Michael Carrick | 2025/26 Manager Performances

Status
Not open for further replies.
Very much looking forward watching us play this season.

Santos/Tielemans/Mainoo gives us the basis for the most technically sound midfield we've had in a long time, and Carrick's general approach on the ball (controlled possession, emphasis on passing through the middle) is the sort of football I want to see us play.

I have more questions about our out of possession approach, but we'll see how it plays out. I think we'll at least play some good football though.
 
MadDogg said:
Aren't his wages the exact maximum amount that FIFA covers? Or is that before the boost he gets from us being in the CL?
Click to expand...
Not sure he gets one. Apparently we’ve inserted something in contracts now that says if a player doesn’t play in 60% of the games (league presumably) the previous season the wage doesn’t go back up.

I haven’t looked but am guessing he didn’t.
 
ETH first 6 months vibes with better and more experienced players. Mid block, technical, progressive build up and midfield play with a coherent team shape. Still have issues going backwards and weak links but under good coaching it can be mitigated.
 
criticalanalysis said:
ETH first 6 months vibes with better and more experienced players. Mid block, technical, progressive build up and midfield play with a coherent team shape. Still have issues going backwards and weak links but under good coaching it can be mitigated.
Click to expand...
Correct. Carrick needs to figure out how to consistently press every build up pattern like Arteta did last season. That’s when we take off.

Still. This is a good team with good coaches and players. In Line to hit 4th end of season.
 
With the ball it looks good, but then comes the premier league and 12 out of 20 teams will press like hell and we go back to midblock. Lets hope Michael is a bit braver this season so he can stay here and achieve something. Playing safe will never be a way to scuccess
 
Poborsky's hair said:
With the ball it looks good, but then comes the premier league and 12 out of 20 teams will press like hell and we go back to midblock. Lets hope Michael is a bit braver this season so he can stay here and achieve something. Playing safe will never be a way to scuccess
Click to expand...

I think this team is set up much better to resist and exploit the press than last season. Tielemans and Santos are both more press resistant than Case, and both are more likely to hit our forwards through the lines consistently.
 
Zumbi said:
I think this team is set up much better to resist and exploit the press than last season. Tielemans and Santos are both more press resistant than Case, and both are more likely to hit our forwards through the lines consistently.
Click to expand...
Keeping the ball under pressure is one thing and ability to counter press and win the ball back is another. Agreed though that we are better set to do more with the ball, lets just hope we are looking to improve our game without the ball which is key to succeed in the prem for the last 13 years.
 
I‘m happy with our signings so far and don‘t think we are done.

We have a strong squad already. I‘d buy a PL ready left back who brings something extra.

Looks like we are trying to sign Louis Page who is a midfield talent, instead of getting an experienced midfielder. The latter would limit playing time for the likes of Tielemans, Mainoo and Santos, so I think it is a good decision.

Some forget we were in big financial trouble and we still are in serious debt. We have completed our squad rebuild, from now on we need to maintain and enhance the squad quality.

Carrick is showing he can work with this squad, so I‘m optimistic for next season.
 
Last edited:
Womp said:
I actually think he has the makings of being a very good coach, but they're not giving him a proper chance.
Click to expand...
If his name was Michel Carrique and he was French, you'd have tacticos and the media praising him non-stop for his work this far.

Many seem to still hilariously believe he's another Ole just because he used to play for us.
 
NoPace said:
Yeah, if he rated him enough to be our 4th CM I think he would have been coming into games with 20-30 go, considering Casemiro's age and us being ahead in most games under Carrick. Instead he was coming on for 1 minute, 4 minutes and 9 minute appearances.
Click to expand...
It'll be interesting when he comes back if we actually need him. I think Santos and Tielemens are better suited to play alongside him than Mainoo.
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
If his name was Michel Carrique and he was French, you'd have tacticos and the media praising him non-stop for his work this far.

