If he gets CL, he should be interviewed along with others,, nothing more and nothing less.
Michael Carrick - Head Coach for the remainder of the season
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I dunno, he definitely has football connections at the club and he's used those to become something of an oracle to give him his due. But I think he's talking to players, coaches and staff rather than anyone who's in any position to make any kind of decision. Could be wrong but whenever I read his stuff it seems to be more features rather than news based. Interviews, profiles, deep-dives etc. If he does have that level of contact and connections at the club then he could be earning a lot more money than presumably he's paid writing articles asking where United fans went on holiday during the break in fixtures.
Out of his depth 9 points out of 17 against vs bottom half of the table clubs and 3 of those points were against a terrible 10-man Spurs side which we were the worse of the 2 teams until the red card and another 3 points was vs Palace which we were again the worse of the 2 sides until the red car. Not to mention dropping 3 points and conceding 2 goals while up a man and losing to Newcastle which we had a man advantage for half the match.
There is a reason Middlesbrough sacked him. Top 5 is well and truly in jeopardy with him as the manager. Got Chelsea, Brentford and Liverpool coming up could easily drop 9 points in those if we continue to play like we have.
There is a reason Middlesbrough sacked him. Top 5 is well and truly in jeopardy with him as the manager. Got Chelsea, Brentford and Liverpool coming up could easily drop 9 points in those if we continue to play like we have.
I’m ambivalent on us taking on Carrick, and he’a certainly not my first choice, but that seems like some selective stat picking.
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Demanding an apology from your high horse is unlikely to elicit the response you think you deserve.
I’ve reflected on what went wrong in that sequence of posts, doesn’t seem like you have.
Yeah admittedly most of those aren’t available, still big fan of Nagelsmann despite what the Bundesliga supporters say about him. Emery's time at Arsenal is why I would have reservations on him. Madrid is probably the one club harder to handle than us so prepared to give Alonso a pass. The reason I see Iraola different to those two is that he's at least managed in this league before albeit at a lower level.
Don't see us interviewing anyone else ridiculously
An ambitious appointment would be any manager that the club has identified has a style of play which is compatible with the long-term vision of the club hierarchy and who's shown the ability to implement that in his team. Carrick was clearly an interim option appointed on the basis of 1) being out of a job and 2) used to play for Manchester United. Are those the criteria for being the permanent manager of Manchester United?
There's nothing about his stint at Boro saying he's a long term manager for Manchester United, and there's not much about what we've seen on the pitch in terms of either style of play or quality that indicates he's going to take us to the level we aspire to be at. He's still riding on the two initial games where we could absorb pressure and counter-attack, and since then the performances have been pretty mediocre while picking up enough points to put us in a good position in the table.
Yeah, they can spend 300m and give him better players which is going to improve the general level of the team when everyone's available, but there's not really a tactical approach beyond "go out there and have fun and solve the problems amongst yourselves".
I've said all along that if there's no suitable candidate out there (in the board's view) the maximum they should offer Carrick is another year while they sound out actual long-term options, and this is a process that should've started the second they fired Amorim. But it looks like they're placing every single egg in the Carrick basket without sounding out any potential managerial hires on the assumption we're going to make the CL. If that's not Iraola or Alonso or Nagelsmann then wait another year, but please for the love of god don't give him a three-year deal so we have to deal with the added sentimentality of when to part ways with an ex-player.
And what if our results start catching up with our performances and we drop out of the top 5? Start looking for managers at the end of May just before the WC? Yeah, clearly the hallmarks of a club structure with a plan..
I am done with the club if this is true.
Makes me almost want to miss out on the CL. Not like we are going to do much there anyway.
If and when Chelsea beat us on Saturday, we'll have just a 4 point cushion and a worse GD than the 6th placed team.
The attitude of "we're definitely getting CL so don't have to bother even speaking to anyone else" is about to get really risky with 5 games to go.
Yeah, it's not something to be cavalier about. I think Chelsea will win that match too. We're playing poorly. Carrick reacts slowly. We're likely missing the three senior centre backs and Yoro is coming off an awful performance. If Mainoo is still out, Carrick will have to find a different solution to starting Ugarte whose shop value is currently tanking.
Then we play Brentford and Liverpool, both at home. Neither a foregone conclusion.
So who is the "ambitious" hire then?
There's no difference between Iraola and someone like Potter before he left Brighton.
I'd say Alonso's Madrid exit is a massive black mark on his CV.
I just don't get the Nagelsmann hype at all.
I don't care about the board's view. I want your view on what makes Iraola, Alonso or Nagelsmann hires that indicate ambition?
I'm not even particularly "Carrick In". I agree he's the "safe and easy" option, but given there's almost universal acknowledgement that there isn't a safe pair of hands to take over from him, maybe "safe and easy" is the sensible option, at least in the short-term? Who knows, maybe he'll grow into the job very quickly? That said, I wouldn't be at all bothered if we went with a more established name for next season, even if I think pretty much every option comes with its own risks.
I also agree that there have been obvious issues with the running of the club, despite the new structure.
However, I think a lot of your view is based on pessimistic conjecture. We don't know who the club has or hasn't spoken to about the job, or indeed how the rest of the season will play out. However, you (and some others) have convinced yourself that we're going to limp to the end of the season, that the club has been sat doing nothing about the managerial position because they've already decided Carrick is getting the job, and that we're going to find ourselves scrambling around, unprepared, come the end of May, trying to decide who should be our manager for the 2026/27 season.
