The big debate: Michael Carrick announced as Manchester United’s interim manager, with the club set to wait until the summer to decide on Ruben Amorim’s permanent successor
Manchester United are preparing to announce Michael Carrick as their new caretaker manager (Image: Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)
The decision has been made. Michael Carrick will remain Manchester United’s caretaker manager until the end of the season after parting ways with Ole Gunnar Solskjær and negotiating with the chaotic Old Trafford hierarchy.
Carrick, 44, will take the reins on an interim basis as United compete in the Champions League from now until May. But what about more?
Could the former Middlesbrough manager do the same with Solskjaer in 2019 and persuade United to give him the permanent managerial job? Or should the Red Devils look elsewhere for Ruben Amorim’s long-term successor?
We asked the Mirror Football Team who they think will be United’s manager in August.
read more: Manchester United keep an eye on PSG manager Luis Enrique, giving hope to contract situationread more: Darren Fletcher turns down first-team role at Michael Carrick’s Manchester United
Andy Dunn
Forget about the interim title, Michael Carrick will become Manchester United manager and lead the club to the Champions League next season. The audition will last 17 games, and the formula is that if he wins more than he loses, the permanent job will be his.
Carrick is no rookie. He managed 136 games for Middlesbrough, a large and challenging club. At 44 years old, he’s approaching what would be considered the prime age for modern executives.
Bringing in Steve Holland was a smart move, with United only playing 17 games in four months. They have to be fit and fresh for every game and they have a talented squad that is clearly underachieving.
No, Carrick wasn’t a big name as a manager, but he had potential and was highly respected as a player. And remember, if penniless Sir Jim Ratcliffe can avoid paying a king’s ransom for powerful appointments such as Thomas Tuchel, he will.
Where Carrick loses is work.
Who do you think will manage Manchester United next season? Let us know your choice in the comments section.
Michael Carrick has been sacked as Middlesbrough manager after two-and-a-half years in charge (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
Jeremy Cross
Given the scale of the task, United need to name a proven winner. Someone with experience dealing with the pressures and expectations of a huge club. A manager praised for his excellent leadership and ability to sign top-class players to United.
That means there are fewer people available for United’s leadership to work with. Thomas Tuchel is too combustible and Carlo Ancelotti is unlikely to want the job, while Mauricio Pochettino does not meet all of the above criteria. And if Gareth Southgate is appointed, supporters will leave the club.
That means United will have to shake heaven and earth to lure Luis Enrique to Old Trafford. He ticks all the boxes and looks like the right man to lead United back to greatness.
Luis Enrique’s future at Paris Saint-Germain is reportedly uncertain (Image: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
ben husband
United can pretend this is an interim appointment all they want, but if he does well there’s no chance they’ll let him go and start again. Carrick feels like an ideal appointment for INEOS and the clumsy bunch of ‘experts’ stationed at Old Trafford.
He will give freedom to his players, trust the club’s academy and, perhaps most importantly, will not make a fuss when told which players to sign. It’s clear the club is not set up to be run by an all-powerful manager and that’s not what they want. Carrick might be.
It seems clear that United will finish the season in the top four. That should be enough to keep him in the dugout at least until this time next year.
Tom Victor
Manchester United have tried all sorts of new appointments since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. They had a hand-picked successor (David Moyes), a natural winner (José Mourinho), an option who ‘knew the club’ (Ole Gunnar Solskjær), an interim sailor (Ralf Rangnick), an overseas player of the month option (Erik ten Hag) and an option who ‘seemed to hate everyone at the club’ (Ruben Amorim).
What will remain when it is all over? The ideal would probably be someone who could give the players a big hug, but also be a tactical maverick and never argue with higher-ups.
Oh, and United should get the prize for appointing them, probably a lollipop and a pat on the back for being the smartest kid in the class. Sadly for them, we don’t live in a fantasy land, so we may have to shock or compromise on some things.
Either that, or they can wait until England win the World Cup and bring in Thomas Tuchel once there is enough good will to get them through those first difficult months. Yes, let’s go with that.
Thomas Tuchel’s FA contract is until the end of the World Cup (Image: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Dan Marsh
Michael Carrick could be in the shop window for six months or so, but I don’t think he’ll be the next permanent Manchester United manager. There was a lot of talk about Oliver Glasner after his stint at Crystal Palace, but the job at United is bigger than ever.
So for me it’s easy to get Thomas Tuchel after the World Cup. It remains to be seen why Chelsea decided to sack Tuchel, but if there is even the slightest chance that he will be lured back to the Premier League after overseeing England’s World Cup campaign, there is no doubt that the Old Trafford outfit will have to accept it – even if it means a less-than-ideal start to pre-season, given that Tuchel will (hopefully) be locked up until the end of the tournament.
Compared to the other players in the slot, Tuchel is the standout option. He has the pedigree to take on a job like Manchester United, plus he has experience in the Premier League. It’s been a long road back for United, but if there’s anyone who can get United back on track, it’s undoubtedly Tuchel.
Oliver Glassner’s contract with Crystal Palace expires in June (Image: Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images)
samuel mead
Oliver Glasner. Barring his spell at Crystal Palace ending on a whimper, the Austrian will be a man in demand. To be honest, even if things didn’t end well, he has done more than enough to prove himself at Selhurst Park and it is well documented that he has always been without his best players.
His contract expires in the summer, but he has not been shy about expressing his dissatisfaction, wishing the club had supported him more in the market. Although often forgotten, his career includes winning the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt, and his style of play has garnered him much praise.
The only question mark is his ability to lead a heavyweight club, something he has yet to achieve. Glassner has all the characteristics of someone who can step up and feels it’s the right time in his career to take on that challenge.
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