The 32-year-old winger completed his move from Bootham Crescent and could make his debut against his former team mates. Carlisle will be without injured Des Byrne and the suspended central defender Darren Kelly but Richie Foran will be back to stake his claim up front after serving a one-match ban for reaching five bookings. Will McDonagh serves the second of his three game suspension. Brunton Park will be McCarthy's FOURTH stop of the season, as he has already played for Port Vale, Doncaster and York since being released by Birmingham City in the summer. Whilst with the Midlands club he broke his leg three times, but also played in the Worthington Cup Final at Cardiff 20 months ago when the Brummies lost on penalties to Liverpool. Cash shortages at both Vale and York saw him released and York fans, desperate to see their club survive despite a financial collapse, will be sad to see him go after he spent just a month with them. It was his second spell with the Minstermen, for whom he made over 100 appearances between 1990 and 1995. The Middlesbrough born player started his career at nearby Hartlepool in 1987. The move to Port Vale in '95 boosted his international prospects but his appearance total for the Ulstermen have been curtailed by the injuries, which have kept him out of football for two whole years in total. McCarthy is hoping his experience will rub off on United's younger players. It is an area that Carlisle have been short on and McCarthy is the only over-30 in the entire squad. "They are a very, very young side and I think that is part of my appeal, I'm a more experienced player. In terms of organisation, I will try to use my experience to help where I can. Hopefully I will have an influence and I think that is what the manager wants. Also I want to be getting the crosses in and scoring goals," he said. McCarthy has signed a month-to-month deal so his long-term future is still far from assured but Roddy Collins will be hoping to extend that should the winger's experience help the Cumbrians to climb the league. Although in financially better shape than their opponents tomorrow, Carlisle are still only three points off the bottom of the table and trail York by 10 positions and 11 points. When the two sides last met on April 9 this year, the game finished in a 0-0 draw with Carlisle's Peter Keen saving a penalty in the first minute of the match. However a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. York had just been bought out by sports car entrepreneur John Batchelor and their fans had formed themselves into a Supporters' Trust that has turned out to be one of the biggest in the country. Carlisle were playing their first match since Roddy Collins was unceremoniously sacked by Mark Knighton following comments made to Radio Cumbria over the state of the proposed John Courtenay takeover. Subsequently Courtenay eventually completed the deal after the Cumbrians slid into administration. United's gates have improved almost 70% on last season under the new owner even if results have yet to make a similar leap upwards. York, after a very good start to the season which saw in the top three after the first few games, have been on the slide - in more ways than one. The owner of Bootham Crescent Douglas Craig, the club's former chairman has announced imminent plans to sell the ground and York may soon be homeless. Batchelor's reaction has been to offer the majority of his shares to the Supporters' Trust for nothing. The situation has worsened since then with news that the players will have to go without any wages for a month while the crisis is dealt with. Darren Edmondson, who played over 250 times for United in the 1990s, joined York just under three years ago and is now the club's PFA representative. Going without pay is a bitter blow for him and his team mates and it is something which affected Carlisle's players for a time last season. For his part, manager Terry Dolan has vowed to stay on despite the off-field chaos. "I'm just so confused but I won't be walking away," he said. "I just feel shattered by it all. The players are going to speak to representatives of the PFA, but whether they will be able to do anything good, I just do not know. We are a tightly knit group. That has to remain the same, but we all feel very let down. Of course we will carry on, but this should be a really positive time for the club." Despite the slump in form which sent York down into the bottom half of the table, recent results have seen a recovery and the Minstermen go into the Carlisle clash unbeaten in four league starts, winning the last two against Leyton Orient and Rochdale. As well as waving bye-bye to McCarthy they have also had to let midfield star Lee Cook return to Watford after a successful loan spell. The loss of these two players coupled with the return of Foran and the likely heavy support for United tomorrow may just swing it our way - YORK 1-2 UNITED. Picture from News & Star |
