GEORGE McCARTNEY
Born: 29 April 1981, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Former clubs: Sunderland, West Ham United, Sunderland, Leeds United (loan)
George McCartney is an experienced and solid left-back who is well-known to West Ham United supporters after spending two successful seasons at the Boleyn Ground between 2006 and 2008.
The Belfast-born defender helped the Hammers to win their battle against relegation in 2006/07 and was voted Hammer of the Year runner-up at the end of the following campaign.
A former captain of Sunderland, McCartney's ability was recognised at international level and he has won 34 caps for Northern Ireland.
2013/14
Made his long-awaited return from a knee problem to feature at centre-half in the Hammers' 2-1 Capital One Cup second round victory over Cheltenham Town on 27 August 2013...Made his first Barclays Premier League start of the campaign in West Ham's 3-0 victory over Fulham on 30 November 2013...Deputised once more at centre back for West Ham's 2-1 Capital One Cup quarter-final success at Tottenham Hotspur on 18 December 2013....Found himself back in his regular left-back slot as a regular starter in the second half of the campaign.
2012/13
Suffered an ankle injury in the 3-0 Barclays Premier League defeat at Swansea City on 25 August 2012...Returned to action in the 4-1 home Capital One Cup third-round defeat by Wigan Athletic on 25 September 2012...Suffered a knee injury in training in December 2012, ruling him out of the Christmas and New Year fixtures.
2011/12
Re-joined West Ham United on a season-long loan from Sunderland on 10 August 2011...Made his second West Ham United debut in the 2-1 Carling Cup first-round defeat at the Boleyn Ground on 24 August 2011...Made his second West Ham United league debut in the 4-1 npower Championship victory at Nottingham Forest on 28 August 2011...Missed the 2-1 npower Championship defeat at Derby County on 31 December 2011 through suspension after collecting five yellow cards...Captained West Ham United in the 1-0 FA Cup third-round defeat at Sheffield Wednesday on 8 January 2012...Scored his second West Ham United goal in the 2-0 npower Championship victory at Cardiff City on 4 March 2012...Totalled 38 npower Championship appearances, 36 of them starts, and one goal...Appeared as a substitute in both npower Championship Play-Off semi-final ties against Cardiff City...Voted Players' Player of the Year.
2007/08
Scored in a pre-season victory over AS Roma at the Boleyn Ground...Scored his first Premier League goal for West Ham United in the 1-1 home draw with Bolton Wanderers on 4 November 2007...Played in all 38 Premier League matches...Voted runner-up in the Hammer of the Year voting by the club's supporters.
2006/07
Joined West Ham United from Sunderland on a four-year contract on 8 August 2006...Made his West Ham United debut in a 2-1 Carling Cup defeat at Chesterfield on 24 October 2006...Made 25 first-team appearances for West Ham United as the club won seven of their final nine Premier League matches to escape relegation...Was injured and replaced in the final-day 1-0 Premier League victory at Manchester United in May 2007.
International career
Capped four times by Northern Ireland at Under-21 level between 2000 and 2001...Made 34 appearances for Northern Ireland at senior level, scoring on his debut in a 3-0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying win over Iceland in his home city of Belfast on 5 September 2001...Retired from international football in 2005, but came out of retirement again in August 2007...Returned to international action in a 3-1 2008 UEFA European Championship qualifying win over Liechtenstein on 22 August 2007...Retired from international football for a second time in February 2011.
Before (and after his first spell at) West Ham United
Joined Sunderland as a trainee in 1998, making his first-team debut against Luton in the Worthington Cup in 2000...Made captain in 2003/04...Was voted Player of the Season by Sunderland fans after the successful Championship-winning campaign in 2004/05...Made 157 appearances for Sunderland in all competitions before leaving for West Ham United on 8 August 2006...Returned to Sunderland from West Ham United for a reported £6.5m fee on 1 September 2008...Loaned to Leeds United in September 2010, making 32 appearances for the Whites in all competitions.