Rob Woodford

When Millwall lost at Port Vale in November 1994, Mick McCarthy knew their next match could decide whether he kept his job. They had lost three consecutive league games, and Nottingham Forest were waiting for them in the League Cup. On the journey home, his assistant, Ian ‘Taff’ Evans, came up with an idea. 🗣️ “Listen, I think we should go out for a beer with the lads.” McCarthy thought about the Forest game and agreed. 🗣️ “If I get the sack after the Nottingham Forest game, at least we’ll have had a few beers on Sunday.” They arranged to meet the players in Covent Garden. 🗣️ “They all turn up and just about get rocking drunk.” 🗣️ “Every one of them.” McCarthy was having a pint at the bar with his staff when a big man approached him with two friends and their girlfriends. 🗣️ “They tell me you’re in charge.” 🗣️ “Well, I’m in charge of some of them in here.” The man explained that one of the Millwall players had insulted his girlfriend, and they intended to deal with him. McCarthy put his pint down. 🗣️ “Well, then I am in charge, yes.” He offered to apologise on the player's behalf and even said he could get the player to apologise personally. But the man wasn't interested. 🗣️ “No, no, apologies, no good.” 🗣️ “We’re going to beat him up.” McCarthy looked around the bar. There were about six members of his staff with him and roughly 25 players in another part of the pub. He decided to make his position very clear. 🗣️ “If you punch him, I’m gonna punch you.” 🗣️ “I’m gonna be first in and then we’re all gonna start.” The man continued arguing, so McCarthy doubled down. 🗣️ “I’m not arguing with you.” 🗣️ “I’m just telling you, if you punch him, I’m gonna be first in and all the others will come in behind me.” 🗣️ “And it’s going to finish badly for you.” McCarthy was talking a good game, but deep down, he wasn't exactly feeling confident. 🗣️ “Probably with my fingers crossed, hoping he didn’t hit me.” 🗣️ “But I was giving it the big one.” By now, the Millwall players had gathered around them. 🗣️ “Either f*** off or you end up fighting us.” 🗣️ “And it’s going to be me and you to start.” The man eventually backed down. 🗣️ “He made the right decision for both of us.” The players went home, but McCarthy and Taff stayed at the bar a little longer. When they were finally ready to leave, McCarthy realised that the squad who had been standing behind him had disappeared. He and Taff now had to walk out on their own, hoping the man and his friends weren't waiting outside. Thankfully, they got away without a fight. The players returned to training on Monday fired up, and Millwall travelled to Nottingham Forest and won 2-0. That victory sparked a run of results that earned McCarthy Manager of the Month. The management career he thought might have ended that week went on to span more than a thousand games. Looking back, McCarthy knew just how important that night had been. 🗣️ “I’m telling you, I’d have been out of work, but for that.” 🗣️ “I think that got us out of jail there.”