Gaffers (26 page)

Bernard O’Byrne was the chief executive of the FAI at the time that McCarthy was Ireland manager, and he recalls the backing and understanding that the Englishman received during the early days of his reign: ‘Mick came into the role in early 1996, and I joined the FAI the following October. I found Mick to be straight as a die in my dealings with him. He was very fair and cooperative, and there was no manoeuvring from him. He was happy not to get involved in the politics.

‘The first three years in the job were hard for Mick. It was a big task, and it was always going to be very hard succeeding Jack after what he’d achieved. I think Mick himself felt the pressure.

‘I remember after the first qualifying campaign for France ’98, when we lost to Belgium in the play-offs, there were some members of the FAI who wanted to replace Mick. However, Pat Quigley and I were allies of Mick and believed that he deserved a reasonable run in charge before he could be judged properly. We pushed to get a stay of execution for him, and before one board meeting we raised the subject and asked everyone in the room to
stand up and support Mick. Our stance surprised a lot of people, and in the end they all opted to support him. From then on I think Mick went from strength to strength in the role.

‘In my opinion one of the reasons that Mick struggled at the start was that he inherited an ageing squad that had lost a few players to retirement. However, that was not the only factor. His relationship with Ian Evans [assistant manager to Mick and Ireland Under-21 manager] was pivotal to Ireland’s success. They had a big partnership. However, Ireland did not seem to be getting the full benefit of the partnership, as Ian was spending a lot of time with the Under-21s and not as much time with the senior side. We said to Mick that Ian needed to step back from his role with the Under-21 team and to get more involved with the senior side to help ease the workload on Mick. We decided that we needed someone to take over the management of the Under-21 side, someone who could work with Mick, and in the end we opted for Don Givens.

‘Mick was very loyal to the players, and he stood by them. He would back them in public and would discuss any issues in private. He was a hero to a lot of the players. He was hugely respected. He had earned his war scars, so to speak, and the players believed in him.’

That loyalty was starting to get results, as qualification for the 2000 European Championship saw Ireland get off to the best possible start when they defeated Croatia 2–0. The Croatians had impressed at the World Cup in France and were one of the favourites to qualify from the group. However, goals from the United pair of Denis Irwin and Roy Keane got Ireland off to a perfect start.

That victory was followed by another win over Malta before
a 1–0 defeat away to Yugoslavia put the skids on Ireland’s bid. The return game in Dublin saw Mark Kennedy net the winner as Ireland won 2–1. Croatia got their revenge with a 1–0 win in Zagreb, before old foes Macedonia scored in the ninetieth minute of the next match to deny Ireland the group and pushed them once again into the play-offs, where Turkey scraped in thanks to a 1–1 draw in Dublin.

The 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign finally saw Mick and his team excise the ghosts of the failure to reach France in 1998 and Holland in 2000. The team had matured and reached the levels that the public had come to expect. The results were improving, and having slipped down the rankings from fifteenth in the world, the team were slowly on the up again.

Drawn in a qualification group with Portugal and Holland, the task seemed onerous from the offset. However, two draws with Portugal home and away, as well a famous victory over Holland in Dublin, saw Ireland finish unbeaten and level at the top of the group with Portugal, only missing out on automatic qualification on goal difference.

Mick was displaying tremendous dedication to the job, but it must have been a difficult decision when he decided to manage the team for a game against Andorra following the death of his father. A few days earlier Mick had left the squad ahead of a game with Cyprus to be with his father, who was seriously ill at the time. His assistant Ian Evans deputised and saw Ireland win 4–0, with two from Roy Keane.

As it was, Ireland faced the prospect of a play-off for the third time under Mick. This time Iran were the opponents, and a 2–0 home victory followed by a 1–0 defeat was enough to send the green army to Japan and Korea for the 2002 World Cup.

