Mick McCarthy facts for kids

This page is about the English-born Irish international footballer. For other people, see Michael McCarthy.

Quick facts for kids
Mick McCarthy
Personal information
McCarthy in 2016
Full name	Michael Joseph McCarthy
Date of birth	(1959-02-07) 7 February 1959 (age 66)
Place of birth	Barnsley, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Defender
Youth career
	Barnsley
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1977–1983	Barnsley	272	(7)
1983–1987	Manchester City	140	(2)
1987–1989	Celtic	48	(8)
1989–1990	Lyon	10	(1)
1990	→ Millwall (loan)	6	(0)
1990–1992	Millwall	29	(2)
Total		505	(20)
National team
1979	Republic of Ireland U23	1	(1)
1984–1992	Republic of Ireland	57	(2)
Teams managed
1992–1996	Millwall
1996–2002	Republic of Ireland
2003–2006	Sunderland
2006–2012	Wolverhampton Wanderers
2012–2018	Ipswich Town
2018–2020	Republic of Ireland
2020–2021	APOEL
2021	Cardiff City
2023	Blackpool
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a famous football manager and former player. He was most recently the head coach for Blackpool.

Mick McCarthy started his playing career at Barnsley in 1977. He also played for big clubs like Manchester City and Celtic. He finished his playing days at Millwall in 1992. Even though he was born in England, he played for the Republic of Ireland. He earned 57 appearances for his country and played in major tournaments like UEFA Euro 1988 and the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

After retiring as a player, McCarthy became a manager. He led Millwall and then the Republic of Ireland national team. He famously guided Ireland to the knockout stage of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He also managed other well-known clubs such as Sunderland, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Ipswich Town. McCarthy returned to manage the Republic of Ireland team again in 2018. He has also worked as a football expert and commentator on TV.

Playing Career Highlights
International Football for Ireland
Managerial Career
Personal Life
Honours and Achievements
- As a Player
- As a Manager
Images for kids
See also

Playing Career Highlights

Starting at Barnsley

Mick McCarthy was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire. He made his first professional football appearance for his hometown club, Barnsley, on 20 August 1977. At that time, Barnsley was in the Fourth Division. He helped the club get promoted twice, moving up to the Second Division. McCarthy was a strong central defender and played almost every game for Barnsley. He left the club in December 1983.

Time at Manchester City

McCarthy then joined Manchester City, who were also in the Second Division. In his first full season, the team won promotion to the top league. This gave him the chance to play at the highest level of English football. After one season in the top flight, Manchester City was relegated. However, McCarthy moved to Celtic in May 1987 before the team dropped down.

Success with Celtic

At the Scottish club Celtic, McCarthy won his first major trophies. In his first season, they won both the league title and the Scottish Cup. The next season, he won another Scottish Cup medal.

Moving to Lyon and Millwall

In July 1989, McCarthy moved to France to play for Lyon. He signed a three-year contract with the club.

He returned to England in March 1990, joining Millwall on loan. He then signed with them permanently in May 1990. Injuries limited his playing time in his last two seasons. He effectively stopped playing when he became the manager of Millwall in 1992.

International Football for Ireland

Mick McCarthy's father was born in Ireland, so Mick was an Irish citizen from birth. He played his first game for the Republic of Ireland on 23 May 1984, in a friendly match against Poland. He quickly became a key player for the team.

He played in all three of Ireland's games at UEFA Euro 1988. He later became the team captain, earning the nickname "Captain Fantastic."

A big moment in McCarthy's international career was at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Ireland won a penalty shootout against Romania to reach the quarter-finals. They then faced the host nation, Italy, and lost 1–0. This was Ireland's first time reaching the World Cup quarter-finals.

Overall, McCarthy played 57 games for the Republic of Ireland and scored two goals.

Managerial Career

Leading Millwall

In March 1992, McCarthy became the player-manager at Millwall. In his first full season, he played only one more game before focusing solely on managing.

He led Millwall to the play-offs in the 1993–94 season, finishing third. However, they lost in the semi-finals to Derby County. In February 1996, McCarthy left Millwall to become the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team.

