Alex McCarthy joins on deal to 2028

[Tuna]

The manager shouldn't be your mate...

[Leicester_Loyal]

On 09/10/2026 at 18:04, moore_94 said:

No wonder Russell signed him

 

How you finding it?

 

"Im loving it, obviously i'm back with Russ who I had at Southampton, but yeah we've had an okay start. We should have probably won more than we've won. But I think we're what, six or seven games in now and like you said we're only six points off top, there's so many games in the season and I think once we sort of get that run going I think we'll be turning teams over."

 

"I can't speak highly enough of the manager, I think he's proven it before in what he did at Southampton, it's just getting that run going now, and I don't have any doubt that he'll do well at Leicester"

 

What is he like as a manager?

 

"He's probably one of the best maangers i've worked for. He people that know him will agree with what I say. He's an unbelievable human being. So good with the lads, so good with the staff, he so good to work for. The sessions he puts on, everyone enjoys, theres such a great atmosphere around the place but unfortunately he's got this thing with the amount of abuse he gets. I obviously don't agree with it, it's social media that the world we live in now. I think its very harsh but obviously everyones going to have their own opinion on him but people who know him and have worked for him can't speak highly enough."

 

On 09/10/2026 at 18:38, Leicester_Loyal said:

6 points off the top after 6 or 7 games is a disgrace, yet he thinks it's totally fine by the sounds of it?

 

Shows the mentality of the club, the squad and the manager, once again.

10 points off the top now.

 

Once we get that run going I'm sure we'll make that up really fast...

[Corky]

Another issue with the supposed Man City-lite approach. Ederson was a very proactive keeper, often playing outside the box. This one barely comes out of the six-yard area.

[Tuna]

11 minutes ago, Corky said:

Another issue with the supposed Man City-lite approach. Ederson was a very proactive keeper, often playing outside the box. This one barely comes out of the six-yard area.

A Southampton fan came on here and said they changed approach when Bazunu got injured and McCarthy came into the side in 23/24, begs the question why he was signed when we had already appointed Martin, he didn't reject a cushy contract at Chelsea to be second choice.

[Angus Scott]

We'll never do any good with this bloke in goal. He cannot dive & is so slow getting down to the ball. One of several liabilities in our present squad

[davieG]

https://talksport.com/football/4642239/alex-mccarthy-heart-condition-doctors-covid/

 

Ex-England goalkeeper Alex McCarthy was told to retire after doctors discovered heart condition
Lee Davey
Published: 17:05, 13 Oct 2026Updated: 17:48, 13 Oct 2026

Former England goalkeeper Alex McCarthy says doctors advised him to retire from football due to a covid-related heart problem.
The 36-year-old, who currently plays for League One side Leicester City., considered calling time on his career towards the end of the pandemic.

McCarthy has revealed that he was told to retire by doctors after he was found to have a heart conditionCredit: Getty
McCarthy has not revealed the timeline of the diagnosis but he did not feature in a competitive match between December 2021 and May 2022 while contracted at Southampton.

The shot-stopper, who earned his only England cap in a friendly against the USA in 2018 admits to having no symptoms from the issue.

However, when doctors discovered the problem, he was strongly advised to hang up his gloves.

How was McCarthy's condition found?
“I don’t think I’ve spoken about it before. It was coming out the back end of Covid when I missed a year because I had a heart condition from Covid,” McCarthy told the Fozcast podcast.

"Not many people know this. I think it was during Covid, when you had to have all the tests. I had to wear a heart patch. I think a few of the lads in football who had Covid had to.

“They picked up some formalities with my heart. I had no symptoms or anything.

"So they monitored it for a while but I couldn’t get signed off to play.

“I ended up getting called in by the doc at Southampton to see a specialist down in Southampton. He was like, ‘Bring your agent and your wife’. I was like, ‘This can’t be good’.

