PLAYER PROFILE

George McCartney

Position: Defence

Height: 6'0

Weight: 12st 6lbs

Date of Birth: 1981-04-29 Belfast, Northern Ireland

George McCartney

Northern Ireland Under-21 international George McCartney arrived at Sunderland in 1998, but didn't make his first team debut until the 2000/01 season in a Worthington Cup fixture against Luton Town.

McCartney also played in an FA Cup fifth round tie against West Ham that season, but was more involved in 2001/02 when he made 12 Premiership starts, which he built on in the following season.

However, it was after Sunderland's relegation to the First Division that McCartney became a regular, and he remained a crucial part of Mick McCarthy's team as well as becoming a full international for Northern Ireland.

Unfortunately, his 2005/06 season was hindered by injury as he was ruled out for six months after surgery on a troublesome hamstring.

He came back towards the end of the campaign, but picked up another lengthy injury in the summer just before moving to West Ham United.

He recovered from this set-back though to make 25 appearances for West Ham in 2006/07. He is a useful utility man for Alan Curbishley.