Managing the Republic of Ireland

McCarthy took over as manager of the Republic of Ireland in February 1996. His first game was a 0–2 loss to Russia.

After failing to qualify for the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, McCarthy successfully guided Ireland to the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. They won a play-off against Iran. Before the tournament, McCarthy had a public disagreement with star player Roy Keane, who was sent home.

Despite this issue, McCarthy's team reached the second round of the World Cup. They were knocked out by Spain after a penalty shootout. The disagreement with Roy Keane continued to be a big topic in Ireland. Many people supported Keane and called for McCarthy to resign.

McCarthy faced more criticism after a poor start to Ireland's qualifying campaign for Euro 2004. After losses to Russia and Switzerland, McCarthy resigned on 5 November 2002. During his time in charge, Ireland won 29, drew 20, and lost 19 of their 68 games.

Sunderland and Wolves

On 12 March 2003, McCarthy became the manager of Sunderland, who were struggling in the Premier League. The next season, after Sunderland was relegated, he led them to the First Division play-offs, but they lost in a penalty shootout.

In the 2004–05 season, McCarthy led Sunderland back to the Premier League as champions of the Football League Championship. However, after a difficult season in the Premier League, he was dismissed on 6 March 2006.

McCarthy as Wolves manager in 2011

On 21 July 2006, McCarthy was appointed manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, a Championship team. In his first season, the team reached the promotion play-offs but lost to local rivals West Bromwich Albion.

The 2008–09 season was very successful for McCarthy and Wolves. They stayed at the top of the Championship table for most of the season. McCarthy won the Championship Manager of the Month award twice. On 18 April 2009, Wolves secured promotion to the Premier League. The following week, McCarthy won his second Championship title as a manager.

McCarthy kept Wolves in the Premier League for two seasons. This was a big achievement, as it was the first time in 30 years that a Wolves manager had kept the club in the top flight for two seasons in a row. However, in the 2011–12 season, after a poor run of results, McCarthy was sacked on 13 February 2012.

Ipswich Town Manager

McCarthy managing Ipswich Town in 2016

On 1 November 2012, McCarthy became the manager of Ipswich Town, a Championship club. He won his first game in charge, breaking a long winless streak for Ipswich. He successfully guided Ipswich out of the relegation zone that season.

In his first full season, 2013–14, Ipswich finished in 9th place. The next season, he led the club to the Championship play-offs for the first time in ten years. They finished sixth but lost to rivals Norwich City in the semi-finals.

McCarthy stayed at Ipswich for several more seasons. His final season with the club was in 2017–18. He left Ipswich earlier than expected on 10 April 2018.

Second Time with Ireland and Other Clubs

On 25 November 2018, McCarthy was appointed manager of the Republic of Ireland for the second time. He brought Robbie Keane, a national team legend, as one of his assistant coaches.

In March 2019, McCarthy won his first two games back in charge. His team drew with Denmark and beat Gibraltar again. They were at the top of their Euro 2020 qualifying group after four games. However, after some draws and a loss, Ireland needed to win a play-off to qualify. On 4 April 2020, during the global coronavirus pandemic, McCarthy stepped down as manager.

McCarthy then had short spells managing APOEL in Cyprus and Cardiff City in England. He left APOEL in January 2021 after a few months. He joined Cardiff City in January 2021 and had an unbeaten start. He signed a new contract but left in October 2021 after a series of losses.

His most recent role was as head coach of Blackpool from January to April 2023. He left the club by mutual agreement after results did not improve.

Personal Life

Mick McCarthy's brother-in-law is Robert Elstone, who used to be the Chief Executive of Everton.

Honours and Achievements

As a Player

Barnsley

Promoted from Fourth Division: 1978–79
Runner-up in Third Division: 1980–81

Manchester City

Promoted from Second Division: 1984–85

Celtic

Scottish Premier League Champion: 1987–88
Scottish Cup Winner: 1987–88, 1988–89

Individual Awards

PFA Team of the Year: Seven times in different divisions (1977–78, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85)
Barnsley Player of the Year: 1977–78, 1978–79, 1980–81
Manchester City Player of the Year: 1983–84

As a Manager

Sunderland

Football League Championship Champion: 2004–05

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Football League Championship Champion: 2008–09