Many seem to still hilariously believe he's another Ole just because he used to play for us.
Click to expand...

I like a lot of what we've seen in pre-season and am quietly hopeful but what exactly is there to say about Carrick's work last season from a tactical perspective? We got fantastic results but it was fairly basic/simple concepts with players in formations and positions they were comfortable with, whilst adopting a fairly conservative mid-block out of possession. Our football was obviously much better than Amorim and post first year ETH but that's not exactly a high bar. We ceded possession far easily and our midfield play was quite pedestrian, all of which was understandable though as the end justified the means with our 3rd place finish.

So far in a few friendlies we can see more purpose build up play with passing through the middle/lines (namely Santos, Mount and Heaven) and good switches of play (specifically from Maguire in the last game). Our out of possession has been a similiar mid-block and I've not really noticed a more coordinated high press or counter press, which makes sense at it's only been a month of training and we still have more players to come back/get into rhythm. There's so little sample size to really anaylse anything. If we get good results whilst playing the same as we have in pre-season in the first competitive month then he'll get his 'dues'. Even then I wouldn't necessarily think it's a good thing. I'd much prefer he and we quietly get the job done and improve step by step than receive the 'we're back' inevitable media circus once we hit some good form.

I really hope we at least get a first team LB but even if we don't, the base squad still has a lot of quality and IMO Carrick still has much to prove he can do what we think/hope over multiple competitions.
 
Last edited:
criticalanalysis said:
I like a lot of what we've seen in pre-season and am quietly hopeful but what exactly is there to say about Carrick's work last season from a tactical perspective? We got fantastic results but it was fairly basic/simple concepts with players in formations and positions they were comfortable with, whilst adopting a fairly conservative mid-block out of possession. Our football was obviously much better than Amorim and post first year ETH but that's not exactly a high bar. We ceded possession far easily and our midfield play was quite pedestrian, all of which was understandable though as the end justified the means with our 3rd place finish.

So far in a few friendlies we can see more purpose build up play with passing through the middle/lines (namely Santos, Mount and Heaven) and good switches of play (specifically from Maguire in the last game). Our out of possession has been a similiar mid-block and I've not really noticed a more coordinated high press or counter press, which makes sense at it's only been a month of training and we still have more players to come back/get into rhythm. There's so little sample size to really anaylse anything. If we get good results whilst playing the same as we have in pre-season in the first competitive month then he'll get his 'dues'. Even then I wouldn't necessarily think it's a good thing. I'd much prefer he and we quietly get the job done and improve step by step than receive the 'we're back' inevitable media circus once we hit some good form.

I really hope we at least get a first team LB but even if we don't, the base squad still has a lot of quality and IMO Carrick still has much to prove he can do what we think/hope over multiple competitions.
Click to expand...
You sort of proved my point for me though... not everything has to be some "tactical masterclass" to be successful or great to watch. I'd argue most of the time it's the opposite, with tactical chess matches being awful to watch actually. But we were the best team in the league after he came in points wise, and beat everyone in the Big 6 in doing so.

It feels like it's extremely undervalued just how special that is to do, especially to do so in an entertaining way. Which goes back to him being quite underhyped mainly because he's just an ex-United player and non some hipster manager that came from a foreign league with 8 million twitter clips about their "philosophy".
 
Has he done a matchday press conference since becoming United manager ?
 
NoPace said:
Yeah, if he rated him enough to be our 4th CM I think he would have been coming into games with 20-30 go, considering Casemiro's age and us being ahead in most games under Carrick. Instead he was coming on for 1 minute, 4 minutes and 9 minute appearances.
Click to expand...
Agree. Carrick clearly wanted to get rid of him and doesn't rate him at all, but once he got injured...

pascell said:
80% of them
Click to expand...
the remaining 20% is about 1.5M per year. So we are jeopardizing missing on UCL next year, worth over 100M, wo we can save 1.5M? Or are you saying United cannot afford 1.5M? That makes no sense
 
