George McCartney
Encyclopedia
George McCartney is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for West Ham United
on loan from Sunderland. He began his youth career at Sunderland, moving to West Ham before returning to Sunderland at the start of Roy Keane's
time at charge. He then fell out of favour in the first team under Steve Bruce
, when he suffered a knee
injury, and Kieran Richardson
took his place. From 2001 until 2011 he also played international football for Northern Ireland
.
as a trainee in 1998 and made his debut against Luton
in the Worthington Cup
in 2000. He was made team captain in 2003/04 after Jason McAteer
suffered a long-term injury and in 2004/05 was voted Player of the Season by Sunderland
fans during the successful Championship winning campaign.
During the season his excellent performances earned him the title "Mr. Consistent" from manager Mick McCarthy
. McCartney missed a large percentage of Sunderland's ill-fated 2005–06 season due to injury. He showed glimpses of his potential once he had regained his fitness, but his return came far too late in the season for him to have any meaningful impact on the team's dreadful run of results. He made 157 appearances for Sunderland in all competitions.
and an additional £500,000. He made his debut in the team's 2–1 defeat to Chesterfield
in the League Cup
on 24 October 2006. After initially spending most of his time as substitute, regular left back Paul Konchesky
joined Fulham and as a result McCartney eventually became a first team regular under Alan Curbishley
and his strong forward runs and crosses played a crucial role in West Ham's eventual escape from relegation.
He went on to make 25 appearances in all competitions for West Ham during the 2006/07 season. McCartney scored his first goal for The Hammers, a strong back post header, in a friendly against Roma
one week before the start of the 2007/08 season. He scored his first Premier League goal for West Ham in the 1–1 home draw with Bolton Wanderers
on 4 November 2007 with a magnificent volley. At the end of the 2007/2008 season McCartney received the runner up Hammer of the Year Award, having played in all 38 Premiership games. McCartney's sale back to his former club Sunderland led to West Ham manager Alan Curbishley resigning after he claimed the player was sold against his wishes.
, but after Steve Bruce
became manager McCartney picked up an ankle injury in March 2010 and lost his place in the team to Anton Ferdinand
whilst out injured. McCartney wasn't given a squad number for the 2010-11 season after suffering a knee injury in 2010-11 pre-season on a tour of Portugal. However he was included in Sunderland's 25 man Premier League squad. Kieran Richardson
changed his squad number and was given the number 3 shirt for the 2010-11 season where he became Sunderland's first choice left back and McCartney got given the number 23 jersey.
. On 25 September, he made his Leeds debut in a 1-0 victory in the Yorkshire derby against Sheffield United
. In his second game, Leeds suffered a 6-4 defeat to Preston North End, and McCartney gave away a penalty in the match which was scored by Callum Davidson
. On 4 October Leeds announced that McCartney's loan had been extended by a further two days so he could play in the game against Cardiff City
.
On 30 October 2010 McCartney signed a one-month extension to his loan deal and made an appearance against Scunthorpe United
on the same day. His loan was extended for a third month on 1 December. McCartney's loan expired on 30 December and he returned to Sunderland with Leeds attempting to extend the loan deal once the transfer window had re-opened in January 2011. On 14 January 2011, McCartney re-signed for Leeds on loan until the end of the 2010-11 season. After McCartney gave an interview where he stated that Leeds players were jaded hence the poor run of form late on in the season, he was criticized by Leeds chairman Ken Bates
who revealed his anger at McCartney and that he had been fined on several occasions for turning up late to training. At the end of his loan he returned to his parent club Sunderland.
and retired from international football.
However, after Nigel Worthington
took charge of the national team, McCartney stated his willingness to return and on 22 August 2007, he came out of international retirement and returned to international football in the 3–1 win against Liechtenstein
. Following regular run of games for Leeds, in November 2010 McCartney was recalled to the Northern Ireland Squad. In February 2011 McCartney was called into the Northern Ireland squad to face Scotland
, but on 8 February 2011 he once again announced his retirement from international football.
: Player Of The Year
Team of the Year
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
on loan from Sunderland. He began his youth career at Sunderland, moving to West Ham before returning to Sunderland at the start of Roy Keane's
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....
time at charge. He then fell out of favour in the first team under Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...