With qualification secured, Mick set about finalising and experimenting with his squad, and friendlies with Russia, Denmark and the USA were arranged. Players such as Richard Sadlier, Colin Healy and Clinton Morrison were given their chance to stake a claim. As Sadlier recalled, ‘I was called into the squad for a match against Russia in February 2002. Before that I remember thinking the call-up would never come, as it seemed that every time I had a stinker for Millwall someone would point out that Mick had been in the crowd. The full Ireland set-up was similar to the under-age set-up under Bruce Rioch. Everyone seemed close-knit, and there was a lot of respect for Mick within the group.

‘Colin Healy, Steven Reid and Clinton Morrison were also making their debuts against Russia. I was sharing a room with Colin Healy, who started in the middle with Roy Keane. I remember being on the bus to the game and sitting next to Niall Quinn. He was so good to me. He kept playing down the importance of the occasion and told me there was nothing that I hadn’t seen before. Then throughout the game, every time I came back from a stint warming up, Niall would elbow me towards Mick, as if trying to tell Mick to get me on. With twenty minutes to go Mick shouted over to me to get ready to go on. Afterwards Mick congratulated me and shook my hand.

‘The World Cup was looming and at the Russian game the players were asked to fill out forms that would have been used for ticket allocation. I turned to Niall and asked him should I fill one out? I mean you had Robbie Keane, Damian Duff, Niall Quinn and Clinton Morrison in the squad. I didn’t really think much of my chance. However, Niall said to me, “Shut up and fill it in. My back’s in a bad way.”’

In the end injury prevented Sadlier from going to the finals, and Mick took a calculated risk with Niall Quinn, one that reaped its rewards, most notably in the Germany game when his introduction caused havoc for the opposition’s defence and helped create a goal for Robbie Keane. It was more than a risk. It was a measure of McCarthy’s loyalty to the players who had helped the team qualify and a just reward.

With a good build-up behind them, Ireland appeared on course to have a relatively successful World Cup. Drawn in the same group as an ageing German team, Cameroon and Saudi Arabia, hopes were high that Ireland would once again reach the last sixteen stage of the tournament.

Ireland’s preparations were thrown into disarray prior to the start of the tournament when Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy had their now infamous Saipan fall out, the result of which saw one of Ireland’s greatest ever players opt to forego an appearance in the World Cup. Keane, used to the very best with Manchester United, felt let down by what he perceived as poor preparation and facilities, and not wanting to simply make up the numbers decided it was best to speak out. With Keane gone, all hope appeared to vanish, while the media attention and pressure this situation placed on the team was enormous. However, Mick managed to steady the ship and steer the team to the second round of the tournament. In Keane’s absence Matt Holland and Mark Kinsella stepped up to the mark and helped balance the side, while Robbie Keane finally got the chance to show what a top player he was. Draws with eventual finalists Germany and Cameroon, followed by a victory over Saudi Arabia were enough to secure a second-round game with Spain. Despite the team playing out of their skin and managing to miss a penalty in normal time, they
were eventually eliminated by Spain in a penalty shoot-out, thus narrowly missing out on a quarter-final place.

Instead of focusing on the achievements of a team that reached the second round at the World Cup, the focus shifted to what could have been had Keane been there. Indeed, the Saipan incident resulted in divided opinion countrywide and despite the credible results that Ireland had achieved, the public still did not fully back McCarthy. As soon as results started to turn against the team, the media and fans alike were on the manager’s back and wanted him out the door.

The achievements of the World Cup were soon forgotten as Ireland made a poor start to their qualifying campaign for Euro 2004. Two opening defeats, a 4–2 away defeat to Russia and a 2–1 home defeat to Switzerland, saw the pressure on McCarthy begin to build and with the Saipan incident refusing to go away, Mick’s position was becoming more and more untenable. In November 2002, Mick took the decision to resign.

The end of McCarthy’s reign will always be remembered for the incident in Saipan. For Bernard Menton the whole thing is very simple. He recalls, ‘Mick once said to me that Roy Keane could be very difficult, but he was always the first name that appeared on the team sheet, and I think that sums it up.’

