only gets to play in the cup and should be no 1 keeper for Oz
2011/2012: Federici is sh*t....McCarthy should be Englands number 1 keeper.
(and i would guess Whitehead was better than Howie, because Howie was sh*t )

By this basis (bearing in mind Hahnemann was a premiership/International keeper) by the time Jon Henly gets to 21...he will be the best keeper the world has ever seen, even better than the likes of Banks/Schmeichel/Yashin!!! Can we just save time and put him in now?
Having said all of that...Hahnemann WAS better than Whitehead

Massive, massive over exageration.

I don't think anyone has ever said Federici is sh*t.

People have said, though, that they think McCarthy has the potential to be a better 'keeper than Federici ever could be.

[Bandini]

Whitehead was shit. Hahnemann was brilliant, and Ashdown was a Premiership keeper.

Sometimes the fans are right.

[Ian Royal]

I've noticed a few people say Fed is shit, I may have exaggerated that way myself once or twice as well for emphasis when frustrated.

And I think there is an element to what he's saying. I can certainly remember Whitehead's distribution being criticised and Hahnemann's praised. Then Hahnemann's distribution criticised and Federici's praised. Now Federici's has been criticised, although I'm not so sure McCarthy's has got great praise.

[FiNeRaIn]

Whitehead was shit.

You couldn't of been following Reading back then, he was the best keeper we had had in ages. His performance at swindon one tuesday night was match winning. Made 1/2 mistakes like oxford but generally by most smart reading fans is considered one of the best players we had while at his peak.

[robb the royal]

Massive, massive over exageration.

I don't think anyone has ever said Federici is sh*t.

People have said, though, that they think McCarthy has the potential to be a better 'keeper than Federici ever could be.

No, no body has gone that far yet...but he was the best keeper since Shaka a couple of years ago, now he is an "semi-decent keeper".

Whitehead was shit. Hahnemann was brilliant, and Ashdown was a Premiership keeper.

Sometimes the fans are right.

Whitehead wasn't that bad for that level (we got promoted with him)
The fans also said Hahnemann was rubbish
Ashdown wasn't a premiership keeper or portsmouth wouldn't have spent so much money on buying 1st chioce keepers whenever Ashdown became 1st choice (due to other keepers injuries/poor form)...he was also only re-signed for them when David James left
Sometimes the fans aren't right