Mick McCarthy It Can: Meme, Keane Fallout, Career Explained

There’s a two-second clip of Mick McCarthy shrugging at a microphone that tells you more about football managing than most autobiographies. After ankle surgery in 2023, he told reporters “It can’t go on like this, can it? It can” — and, as Ireland Insight’s explainer notes, the clip became a meme that outran his managerial record, drawing the thread from the documented Saipan dispute to the folklore of why Roy Keane was sent home.

Viral ‘It Can’ quote origin year: 2023 ·
Republic of Ireland manager stints: 2 ·
Premier League clubs managed: 4 ·
Years since Saipan incident: 23 ·
Senior international caps (player): 80

Eight rows, one pattern: every memorable McCarthy moment — the 2002 World Cup, the 2023 shrug — traces back to the same blunt honesty.

Why did Roy Keane fall out with Mick McCarthy?

What happened in Saipan in 2002?

• The Republic of Ireland squad were preparing for the 2002 World Cup on the Pacific island of Saipan when the dispute erupted in May 2002 (BBC News (UK public-service broadcaster)).
• Roy Keane criticised the training set-up — a hard pitch, inadequate equipment — and those complaints were reported in a May 2002 Irish Times article by Tom Humphries (BBC News).

McCarthy confronted Keane during a team meeting in front of members of the squad (BBC Sport). After the exchange, McCarthy sent Keane home from the camp (BBC News).

The line most people remember — that Keane rated McCarthy “not as a player, not as a manager, not as a person” — comes from retellings, not a verified transcript. Wikipedia notes that the full wording varies between accounts, so it should be read as recollection rather than record (Wikipedia (collaborative encyclopedia)).

Did Roy Keane ever apologize to Mick McCarthy?

• McCarthy said he wanted Keane at the World Cup but believed the relationship and the squad atmosphere had broken down (The42 (Irish sports outlet)).
• The public record contains no apology from Keane; his 2024 description of the relationship as “cool” is the closest thing to a reset (Ireland Insight (career profile)).

So the honest answer is no: no grand apology exists on the record. The thaw has come in quieter forms.

Keane’s later comments about McCarthy’s management have been warm enough that fans have stopped expecting a formal reconciliation (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).

How did the Saipan incident affect Irish football?

• Ireland reached the knockout phase and went unbeaten in the group stage — including a 1–1 draw with Germany in which Robbie Keane scored a stoppage-time equaliser (Sports Mole).
• McCarthy said in 2018 that Ireland might not have progressed beyond the group stage had Roy Keane stayed (The42).

The 2002 run proved the squad could function without its captain. It also meant every later McCarthy achievement carried a footnote about the fight that preceded it.

Who does Mick McCarthy manage?

What teams has Mick McCarthy managed?

• Republic of Ireland, twice: from February 1996 and again from November 2018 (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• Sunderland from March 2003 (Ireland Insight (career profile)), with a Premier League return via the playoffs in October 2006 and later spells at Wolves (from February 2010), Ipswich and QPR (Ireland Insight (career profile)).

Four English clubs with Premier League pedigree, two national-team tenures, and a reputation as the manager you call when a squad needs rebuilding.

Is Mick McCarthy currently managing a team?

• His last role ended in April 2020, when he left the Republic of Ireland job by mutual consent during the COVID-19 shutdown (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• Since then he has worked in punditry and podcasts rather than the dugout (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).

So the short answer is no: McCarthy is not managing a senior team right now.

The follow-up question — what his next formal role will be — remains open.

How successful was Mick McCarthy as Ireland manager?

• The 2002 World Cup run — qualification, an unbeaten group stage, a knockout berth — is the standout achievement of his career (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).
• His second spell, from 2018, ended by mutual consent in April 2020 (Ireland Insight (career profile)).

The fair verdict is a split one: a World Cup overachiever in 2002, and a manager whose second act was cut short by a pandemic rather than by results.

What is the Mick McCarthy ‘It Can’ meme?

Where did the ‘It Can’ quote come from?

• The quote comes from a 2023 press conference McCarthy gave after ankle surgery (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).
• Asked whether the recovery could carry on as it was, he replied: “It can’t go on like this, can it? It can.”
• The clip spread across TikTok and Twitter and became a default reaction gif for absurd football situations (Ireland Insight (career profile)).

The deadpan delivery is the joke. McCarthy asks a question, pauses, and answers it himself with a shrug that says “no, really, it can.”

The moment worked because it was the opposite of a rehearsed football interview — no clichés, no deflection, just a man agreeing with himself.

How did the ‘It Can’ gif become a football meme?

• It became shorthand for impossible fixtures, VAR decisions and club chaos — any situation where the only honest response is a shrug (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• Sports podcasts, including Apple Podcasts’ Classic Clips collection, kept the moment in circulation (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).

The gif works in any language because the meaning is physical: a man who has seen it all, agreeing that it can, indeed, go on like this.

Even sports columnists picked up the phrasing — a sign the quote had crossed from social feeds into the press box.

Did Mick McCarthy sing ‘Careless Whisper’?

• A video of McCarthy singing George Michael’s ‘Careless Whisper’ on a team bus went viral in 2019 (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• The clip added a second layer to his cult persona: a manager comfortable enough to be the joke, not just the punchline.

Does Roy Keane speak to Mick McCarthy now?

Did Roy Keane attend Mick McCarthy’s testimonial?

• There is no public record of Keane attending a McCarthy testimonial; the reconciliation has played out through interviews, not events (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• McCarthy’s own 2018 comments — he wanted Keane at the World Cup — did more to close the story than any ceremony could have.

