Piers Morgan and Mick McCarthy reignited a 17-year feud on Morgan's Sports Uncensored show, with the former Republic of Ireland boss calling the host a "w*****" during a heated exchange over a match from December 2009.
McCarthy, then manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, rested 10 outfield players for a midweek Premier League fixture against Manchester United at Old Trafford, which Wolves lost 3-0. The decision infuriated Morgan, an Arsenal fan, as Arsenal were in a title race with United at the time. Morgan later called for McCarthy to be sacked.
McCarthy Defends His Decision
On the show, McCarthy stood by his choice, explaining: "My job is to win games. We went to Spurs the Saturday before, we won 1–0 with about 35 per cent possession. We've got Manchester United on the Tuesday. I went there, I dropped 10 players. I have a squad of 22. If I'm a manager, it's my right to manage that team how I see fit and get results."
Morgan countered: "And it's my right as an Arsenal fan who was directly impacted by it." McCarthy retorted that Arsenal "weren't good enough to win the title, and Sir Alex [Ferguson] won it again. And you weren't good enough, so you blame me, which is real bad on your part."
Morgan Doubles Down
The broadcaster insisted: "Just to be clear: by dropping 10 players, you let United walk all over you, which had a direct impact on my team's chances of winning the league. I thought that was an appalling abrogation of your duty as a manager to entertain the fans with the best available team."
McCarthy underlined that his job was to keep Wolves in the Premier League, and he achieved it, securing £100m for the club by avoiding relegation by eight points that season. When Morgan asked if he'd feel differently if a rival benefited from a weakened opponent, McCarthy admitted: "I'm going to moan like a b***h, like you do!" before both acknowledged their hypocrisy.