NewGlory said:
the remaining 20% is about 1.5M per year. So we are jeopardizing missing on UCL next year, worth over 100M, wo we can save 1.5M? Or are you saying United cannot afford 1.5M? That makes no sense
Click to expand...
I said FIFA will be covering 80% of his wages, that's all there was to my comment. Which part of that doesn't make sense and I'll try and explain it even clearer for you?
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
You sort of proved my point for me though... not everything has to be some "tactical masterclass" to be successful or great to watch. I'd argue most of the time it's the opposite, with tactical chess matches being awful to watch actually. But we were the best team in the league after he came in points wise, and beat everyone in the Big 6 in doing so.

It feels like it's extremely undervalued just how special that is to do, especially to do so in an entertaining way. Which goes back to him being quite underhyped mainly because he's just an ex-United player and non some hipster manager that came from a foreign league with 8 million twitter clips about their "philosophy".
Click to expand...

Your original point was why wasn't he getting media coverage or analysis on his work though not that he needs to be tactically fancy to be successful or entertaining to watch.

I'm so thankful he came in and relieved us of that absolute fraud whilst getting amazing results and playing fairly entertaining stuff but it wasn't without a lot of poor periods of football too. Perhaps his work last season was 'undervalued' because he isn't ostentatious in his ways or some 'bubbly' personality but it's not like we haven't been down this road of triumph after disaster (Ole post Mourino, ETH post Ole) before; I'd understand if some are weary of not going too far with praise in what was a very specific set of circumstances of 1 game a week with our lowest amount of fixtures in 100 years. I know it's a cliche but the real work starts here where he has to manage a team in multiple competitions over the course of a long season.

Thankfully the signs are promising thus far, if I can whisper it quietly.
 
criticalanalysis said:
I like a lot of what we've seen in pre-season and am quietly hopeful but what exactly is there to say about Carrick's work last season from a tactical perspective? We got fantastic results but it was fairly basic/simple concepts with players in formations and positions they were comfortable with, whilst adopting a fairly conservative mid-block out of possession. Our football was obviously much better than Amorim and post first year ETH but that's not exactly a high bar. We ceded possession far easily and our midfield play was quite pedestrian, all of which was understandable though as the end justified the means with our 3rd place finish.

So far in a few friendlies we can see more purpose build up play with passing through the middle/lines (namely Santos, Mount and Heaven) and good switches of play (specifically from Maguire in the last game). Our out of possession has been a similiar mid-block and I've not really noticed a more coordinated high press or counter press, which makes sense at it's only been a month of training and we still have more players to come back/get into rhythm. There's so little sample size to really anaylse anything. If we get good results whilst playing the same as we have in pre-season in the first competitive month then he'll get his 'dues'. Even then I wouldn't necessarily think it's a good thing. I'd much prefer he and we quietly get the job done and improve step by step than receive the 'we're back' inevitable media circus once we hit some good form.

I really hope we at least get a first team LB but even if we don't, the base squad still has a lot of quality and IMO Carrick still has much to prove he can do what we think/hope over multiple competitions.
Click to expand...
Our press is more of a screen to cut out passes through the middle, in order to trap the ball on the flanks or recover it after a long pass.

We‘ll see how teams in the PL deal with it next season.
 
sullydnl said:
Very much looking forward watching us play this season.

Santos/Tielemans/Mainoo gives us the basis for the most technically sound midfield we've had in a long time, and Carrick's general approach on the ball (controlled possession, emphasis on passing through the middle) is the sort of football I want to see us play.

I have more questions about our out of possession approach, but we'll see how it plays out. I think we'll at least play some good football though.
Click to expand...
The opposition scouts and match analysts have lots data this season on Carrick-ball. I hope he don't get found out and dynamically adjust game to game. We need a domestic cup and a strong finish. Probably a few top signings and we can go for the title within 3 years.
 