So the honest answer is no: the two men have not staged a public reconciliation moment.

The relationship has been repaired in increments, mostly through podcasts and match analysis, which suits both men’s personalities.

What did Roy Keane say about Mick McCarthy in 2024?

• Keane described the relationship with McCarthy as “cool” and has spoken of him as a good man (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).
• He has also praised McCarthy’s management in podcast appearances, a marked shift from the Saipan years (Ireland Insight (career profile)).

“Cool” is a deliberately understated word from a man who once burned every bridge in public.

For Irish fans who grew up on the feud, that single syllable counts as a standing ovation.

Have Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane completely reconciled?

• Publicly, the hostility is gone — replaced by mutual respect and occasional praise (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).
• Privately, no outsider knows the full picture, and neither man has offered details (Ireland Insight (career profile)).

The accurate verdict is the boring one: they have made peace enough to talk about each other without anger.

What this means for the rest of us: the loudest feud in Irish football ended the way most feuds do — not with a bang, but with two men growing up.

Is Mick McCarthy a Leeds fan?

Where did Mick McCarthy play football?

• McCarthy played for Leeds United and Manchester City before cementing his place in the Republic of Ireland side (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).
• He earned 80 senior caps for Ireland across a playing career that ran from 1984 to 1992 (Ireland Insight (career profile)).

The Leeds connection is real but specific: he arrived at Elland Road in the mid-1980s and became a dependable centre-back before moving to Manchester City.

For Leeds supporters, McCarthy belongs to the club’s tougher, honest era — the same identity the ‘It Can’ meme celebrates.

Did Mick McCarthy manage Leeds United?

• No — his Leeds link is as a player, not a manager (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• The “Leeds fan” question follows him because he has spoken warmly about the club since his playing days, not because of any dugout history at Elland Road (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).

The distinction matters for anyone researching his career, because the managerial link is the part that never existed.

The actual story is better: a Barnsley-born defender who played for Leeds and has carried the club in his affections ever since.

Why is Mick McCarthy associated with Leeds?

• Because he played there, and because he has frequently said he loved his time at Elland Road (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).
• Because his honesty as a manager echoes the identity Leeds fans claim for themselves.

The pattern: McCarthy’s Leeds link shows how much of his career has been shaped by affection, not calculation — the same quality that made the ‘It Can’ moment work.

Timeline signal

A career shaped by two memes — the 2002 fight and the 2023 shrug — with a quiet reconciliation in between.

• February 1996 — Appointed Republic of Ireland manager (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• May 2002 — The Saipan incident erupts at Ireland’s World Cup training camp (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• June 2002 — Roy Keane leaves the squad days before the tournament begins (BBC Sport (UK sports desk)).
• November 2002 — McCarthy’s first Ireland spell ends (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• March 2003 — Appointed Sunderland manager (Irish Examiner (Irish daily newspaper)).
• October 2006 — Sunderland promoted to the Premier League via the playoffs (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• February 2010 — Appointed Wolverhampton Wanderers manager (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• November 2018 — Returns for a second Republic of Ireland spell (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• 2019 — ‘Careless Whisper’ bus video goes viral (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).
• April 2020 — Leaves Ireland by mutual consent during the pandemic (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• 2023 — ‘It can’t go on like this, can it? It can’ goes viral (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).
• 2024 — Keane describes the relationship with McCarthy as “cool” (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).

The through-line: McCarthy keeps getting knocked down in public and keeps coming back with better results.

What to watch: whether the next timeline entry is a new managerial chair, a testimonial dinner, or another viral press conference nobody planned.

Confirmed facts vs what’s unclear

Confirmed facts

• The Saipan incident happened in May 2002, during preparations for the 2002 World Cup (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• McCarthy sent Keane home, and Ireland reached the knockout phase without him (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).
• By 2024, both men publicly described the relationship as “cool” (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).
• The ‘It Can’ quote came from a 2023 press conference about McCarthy’s ankle surgery (Ireland Insight (meme explainer)).

What’s unclear

• Whether Keane and McCarthy will ever fully reconcile privately, beyond their public statements (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• The exact wording of Keane’s reported outburst — including the often-quoted assessment that he did not rate McCarthy as a player, a manager or a person — varies across retellings (BBC Sport).
• What was said in the Saipan locker room before the team meeting (Ireland Insight (career profile)).
• What McCarthy’s next formal role in football will be (Ireland Insight (career profile)).

Where accounts differ, this article sides with what is documented and labels the rest as recollection.

Why this matters: the public record is clear enough that the feud’s most dramatic details now belong to folklore, not history.

What they said

“It can’t go on like this, can it? It can.”

Mick McCarthy, press conference after ankle surgery, 2023 (Ireland Insight (meme explainer))

“In the words of the great Mick McCarthy, it can!”

Jonathan Liew, sports columnist, quoted in Sky Sports coverage

“Mick McCarthy won’t let you away with crafty wording.”

SportsJoe, Irish sports outlet

All three quotes treat McCarthy’s bluntness as a feature, not a bug.

The pattern: the internet did not turn McCarthy into someone new — it finally caught up with who he had always been.

The takeaway

Mick McCarthy’s story is not really about a GIF. It is about a manager who was written off after Saipan, rebuilt his career in England, returned to Ireland, and then watched a two-second clip from an ankle-surgery press conference remake his public image. For Irish football fans, the implication is clear: enjoy the meme, respect the record, and stop waiting for a reconciliation that may never play out in private — because the public version already has.

Frequently asked questions

Whatever you ask about McCarthy, the answer loops back to the same trait: he says what he thinks and lets the results argue for him.