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Southampton: Is Alex McCarthy the Saints’ unsung hero?

By Edward Waugh

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - MARCH 03: Maxim Choupo-Moting of Stoke City goes down as he is tackled by Jack Stephens and Alex McCarthy of Southampton during the Premier League match between Southampton and Stoke City at St Mary's Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - MARCH 03: Maxim Choupo-Moting of Stoke City goes down as he is tackled by Jack Stephens and Alex McCarthy of Southampton during the Premier League match between Southampton and Stoke City at St Mary's Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images) /
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Following Fraser Forster’s lucrative contract extension in the summer, it has been a long, and well-fought battle to make first-team selection for Alex McCarthy.

Coming into this season, it was clear from the off that McCarthy would be second-choice to Forster without any real hesitation, as this had been the case for the previous season.

The 28-year-old joined Southampton in the summer of 2016 from Crystal Palace, having been unrelatively used in a one-year stunt with the London club. Underwhelming it sounds, it should be pointed out he made a good name for himself with a string of excellent performances for Reading in their most recent Premier League campaign.

Despite this, and with Forster’s somewhat poor performances last season, Saints kicked off the campaign with McCarthy on the sidelines, opting to give Fraser another shot of redemption. Though this did not happen, the former Celtic keeper ended up making mistakes that would cost Southampton vital points, his form somewhat correlating with that of the club’s.

With that, a 5-2 drumming at the hands of Spurs on Boxing Day seemed to be the final straw. The appointment of former-Saints goalie Kelvin Davis as assistant coach also seemed to sway the decision in starting McCarthy in next game away at Manchester United.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 02: Southampton’s goal keeper Alex McCarthy and Palace’s James McArthur get ready for the corner during during the Premier League match between Southampton and Crystal Palace at St Mary’s Stadium on January 2, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 02: Southampton’s goal keeper Alex McCarthy and Palace’s James McArthur get ready for the corner during during the Premier League match between Southampton and Crystal Palace at St Mary’s Stadium on January 2, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images) /

Since then, Southampton have kept foir clean sheets in 12 with McCarthy in goal, though not great until compared with Forster’s record of three in 18.

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Though Southampton’s form has not also improved, it is safe to say that McCarthy has not committed any real mistakes, and therefore prevented unessacary loss of more points. With an young-partnership of Jack Stephens and Wesley Hoedt in front of him, this comes across as evermore impressive.

The former-Reading ‘keeper also has arguably kept Southampton in games at times, having pulled off some incredible saves. Recent examples include against Stoke this weekend gone by, which most likely salvaged a point, and the deflected strike at the Hawthorns to keep the score at 2-1 and help see West Brom out of the FA cup.

These are just a few of the many times McCarthy has been important for Saints and out-of-favour manager Mauricio Pellegrino, the fact that their second-choice keeper has stepped up to the plate has prevented more pressure from the fan base. Pushing Forster out of the team, and raising the standard, you would hate to think where Southampton would be sitting in the league without that.

Going forward, it is extremely important that McCarthy keeps focused, especially on helping to keep clean sheets, as this has been the squads biggest problem this season – par scoring. Though there is only so much he can do about this, it being the squad’s problem too.

Doing this, and keeping Saints in the game, could potentially go a long way in helping avoid the danger of relegation, it’s that make or break right now.