I love that he’s trying to implement a controlled possession style. And I love that tielemans and santos both have very good passing and always look to pass forward. A few people are going on about losing possession a lot last season… and I really think that was down to Casemiro, he use to do a lot of first time passes, some paid off. Others didn’t. He was also quite slow and lacked concentration. I think with the 2 new midfielders we’ve signed this year… it will be different
 
I love the fact that he never gives the media the soundbites that they want. I honestly can't recall one memorable interview he's done since he was appointed, and that's the way it should be. Unfortunately the downside to this is that, unlike with his predecessor, journalists will be quicker to dig the knives in after a couple of defeats, but I believe the squad trusts him enough to not allow outside noise to affect them.
 
Our quick, slick passing up until the Leeds equaliser was an enjoyable watch. I am hopeful of us replicating that high tempo for sustained periods as we enter the season with increased fitness and our strongest 11.
 
Poborsky's hair said:
With the ball it looks good, but then comes the premier league and 12 out of 20 teams will press like hell and we go back to midblock. Lets hope Michael is a bit braver this season so he can stay here and achieve something. Playing safe will never be a way to scuccess
Click to expand...
Tell that to Arsenal
 
ThanksBoss26 said:
In an interview with Sky today he says ‘we want more, we need more’ in terms of players in.
Click to expand...

Just read the interview. Coming from Carrick this is the equivalent of Wilcox getting the hairdryer in the background. It's what we've all been saying. Need a physical midfielder and a LB. I don't see why it's so hard. Now they left it too long and clubs will sense we're getting desperate.

I imagine it'll be a couple of release clause based punts like a Zirkzee at this rate.

https://www.skysports.com/football/...-signings-before-the-end-of-the-summer-window
 
Very positive vibes heading into the final match of preseason, very much hope it can continue well into the season.

We've got a fresher and more technically sound squad than we've had in quite some time. Not going to go overboard with prognostications but I feel more bullish than most about our prospects this season.

Think he'll surprise many expecting the full time job to be too much for him
 
Teja said:
Just read the interview. Coming from Carrick this is the equivalent of Wilcox getting the hairdryer in the background. It's what we've all been saying. Need a physical midfielder and a LB. I don't see why it's so hard. Now they left it too long and clubs will sense we're getting desperate.

I imagine it'll be a couple of release clause based punts like a Zirkzee at this rate.

https://www.skysports.com/football/...-signings-before-the-end-of-the-summer-window
Click to expand...
Maybe these comments might finally get some movement
 
croadyman said:
Maybe these comments might finally get some movement
Click to expand...
I hope so.

It‘s what I thought towards the end of last season, we should go for it. The squad is shaping up nicely.

So get in a few more quality players. Now is the time.
 
Teja said:
Just read the interview. Coming from Carrick this is the equivalent of Wilcox getting the hairdryer in the background. It's what we've all been saying. Need a physical midfielder and a LB. I don't see why it's so hard. Now they left it too long and clubs will sense we're getting desperate.

I imagine it'll be a couple of release clause based punts like a Zirkzee at this rate.

https://www.skysports.com/football/...-signings-before-the-end-of-the-summer-window
Click to expand...
That’s just bollocks though isn’t it? A hairdryer for Wilcox? Come on now, that’s just you spinning things to fit your narrative. His actual quotes reference positive inertia in a general way, not just in reference to signing players. I’m sure there is plenty happening behind the scenes.if anything he sounds like someone who is very happy but is driving the club to never be satisfied, which is exactly right.

"We've improved the group. We've improved the squad in different ways. Balance, quality and the direction we want to go in.

"So the players that we've brought in, I think we've done really good business and we've got some top, top, top players. So we're delighted with that. We always want to improve.

"We want more, we need more. We keep looking forward to how we can do that. So that never stops. We're conscious of that and we've got to keep pushing."
 
You gotta read between the lines. He's not going to outright say that the board are a bunch of tight fisted bean counters.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.