, when he suffered a knee
Knee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
injury, and Kieran Richardson
Kieran Richardson
Kieran Edward Richardson is an English footballer currently playing for Sunderland. He is naturally a left winger, but has proven to a extremely versatile; having also played as a left back, right winger, central midfielder and recently as a support striker...
took his place. From 2001 until 2011 he also played international football for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
.
Sunderland
McCartney joined SunderlandSunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
as a trainee in 1998 and made his debut against Luton
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
in the Worthington Cup
Worthington cup
Worthington Cup may refer to:* The Football League Cup, an English professional football trophy, known by this name when sponsored by the Worthington brand of beer between 1998 and 2003.* The Worthington Trophy, a Canadian military award....
in 2000. He was made team captain in 2003/04 after Jason McAteer
Jason McAteer
Jason Wynne McAteer is a retired Irish footballer, who represented the Republic of Ireland at international level. He announced his retirement from professional football on 12 June 2007,...
suffered a long-term injury and in 2004/05 was voted Player of the Season by Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
fans during the successful Championship winning campaign.
During the season his excellent performances earned him the title "Mr. Consistent" from manager Mick McCarthy
Mick McCarthy
Michael Joseph "Mick" McCarthy is an English-born former Irish international footballer who is currently the manager of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he has been in charge since July 2006....
. McCartney missed a large percentage of Sunderland's ill-fated 2005–06 season due to injury. He showed glimpses of his potential once he had regained his fitness, but his return came far too late in the season for him to have any meaningful impact on the team's dreadful run of results. He made 157 appearances for Sunderland in all competitions.
West Ham United
On 8 August 2006, McCartney moved to West Ham in a four year deal, in exchange for Clive ClarkeClive Clarke
Clive Richard Luke Clarke is a former Irish footballer after leaving Sunderland for health reasons. He played primarily as a left back, but also as centre back, left midfielder or centre midfielder.-Stoke City:...
and an additional £500,000. He made his debut in the team's 2–1 defeat to Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...
in the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
on 24 October 2006. After initially spending most of his time as substitute, regular left back Paul Konchesky
Paul Konchesky
Paul Martyn Konchesky is an English footballer who plays as a left back. Currently signed to Leicester City, he has previously played for Charlton, Tottenham, West Ham, Fulham, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, joining his present club in July 2011...
joined Fulham and as a result McCartney eventually became a first team regular under Alan Curbishley
Alan Curbishley
Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is an English football manager and former professional player....
and his strong forward runs and crosses played a crucial role in West Ham's eventual escape from relegation.
He went on to make 25 appearances in all competitions for West Ham during the 2006/07 season. McCartney scored his first goal for The Hammers, a strong back post header, in a friendly against Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...
one week before the start of the 2007/08 season. He scored his first Premier League goal for West Ham in the 1–1 home draw with Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
on 4 November 2007 with a magnificent volley. At the end of the 2007/2008 season McCartney received the runner up Hammer of the Year Award, having played in all 38 Premiership games. McCartney's sale back to his former club Sunderland led to West Ham manager Alan Curbishley resigning after he claimed the player was sold against his wishes.
Return to Sunderland
McCartney rejoined former club Sunderland on 1 September 2008, signing a five-year contract for a fee reported to be between £6.5 and 7 million, although it was officially declared as undisclosed. He was a regular under manager Roy KeaneRoy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....
, but after Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...
became manager McCartney picked up an ankle injury in March 2010 and lost his place in the team to Anton Ferdinand
Anton Ferdinand
Anton Julian Ferdinand is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers as a defender. He is the brother of Manchester United and England centre-back Rio Ferdinand and the cousin of former England striker Les Ferdinand and Southend United defender Kane Ferdinand. Like his brother, Anton...
whilst out injured. McCartney wasn't given a squad number for the 2010-11 season after suffering a knee injury in 2010-11 pre-season on a tour of Portugal. However he was included in Sunderland's 25 man Premier League squad. Kieran Richardson
Kieran Richardson
Kieran Edward Richardson is an English footballer currently playing for Sunderland. He is naturally a left winger, but has proven to a extremely versatile; having also played as a left back, right winger, central midfielder and recently as a support striker...
changed his squad number and was given the number 3 shirt for the 2010-11 season where he became Sunderland's first choice left back and McCartney got given the number 23 jersey.
