Michael Carrick becoming Manchester United’s permanent manager is increasingly becoming a ‘when’ scenario rather than an ‘if’ scenario.
10 wins from 15 games and pushing the team into the Champions League qualification is a great audition for any manager. While Carrick was a short-term solution, he could very well be a long-term solution in Manchester, and early signs are promising.
The former player-turned-coach has certainly made the most of his advantage, but perhaps the biggest factor has been the lack of games given that United were out of all but league competition. But Carrick’s record is nothing to laugh at and the Old Trafford bosses are ready to challenge him.
Carrick played for Manchester during their trophy-winning years and was then part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s early struggles. He remained an assistant during the subsequent struggles and worked with Ole Gunnar Solskjær before his sacking.
If you can learn by watching, then the former United midfielder has been well-educated. Despite his lack of success at Old Trafford, new buds have emerged, even if those hopes quickly faded.
read more: Former Sir Alex Ferguson assistant warns Manchester United have already made Michael Carrick’s mistakeread more: Michael Carrick nominated for Premier League Manager of the Year award, expected to receive offer from Man United
Carrick is by no means a complete coach, but why is he only 44 years old? But it’s clear he’s learning from watching others fail. Just look at how he took the same group of players as Ruben Amorim, put them in a different system and got paid for it.
If he can look back to move this team forward, there will be valuable lessons to be learned, both good and bad. We looked at recent United managers to see what they did right and what led to their downfall as Carrick tries to avoid repeating himself.
Ruben Amorim
Execution – Engage with the media
Statistically, the Portuguese manager will go down as one of the worst people to occupy the home dugout in modern times. Some of his results set undesirable records, such as finishing 15th last season and losing five times in one month, like in December 2024. But all that considered, you’d get the impression that he had a much easier ride than some of his predecessors.
Even if the results were poor, Ruben Amorim was charming and charismatic at the press conference (Image: Getty Images)
It’s probably due to his charisma. He remained a likable character even if the results were against him. He came to the press conference, spoke honestly, rarely deflected or dodged questions, and provided some top-notch soundbites. Always helpful.
DON’T – Stubbornly cling to a failing system
This underlined his death in Manchester. He joins on the back of his success in the 3-4-3 system at Sporting Lisbon. It required a unique and specific talent, something United didn’t have, but Amorim stuck to his philosophy. Even when things didn’t go well, he continued to work, insisting that he would rather be fired than transferred. To be fair, he finally got his wish.
eric ten hag
Execution – Be sure to pick up the silverware
In fact, the Dutchman’s stay in Manchester ended up being several months longer than necessary. The main reason for this was that he won the FA Cup in 2024, which led United to move from considering sacking him to handing him a new contract. Before that he won the Carabao Cup, ending his six-year wait for the trophy. Regardless of the weekly results, getting silverware buys you time and gives the impression that things are going in the right direction, even if they aren’t.
What not to do – Forcing people to transfer their lottery tickets
Ten Hag conducted several large-scale recruitment campaigns, but very few were hired. And United are still feeling the effects. Signing Anthony for more than £80 million in his first summer will go down as one of the biggest mistakes in Premier League history. This level of investment in players in the Dutch league is unprecedented and must be questioned.
Erik ten Hag pushed through a number of deals without success, including Anthony.
Twelve months later, Ten Hag decided David de Gea was available and Andre Onana was the answer, only to see the Cameroonian make a number of mistakes. He has since left the club.
The Dutch were in need of a striker, so they accepted that he was a player for the future, a development player, so to speak, and signed Rasmus Hojlund. That was of little use to United right now. The Dane took until Christmas to score his first league goal and now appears to be headed for the exit door.
ole gunnar solskjaer
Execution – Surrender to the traditions of the club.
Carrick would be fine here. Fans want to see their players do well, especially if they score the winning goal in the Champions League final like Ole did. Carrick was also part of the European Cup winning team and knows what the club stands for.
Solskjaer was determined to take on academy products, something that hasn’t always happened under previous managers, and he has often talked about finding out the size of the club he is managing. Others discounted it to their own detriment.
Prohibited – Unable to establish identity for nearly 3 years
A big problem for the Norwegian, who some thought wasn’t the man who would eventually lead United back to the top, was his lack of style. There was a school of thought that Solskjær’s team lacked a clear profile, lacked a clear plan and often played on the counter, which could be a problem when playing against certain teams.
The former United manager’s side became known for their comebacks, but in the end good teams don’t always end up on the back foot, and when everything started going wrong, it quickly went wrong.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s time at Man United has ended in ruins (Image: PA)
Jose Mourinho
What to do – win the big game
To be fair, Carrick has achieved this by beating all of United’s top five rivals so far. Despite his period of uncertainty, Mourinho was often the trump card in big games, which was crucial. Downing, a fellow heavyweight, is with the fans and shows he can be combined with the best. There’s nothing worse than being labeled a flat-track bully.
Mourinho beat Chelsea and Manchester City this season, both winning titles, defeated Jurgen Klopp’s rising Liverpool and performed well in several semi-finals. Carrick’s early signs are good in this regard, but he needs to maintain that.
Please stop – I’m picking a fight.
The Special One is a man who never backs down, and his confrontational attitude was certainly evident in Manchester, but he chose a fight he could never win in the long run. Mourinho called out Luke Shaw, a player who has been with the club for far longer than the former Chelsea manager. His moment with Paul Pogba was famously captured on camera before training.
He famously went on a “football heritage” rant after the European defeat, insisting United’s Champions League pedigree was much more than that anyway. That will never endear you to fans, players, and those in power.
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