“Turned up there and the guy basically said, ‘You can’t play football anymore, you need a defib fitted like Christian Eriksen and that’. This was out of nowhere. I felt fine.”

McCarthy opted for a second opinion from a London-based doctor before making any hasty decisions.

And the veteran goalkeeper later underwent a procedure that enabled him to continue his career.

How did McCarthy continue playing?
“Long story short, I had to have a think about what I wanted to do. I said to Southampton that I wanted a second opinion. go up to this guy in London and he said, ‘I think I can sort this’,” McCarthy added.

“A month or two later I had to go back to London. They cut my groin open, I had to be awake for this because they needed the heartbeat to be normal.

"They put a tube up to my heart and did an ablation where they burn a part of your heart.

“They found that when I was exercising, my heart would skip quite a few beats. They then put a chip in my chest, which is linked to my phone to them to always monitor it.

“I missed a good few months, and I had to go through all that to get signed off to play again.

"[I’ve] gone from nearly having to retire to still playing. It’s mental.”

McCarthy has enjoyed a 19-year career in football having played both in the Premier league and EFL.

He has represented five clubs in total during his professional career.

McCarthy came through he youth ranks at Reading but was loaned out for much of his time there.

Spells at Brentford, Leeds and Ipswich among others helped shape him for the opportunities that ensued.

Brief spells at QPR and Crystal Palace followed before finding a home at Sourthampton where he spent the next decade.

McCarthy signed for Leicester this summer on a free transfer

[Richmondfox]

He is perfect for the LCFC donkey sanctuary. 

 

The way he passes the ball, he needs his eyes tested and a cognitive assessment. 
 

 

[BlueBus]

3 minutes ago, davieG said:

https://talksport.com/football/4642239/alex-mccarthy-heart-condition-doctors-covid/

 

Ex-England goalkeeper Alex McCarthy was told to retire after doctors discovered heart condition
Lee Davey
Published: 17:05, 13 Oct 2026Updated: 17:48, 13 Oct 2026

Former England goalkeeper Alex McCarthy says doctors advised him to retire from football due to a covid-related heart problem.
The 36-year-old, who currently plays for League One side Leicester City., considered calling time on his career towards the end of the pandemic.

McCarthy has revealed that he was told to retire by doctors after he was found to have a heart conditionCredit: Getty
McCarthy has not revealed the timeline of the diagnosis but he did not feature in a competitive match between December 2021 and May 2022 while contracted at Southampton.

The shot-stopper, who earned his only England cap in a friendly against the USA in 2018 admits to having no symptoms from the issue.

However, when doctors discovered the problem, he was strongly advised to hang up his gloves.

How was McCarthy's condition found?
“I don’t think I’ve spoken about it before. It was coming out the back end of Covid when I missed a year because I had a heart condition from Covid,” McCarthy told the Fozcast podcast.

"Not many people know this. I think it was during Covid, when you had to have all the tests. I had to wear a heart patch. I think a few of the lads in football who had Covid had to.

“They picked up some formalities with my heart. I had no symptoms or anything.

"So they monitored it for a while but I couldn’t get signed off to play.

“I ended up getting called in by the doc at Southampton to see a specialist down in Southampton. He was like, ‘Bring your agent and your wife’. I was like, ‘This can’t be good’.

“Turned up there and the guy basically said, ‘You can’t play football anymore, you need a defib fitted like Christian Eriksen and that’. This was out of nowhere. I felt fine.”

McCarthy opted for a second opinion from a London-based doctor before making any hasty decisions.

And the veteran goalkeeper later underwent a procedure that enabled him to continue his career.

How did McCarthy continue playing?
“Long story short, I had to have a think about what I wanted to do. I said to Southampton that I wanted a second opinion. go up to this guy in London and he said, ‘I think I can sort this’,” McCarthy added.

“A month or two later I had to go back to London. They cut my groin open, I had to be awake for this because they needed the heartbeat to be normal.

