Paddy sold down the Hudson River

An enjoyable and relaxing week with my parents in Vermont was temporarily halted a couple of mornings ago, when my Dad delivered some shocking news.

"Have you heard what's happened?" he asked me grim-faced, as I emerged from a rare good night's sleep. A terrorist attack was my first terrible thought, or perhaps a plane had crashed in New York or London? "Neither," he confirmed, "...Paddy McCarthy's been sold to Crystal Palace."

I'm really not too sure what to make of this one at all, except that it probably lends further proof (as if any were needed), that the normal rules and controls that govern most businesses, seemingly don't apply to football.

To summarise, McCarthy was signed by Alan Pardew on 6 Jun 2007 for an initial fee of £650,000. Having spent the past seven seasons unconcerned with matters outside the Premiership, I think it's fair to say that he was virtually unknown to most Addicks fans. Nonetheless, we implicitly trusted Pards:

"He was really positive and sold it to me. He told me how good the club was, how much potential there is here and what type of team he's looking to put together next season. Everything he said was exactly what I wanted to be a part of."

McCarthy started on the opening day against Scunthorpe, but was dropped in preference of Jonathan Fortune at Stoke a week later. His contribution as a second-half substitute that evening did him few favours, but he filled in as a capable right-back in the 3-2 win over Sheffield Wednesday, and was then returned to centre-back for the win at Palace, and the draw at Colchester. For reasons that have never become apparent, he then suddenly disappeared from the picture, surprising given that the only defeat until then had been the only game he hadn't started (ie. Stoke).

After Danny Mills' red card at home to Hull on 22 Dec, Pards was forced to play Madjid Bougherra at right-back, and was obliged (ie. forced) to recall McCarthy who subsequently became a virtual ever-present. Indeed he delivered such consistent performances thereafter, he was even talked about as a possible 'Player of the Year, despite having played such a limited role until Xmas.

He also importantly demonstrated the type of leadership that the team so clearly lacked. If our post-Xmas dip in form coincided with his return to the side, then surely this was merely a coincidence, the true blame lying elsewhere, for example in Andy Reid's departure, or in Pardew's tactical tinkering.

It is possible that he was irked by the capture of Mark Hudson (a player seemingly with many similarities to McCarthy), but the Irishman himself described his sale as a 'bolt from the blue'. Moreover, with Sam Sodje presumably returning to Reading, and with Jonathan Fortune's future at Charlton somewhat doubtful, we were not exactly overburdened with centre-backs even with Hudson onboard. Presumably Matt 'Captain Cleanshorts' Holland will retain the armband, so their relative claims to be skipper should not have been cause for dispute.

Although I struggle to see how this transaction improves our chances next season, I'm more concerned about the questions it raises concerning Pardew's managerial approach since after all, McCarthy was his own signing just one year ago. An optimist may suggest that we are no worse off because the (undisclosed) fee broadly repays us for the initial outlay, whilst Hudson is an ample replacement.

A realist like me would suggest firstly that Hudson is probably on higher wages, and second that this view handily ignores the cost of two agency/signing-on fees, plus the simple fact that when injuries permitted, a Bougherra/McCarthy partnership showed perhaps the most potential of all (witness the two vital home wins over Stoke and Palace for example). If Bougherra himself is potentially on his way too, then we'd better hope that Paulo Monteiro has been working on his English.

The evidence clearly suggests that Pardew and McCarthy didn't get along (players with leadership qualities tend to have forthright opinions). McCarthy's post-transfer quote pretty much confirms it:

"Generally if a club accepts a bid it tells its own story and when I spoke to Neil Warnock he just came across as a man I think I'll have a great relationship with. He will maybe appreciate me as a player a little bit more."

All of which brings me back to my initial point about football operating in its own reality-free cocoon. The next time Richard Murray is asked to open the club cheque book, and to agree to add someone to the playing payroll, will Pardew be made more accountable? Didn't we learn from the Dowie experience in this regard? After all, one is entitled to wonder whether McCarthy would ever have played for Charlton again after Sep 2007, if circumstances had not required it.

And finally would a few quotes from Pards himself in circumstances like this not be an appropriate way of explaining McCarthy's sale to the fans? Unlike most of Dowie's signings, McCarthy was actually quite good, at least in the context of the Championship.

During the same week that fans were again urged to renew their season tickets, it's not unreasonable to be reassured that the manager is not just making it up as he goes along, particularly in light of the second half of last season. McCarthy was hardly Beckenbauer, but for some reason this transfer irks me more than most. Perhaps I'm still getting used to the fact that outside the Premiership, clubs are inevitably 'deal takers' rather than 'deal makers'.

Instead new boy Steve Waggott is forced to cut and paste from an old email presumably entitled, 'Quote upon the sale of Soulemayne Diawara' to state, "We wish Paddy well in his future career and we thank him for his efforts in his one-year stint with us." The fans deserve better.