The former United and England midfielder could be hired as caretaker manager, but there is a good chance he could sign a permanent deal if he takes the club to the Champions League.
Michael Carrick wants to make interim role permanent (Image: Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
This time last year, Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough were preparing for a trip to Portsmouth, where they would face a side who had lost five of their last seven Championship games. Middlesbrough lost at Fratton Park and went on to lose five of their next six games, effectively condemning them to another season in the Second Division.
A year later, Carrick has landed one of the biggest jobs in world football. It would be kind to label this situation strange. It would be more accurate to describe it as a farce.
But as the modern saying goes, it is what it is. And never mind the fact that he’s only been appointed until the end of the season, the respected and personable Carrick now has a dream role to lose.
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This isn’t a veteran coming in to help, or a rookie stepping up from a junior team. Mr. Carrick is 44 years old, approaching what is considered the prime age for modern executives.
Carrick managed 136 games for Middlesbrough, a large and challenging club. Some suggested Carrick might have been a good fit at Spurs after he was sacked around the same time as Ange Postecoglou lost his job at Tottenham.
Essentially, Carrick has failed at Middlesbrough and a return to the Premier League is the only condition for the manager. But his reputation is sound.
Michael Carrick had a good time as Middlesbrough manager, but failed to earn him promotion to the Premier League (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
And while clubs like Manchester United should normally demand a good, established managerial name, there are examples of seemingly odd appointments working well. No need to try and trust the root.
It’s not quite the same, but who would have thought that Bayern Munich would hand over the job to a manager who had just relegated Burnley with 24 points, the lowest in the club’s history? Things didn’t end too badly for Bayern and Vincent Kompany.
Managing and coaching a player of this elite talent could be a good fit for Carrick, and with the challenges ahead clear, it should help. United are creating a lot of scoring chances and have a lot of threats.
Vincent Kompany was a strange appointment for Bayern Munich, but he has been a success in Germany (Image: PA)
Achieving more of those chances and conceding fewer goals (only the bottom six teams in the Premier League have conceded more goals than United) will be easier said than done, but they will receive excellent technical support from Steve Holland. They will have plenty of time to work on the practice field. United and Carrick will play 17 games in 19 weeks.
Carrick will be sent off if United fail to finish in the Champions League. It’s very simple. If they qualify for the Champions League, the board will have a dilemma.
Fifth place might be enough, and even if it’s not, United should be able to secure fourth place. Below the top three, the standard is pretty decent at the moment.
Jonathan Woodgate will be part of Michael Carrick’s backroom team at Manchester United (Image: (Trevor Wilkinson | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images))
To find a team in fourth place with fewer than 35 points after 21 games, we have to go back to the 2003/004 season (Liverpool’s current state). 4th and 5th place have a chance of winning. Finishing in one of these spots would be an unsurprising and mildly laudable accomplishment.
But the bottom line is that if Carrick can take this dysfunctional United side to the Champions League, it will be mission accomplished and they should qualify for next season. Is that a farce? Yes, that’s pretty much it. But Carrick is a sound football character and this could still end well.
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