"They put a tube up to my heart and did an ablation where they burn a part of your heart.

“They found that when I was exercising, my heart would skip quite a few beats. They then put a chip in my chest, which is linked to my phone to them to always monitor it.

“I missed a good few months, and I had to go through all that to get signed off to play again.

"[I’ve] gone from nearly having to retire to still playing. It’s mental.”

McCarthy has enjoyed a 19-year career in football having played both in the Premier league and EFL.

He has represented five clubs in total during his professional career.

McCarthy came through he youth ranks at Reading but was loaned out for much of his time there.

Spells at Brentford, Leeds and Ipswich among others helped shape him for the opportunities that ensued.

Brief spells at QPR and Crystal Palace followed before finding a home at Sourthampton where he spent the next decade.

McCarthy signed for Leicester this summer on a free transfer

It's actually quite a nice story but there's also a lot of material that can be used to describe the start of his career at Leicester! 

"You can’t play football anymore" - Nothing to do with his heart condition... My heart also skips a few beats when I watch him play football etc. etc. 
 

[Dmitry]

Having read this, I hope this McCarthy fella is on a 5-year contract. 
 

[AKCJ]

Pleased we gave him a 2 year contract.

[Fox92]

It was obvious he wasn't going to be very good. He's a 36 year old ffs. But yet again people fall for the "experience" line. Who actually goes out to buy a 36 year old goalkeeper, it's unbelievable. Absolutely no surprise from me that he's not very good.

 

But I don't blame him, if a football club like Leicester are willing to offer me a 2 year contract at the end of my career then I'm taking it. What is also mad is that throughout his career he has never looked comfortable on the ball yet here we are making him play that way.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

The thing I don't get. If you're in any other line of work and you work for someone you describe as a mate, the best person you've ever worked for etc, surely you break your back for them so they don't look like a knob head?

 

But all these players that apparently love working under Martin, repeatedly put in the bare minimum on the pitch after apparently loving the sessions all week.

 

Either they're just hanging him out to dry or maybe, just maybe, they don't actually like him.

[davieG]

5 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

The thing I don't get. If you're in any other line of work and you work for someone you describe as a mate, the best person you've ever worked for etc, surely you break your back for them so they don't look like a knob head?

 

But all these players that apparently love working under Martin, repeatedly put in the bare minimum on the pitch after apparently loving the sessions all week.

 

Either they're just hanging him out to dry or maybe, just maybe, they don't actually like him.

Love / Hate relationship.

Love the contracts and facilities hate/can't playing his way.

[Richmondfox]

15 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

The thing I don't get. If you're in any other line of work and you work for someone you describe as a mate, the best person you've ever worked for etc, surely you break your back for them so they don't look like a knob head?

 

But all these players that apparently love working under Martin, repeatedly put in the bare minimum on the pitch after apparently loving the sessions all week.

 

Either they're just hanging him out to dry or maybe, just maybe, they don't actually like him.

I’m guessing it’s along the lines of they get an easy life if they just agree with him. Too many yes men. I think we only have one hot headed player that will speak the truth, but sadly he hasn’t been able to back much up in front of goal. 
 

We need the team to be a collective on the pitch and ignore his tactics in the hope of a result. That won’t happen as he’s got too many of his boys in the team.  You can see how easily they will choose the cowards pass which somehow puts them in more danger at the back and less of a threat up front. It also doesn’t help having brain drains like Thomas, Souttar and Okoli controlling the tempo and attacks. 

[Fox92]

20 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

The thing I don't get. If you're in any other line of work and you work for someone you describe as a mate, the best person you've ever worked for etc, surely you break your back for them so they don't look like a knob head?

 

But all these players that apparently love working under Martin, repeatedly put in the bare minimum on the pitch after apparently loving the sessions all week.

 

Either they're just hanging him out to dry or maybe, just maybe, they don't actually like him.

Or get away with everything. Martin doesn't strike me as someone with great authority.