{"id":23744,"date":"2026-02-21T01:39:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/21\/manchester-united-star-ruben-amorim-vs-michael-carrick-debate-turns-tables-very-misleading\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T01:39:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:39:25","slug":"manchester-united-star-ruben-amorim-vs-michael-carrick-debate-turns-tables-very-misleading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/21\/manchester-united-star-ruben-amorim-vs-michael-carrick-debate-turns-tables-very-misleading\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester United star Ruben Amorim vs. Michael Carrick debate turns tables ‘very misleading’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Michael Carrick has been praised for rebuilding Manchester United from the woes of the Ruben Amorim era, but striker Matheus Cunha has a slightly different take.<\/h2>\n
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Matheus Cunha grew up under Michael Carrick (Image: Marc Atkins\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n
Matheus Cunha says Ruben Amorim deserves some credit for Manchester United’s growth since Michael Carrick took over as manager. United have won four and drawn one of their five games since Carrick took over as caretaker manager in mid-January, having fallen into a rut under Amorim, but Cunha insists things are not that simple.<\/p>\n
Amorim was sacked on January 5 after a high-profile abuse following a 1-1 draw with Leeds. United were 6th in the league at the time, languishing in 15th on Amorim’s debut and losing in the Europa League final. Overall, he won just 24 of 63 games during his 14 months in charge.<\/p>\n
The Portuguese manager’s insistence on United playing in a 3-4-2-1 formation was one of the key features of his reign. Coach Carrick then changed the formation to 4-2-3-1 and brought the exiled Koby Mainou back to the bench. He oversaw wins against Manchester City and Arsenal and received much praise for restoring a positive attitude to the club.<\/p>\n
But Cunha believes that in some ways things may not have changed much because Carrick is building on the foundation laid by his predecessor. The Brazilian also said his \u00a362.5m move from Wolves last summer would not have happened without Amorim.<\/p>\n
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“I will always be grateful to Ruben for everything he has done,” Cunha told DAZN. “I think it’s very easy, when things change, to look at the past as just a problem, but it’s quite the opposite. He was a great guy. A lot of new players came in because of him, so I think he’s also played a big part in the success that we’re having now.”<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old has improved under Carrick’s guidance, scoring the winning assist against Manchester City and also scoring against Arsenal and Fulham. But he believes the tactical change from Amorim to Carrick has been overstated as a factor in United’s resurgence.<\/p>\n
“There was so much pressure to make that tactic work that we forgot how simple the whole context was and focused too much on the negatives,” Cunha said. “But to be honest, I think the numbers in football are very misleading. We attack in different ways, but in the end we end up defending in the formation that everyone says is Ruben’s.”<\/p>\n
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Ruben Amorim spent 14 months on Manchester United’s hotseat (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
United are fourth in the Premier League, one point behind fifth-placed Chelsea. They have enjoyed a long break since Benjamin Sesco’s late goal saved them a point against West Ham on February 10, and will face Everton on Monday.<\/p>\n
Carrick is contracted as caretaker manager until the end of the season, after which United will appoint Amorim’s long-term successor. But the former midfielder is building a strong case for the role as one of Wayne Rooney’s supporters.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been there and tried different managers:[Jos\u00e9]Mourinho,[Louis]Van Gaal,[Eric]ten Hag,[Ruben]Amorim, but for me Carrick makes sense, not because we’ve played together and we’re friends, but because he’s a really calming influence,” the United legend said in an Overlap fan discussion.<\/p>\n
“It makes a big difference to have someone there who knows the club well and cares about the club. Michael manages the whole team and manages the team well.”<\/p>\nContent cannot be displayed without consent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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