Leeds United loan
In order to help him regain match fitness after suffering a knee injury in pre-season and losing his first-team place at Sunderland, he joined Leeds United on 23 September 2010, initially on a one month loan, a move which saw him link up with Northern Ireland assistant manager Glynn SnodinGlynn Snodin
Glynn Snodin is a former professional footballer who was recently an assistant manager at Leeds United...
. On 25 September, he made his Leeds debut in a 1-0 victory in the Yorkshire derby against Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
. In his second game, Leeds suffered a 6-4 defeat to Preston North End, and McCartney gave away a penalty in the match which was scored by Callum Davidson
Callum Davidson
Callum Ian Davidson is a Scottish footballer who currently plays as a left back for St. Johnstone of the Scottish Premier League. He signed for the Perthshire SPL club on 26 May 2011.-Club career:...
. On 4 October Leeds announced that McCartney's loan had been extended by a further two days so he could play in the game against Cardiff City
Cardiff city
Cardiff City may refer to:* Cardiff city centre* Cardiff City Council* Cardiff City F.C.* Cardiff City L.F.C.* Cardiff City Stadium...
.
On 30 October 2010 McCartney signed a one-month extension to his loan deal and made an appearance against Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....
on the same day. His loan was extended for a third month on 1 December. McCartney's loan expired on 30 December and he returned to Sunderland with Leeds attempting to extend the loan deal once the transfer window had re-opened in January 2011. On 14 January 2011, McCartney re-signed for Leeds on loan until the end of the 2010-11 season. After McCartney gave an interview where he stated that Leeds players were jaded hence the poor run of form late on in the season, he was criticized by Leeds chairman Ken Bates
Ken Bates
Kenneth William Bates is a British businessman and football executive. The current chairman and now owner of Leeds United AFC, Bates was previously chairman and majority shareholder of Chelsea FC from 1982 until 2003....
who revealed his anger at McCartney and that he had been fined on several occasions for turning up late to training. At the end of his loan he returned to his parent club Sunderland.
Loan return to West Ham United
On 10 August 2011 McCartney returned for another spell at West Ham United for a season-long loan.International career
McCartney has four caps for the Northern Ireland U-21 team and has made 23 appearances, including two as substitute, for the senior team as at January 2011. He made his debut for the senior team in September 2001 in their World Cup qualifying win against Iceland, scoring his only goal in his professional career until that for West Ham in 2007. In 2005, he fell out with the then manager of the Northern Ireland senior team, Lawrie SanchezLawrie Sanchez
Lawrence Philip "Lawrie" Sanchez is a former Northern Irish football manager, and a former player. He is currently the manager of League Two side Barnet...
and retired from international football.
However, after Nigel Worthington
Nigel Worthington
Nigel Worthington is a former Northern Ireland international footballer and manager.He was manager of the Northern Ireland national team from 2007 until after their final Euro 2012 qualifying campaign match against Italy in October 2011.As a player, he was a left full back and occasional left...
took charge of the national team, McCartney stated his willingness to return and on 22 August 2007, he came out of international retirement and returned to international football in the 3–1 win against Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein national football team
The Liechtenstein national football team is the national football team of Liechtenstein and is controlled by the Liechtenstein Football Association. The organisation is known as the Liechtensteiner Fussballverband in German. The team's first match was an unofficial match against Malta in Seoul, a...
. Following regular run of games for Leeds, in November 2010 McCartney was recalled to the Northern Ireland Squad. In February 2011 McCartney was called into the Northern Ireland squad to face Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
, but on 8 February 2011 he once again announced his retirement from international football.
International goals
Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 September 2001 | Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... , Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west... |
3-0 | 3-0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 199 teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. and , as the co-hosts, and , as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 29 spots open for competition.... |
Club Awards
- West HamWest Ham United F.C.West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
Player of the Year Award – 2007–082007-08 in English footballThe 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...
: Player of the Year runner up
2004-05 in English football
The 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...
: Player Of The Year
2004–05 Football League Championship
The Football League 2004–05 , was the thirteenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2004 and concluded in May 2005, with the promotion play-off finals. This was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League...
Team of the Year
External links
- George McCartney profile at the Sunderland website