Alex McCarthy has admitted that it felt like everything went against him during his one season with Crystal Palace. The goalkeeper joined Palace from Queens Park Rangers in July 2015, signing for Alan Pardew’s side in a deal worth around £3.5million as he put pen to paper on a four-year deal with the Eagles. But he only had one season in south London, leaving the club to join Southampton in August 2016 after making just seven appearances for Palace in the Premier League. And the now 32-year-old has spoken about his time with Palace and why he feels it did not work out for him in south London.
Alex McCarthy said: “It was just weird. You know when things just don’t go your way, I remember one game, we were playing Liverpool at home and I have gone to clear the ball and just had a freak moment, I just slipped and they went through and scored. It just felt when I was at Crystal Palace everything went against me, the harder you try, things just go against you, and it was just hard work. You need an arm around you and I didn’t really feel like I got that from Pards [Alan Pardew].”
As such, McCarthy said that the offer to join Southampton just 13 months after his arrival at Crystal Palace was something he could not turn down.
Alex McCarthy added: “I had worked with Dave Watson at England and he gave me a call and said ‘do you want to come down to Southampton?’, and you know when you are not happy in a club, it [a move away] was just perfect for me.
Since his move to Southampton in 2016, he has played 118 times for the Saints, although he has only played twice for the south coast club this season following the arrival of Gavin Bazunu in the summer.