LIFE AFTER IRELAND

Despite his much-hyped exit from the Ireland job, McCarthy did not remain out of the game for too long, and less than six months later, in March 2003, after sitting on the couches of TV studios providing commentary and insight, Mick returned to
the dugout with Premiership side Sunderland. Joining the club after the sacking of Howard Wilkinson, it was a case of too little too late, as Mick could not help the club in their relegation battle.

The following season Mick picked the side up and led them to the Championship play-offs, where they lost to Crystal Palace on penalties. Sunderland had finished the regular season in third spot, seven points off the automatic promotion place. However, there was to be no mistake in 2005 when he led Sunderland to the Championship title, scoring twenty-nine victories and amassing ninety-four points along the way.

However, the Premiership proved to be a tricky proposition, and McCarthy struggled with a tight budget. During a season in which the Black Cats gathered only fifteen points and three wins, Mick found himself sacked in March with ten games to go. In an ironic twist Sunderland next turned to Roy Keane to revive their fortunes and provided him with a large transfer budget that would have made life a lot easier for his predecessor.

Management in the Premiership is at another level to the Championship – the Premiership is more skilful and tactical. It is where every football club in England wants to be, and the level of expectation and pressure, coupled with the riches on offer for success, means that the competition has proved to be the downfall of many managers. There seem to be men who will get you out of the Championship and men who will keep you in the Premier League. With McCarthy forging a reputation as a man of the Championship, it was no surprise when clubs outside of the top flight took an interest in him, and in July 2006, less than three months after the confidence-sapping season in the Premiership with Sunderland, McCarthy was back
in management with Wolverhampton Wanderers, replacing former England manager Glenn Hoddle.

Wolves provided the perfect opportunity for McCarthy to rebuild his reputation once again, although he was not helped by a balancing of the books that saw an exodus of senior players, including big names such as Kenny Miller, Paul Ince, Mark Kennedy and Darren Anderton, who left the club when their contracts expired. The departure of Joleon Lescott in a big-money move to Everton, meant that the Wolves team needed to be rebuilt from scratch.

Wolves were seen as a sleeping giant with the facilities and history to be a Premiership club, but in need of a manager who could motivate players and was familiar with getting promotion out of the Championship. Mick was that man and he set about rallying the squad and creating a fantastic spirit within the team. The signing of Gary Breen, McCarthy’s old stalwart from his Ireland days, helped bring stability to the team, and against all expectations they managed to make the promotion play-offs. The play-off semi-final saw Wolves pitched against midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion, but a 3–2 home loss, coupled with a 1–0 loss away, saw Wolves miss out on the play-off. The disappointment of the play-offs were soon put to the back of Mick’s mind as that summer Steve Morgan took control of the club and brought with him the promise of investment. The 2008 season was one full of promise for the Wolves fans.

Wolves once again failed to live up to the expectations and for much of the season Mick’s side failed to make an impact on the League. Mounting pressure was eased by a late run of results that brought Wolves within touching distance of the play-offs, but in the end goal difference saw them miss out. Despite the
setback Mick managed to hang on to his job, and the ultimate reward was about to come for the Wolves faithful.

The 2009–10 season saw the club’s best start to a campaign since 1949, and once they hit the top of the table for the first time at the end of August they never looked back, not leaving the automatic promotion spots thereafter. Promotion to the Premier League was finally confirmed on 18 April 2009 with a 1–0 win over Queens Park Rangers. A week later Wolves clinched their first divisional title since 1989, and Mick was back in the big time once again. Further confirmation of his talent arrived when Mick was named the Championship Manager of the Year.

McCarthy has shown a lot of faith in Irish players over the years, and the current Wolves squad contains some of the best young talent that Ireland has to offer: Kevin Doyle, Andrew Keogh, Stephen Ward, who has benefited from a positional switch instigated by McCarthy, and also young defender Kevin Foley. This faith in the Irish system has been coupled with a fantastic eye for lower League unknowns. McCarthy’s ability to spot talent has seen stars such as Michael Knightly, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Christophe Berra, Andrew Surman and Richard Stearman thrive at Wolves and helped cement his reputation as a shrewd manager in the transfer market.