Everton: James McCarthy caught in middle of Club vs. Country

Ireland boss Martin O’Neill admits he provisionally selected James McCarthy for his latest squad, without speaking to Everton manager Ronald Koeman.

Football has a long history of clubs being involved in disputes with international sides, when it comes to professional footballers. Everton are no different.

Their latest disagreement involves James McCarthy, who has been provisionally included in Ireland’s squad, for their final two World Cup qualifiers. There are all couple of reasons for the Blues to have an issue with this.

This first is that McCarthy has struggled with knee issues since March, coincidentally while he was on international duty. It ended his season and led to understandable frustration from Everton.

Time and time again, Martin O’Neill has selected McCarthy when he has not been fully fit. Now, O’Neill has picked him again, despite the fact he has not even returned to training yet.

As if that’s not bad enough, the Ireland manager did not even consult Ronald Koeman beforehand. This was confirmed in a report by the Echo‘s Phil Kirkbride.

O’Neill sounded almost audacious in his reasoning for provisionally picking McCarthy. As per Kirkbride, he said:

"“There’s the possibility of him coming back to full training in the next couple of days. That might not give a great deal of time. He wants to come back into full training and the full training is towards the end of this week.”"

Interestingly, O’Neill’s comments seem to indicate he has been in regular contact with the midfielder. This has led to a warning from Koeman.

The Everton manager has essentially told McCarthy he needs to put his club before his country. As reported by The Mirror‘s David Anderson, Koeman said:

"“I expect that from every player, not only McCarthy. What I expect from every Everton player is don’t take risks when it’s not necessary.“…we pay all the salaries to the players. What I expect from the player is always a good communication between them and our medical staff.”"

It’s entirely possible Koeman is fighting a losing battle, after recent rumours linking McCarthy with a move to Leicester City or Newcastle United. Of more importance, this speculation arose because the player himself allegedly indicated a desire to leave the Blues.

More from Prince Rupert's Tower

If this is true, then anything Koeman says is likely to have little impact on the 26-year-old. If he does want to leave, we are unfortunately aware of the impact of player power.

You can appreciate why Everton would prefer McCarthy to stick around. Before his injury last season, he had been a regular and vital component of the team.

This was best exemplified during the 2013/14 campaign. The former Wigan Athletic player made 34 league appearances and helped the Toffees amass 72 points, their most ever in the Premier League era.

For what it’s worth, we pride ourselves on being objective and side with the club on this occasion. It will be interesting to see how this situation plays out.

Next: Blues' predicted lineup vs. Apollon Limassol

What’s your position on this ongoing dispute? Do you side with Koeman or O’Neill? Does McCarthy deserve any blame for letting matters escalate to this point? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.