Jonathan David McCarthy (born 18 August 1970) is a former professional footballer who is the assistant manager at Cymru Premier club Connah's Quay Nomads.
He was appointed as first-team coach at Chester in January 2014, and after a brief spell as caretaker, became manager of the club in May 2016, before he was sacked in September 2017.
Born in Middlesbrough, McCarthy began his career with Hartlepool United on non-contract terms in November 1987 under manager John Bird, making his first-team debut at the age of 17 by playing the last ten minutes of the last game of the 1987–88 season.
[5] He was named Clubman of the Year for 1991–92, after which he helped the club to promotion after winning the 1993 Football League Third Division play-off final at the end of 1992–93.
[6] York chairman Douglas Craig revealed the club had turned down a £150,000 offer from Bradford City for McCarthy, valuing him at at least three times that amount.
[11] Vale had offered him a new three-year deal as his current contract was due to expire the following summer, which he had rejected in favour of a move elsewhere.
[25] He remained at Brunton Park for the rest of 2002–03, playing in the 2003 Football League Trophy final at the Millennium Stadium, which ended in a 2–0 defeat to Bristol City despite McCarthy linking up well with Stuart Green and almost providing an assist for Richie Foran.
[4] Despite working as a full-time teacher he still managed to play the majority of Northwich's games until the end of 2006–07,[32] at which point he retired from football.
[33] In 1991, McCarthy won a bronze medal as part of the Great Britain football team at the XVI Summer Universiade, commonly known as the "World Student Games", in Sheffield.
[34] He was eligible to represent Northern Ireland on the international stage through parentage, making his debut against Sweden in 1996 while with Port Vale.
[37] In January 2014, he was appointed as first-team coach at Conference Premier club Chester by manager Steve Burr.
[42] McCarthy returned to their former club, Port Vale, in November 2017, working as the new manager Neil Aspin's fitness coach.
[45] He joined Cymru Premier champions Connah's Quay Nomads as assistant to manager Craig Harrison in October 2021.
[46] After retiring, McCarthy started working for BBC Radio Stoke as a match day reporter for Port Vale in August 2007.