Ulimately, it's quite telling that everyone eager to shit on Carrick and/or the club (potentially) deciding to hire him permanently is unable to actually commit themselves to a clear choice to take over in the summer.
I'm already done with these owners when they decided to keep Ten Hag after FA Cup Final. I will reiterate what I said earlier I don't blame Carrick for the shambolic way this club has been run
The doom and gloom here is glorious. One home defeat and now all of a sudden we're a pub team.
The reality is much more nuanced than our expectations. It's going to be a fine margin against every opponent -- win or lose no one getting blown off the pitch over the next six matches. As for Chelsea, it's exactly the kind of opponent we perform well against. The players need to do their part and actually show up for duty once the first whistle is blown. It's up to Carrick too to get the squad right and hopefully Mainoo will be fit to start over the woeful Ugarte, and hopefully Harry will be back to shore up a back line that leaks goals without him.
The reality is much more nuanced than our expectations. It's going to be a fine margin against every opponent -- win or lose no one getting blown off the pitch over the next six matches. As for Chelsea, it's exactly the kind of opponent we perform well against. The players need to do their part and actually show up for duty once the first whistle is blown. It's up to Carrick too to get the squad right and hopefully Mainoo will be fit to start over the woeful Ugarte, and hopefully Harry will be back to shore up a back line that leaks goals without him.
Well Nagelsmann is ambitious hire because he has experience of managing a big club in Bayern and now has experience of managing country too. Yes I know what certain Bundesliga people on here say about him too. Like I said in my post I don't see Alonso's Madrid exit as a black mark whatsoever and neither will many other clubs. I have seen enough in Iraola that says to me he has the potential to be like an Arteta except he prefers to play on the front foot which looks alien to Lego Pep.
Mitten did add we'll also be doing due diligence on other candidates and then change to Carrick will be favourite, should we get CL.
So just his opinion (i hope).
I worry he isn't motivating them since those first two games as performance levels have dropped off. I also don't like the fact his training seems to sound quite relaxed as think it's making us start too slow.
Him being favourite for job just says everything about these owners and complete lack of ambition
I think the doom and gloom is justified in the sense that our intensity, all-round play and performances have been getting progressively worse since his first couple of games.
Goals scored and points on the board is obv a positive metric. But we’re painful to watch.
Goals scored and points on the board is obv a positive metric. But we’re painful to watch.
Yeah and we might start to get punished for it if that performance from Leeds is anything to go by
A Bundesliga with Bayern is about as valuable as winning Ligue 1 with PSG. International management is also regarded pretty much as an irrelevancy, which is why Gareth Southgate remained a laughable suggestion, despite reaching a WC semi and two Euros finals.
Other clubs might not view Alonso like I do, but he's currently a "system" manager that very quickly failed to adapt to a high-pressure, big-club environment, that has a CV that stretches no further than two good years in Germany.
Iraola has the potential to be like Arteta who took years to show any signs of being a top manager (and is doing his best to bottle another league title)? Pull the other one. We all know you're not giving a manager that long.
These are not "ambitious" hires.
Me neither.
I get the feeling there’s no other plan in place. Let’s imagine that the wheels come off completely between now and the end of the season, I don’t think they’ve considered any sort of alternatives or have any contingency in place; whereas we were promised a thorough process
If it’s down to CL qualification with no consideration given to performances, then that’s ridiculous. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility we scrape into the top 5, in which case I can’t see how that’s a justification to give Carrick the job without competition. We weren’t a million miles away from CL under Amorim, it’s not like Carrick has shot us up the table from 13th.
Completely disagree
They haven't considered what happens if we end up just falling over the line for CL qualification, has become very obvious since those articles talking up Carrick getting the job came out. I am not in the least bit surprised when they have previous for making poor decisions on managers.
We can't be sure what does or doesn't go on during training sessions, but if it's the case that training sessions are quite relaxed that obviously needs to be rectified immediately.
We only need two more wins, per my calculations, to remove any possible doubt about CL qualification but with the defeat to Leeds now Chelsea is almost a must-win for two reasons -- to keep Chelsea well off our back and to repel the sense of panic that would undoubtedly descend on us if Chelsea were to beat us.
That said, I'll take a draw with Chelsea and, depending on who's available for us on Saturday, a draw may be what we should be playing for...and take our chances on the counter.
The question for us is whether Carrick has the courage to go back to a counterattacking game or whether he'll be drawn in to an open game with Chelsea, tactics that probably won't work given the composition of the squad.
I think people are reading too much into the lack of stories of us interviewing managers given the time we have left before we have to make an appointment, the games we have left to play under Carrick this season, the fact that many managers are in positions where they would not want discussions with United made public, and the fact that we were already in discussions with Sporting for Amorim when that story properly broke.
Maybe it will be Carrick. But even if it isn't, I still wouldn't expect to hear anything until the end of the season.
Maybe it will be Carrick. But even if it isn't, I still wouldn't expect to hear anything until the end of the season.
The only thing that changed at half time is that Leeds changed their approach and sat back. This allowed us to swing balls in. Even in the second half they should have buried us with the numerous dangerous counters they had.
It's nailed on to be Carrick
Some good moments in the first few games, but his football is a lot worse than what we saw with Amorim. With the way we're playing, I can see us losing every remaining game.
Quite a take.
Amorim almost got us relegated last season. Carrick has us comfortably in CL qualification now.
Won't lose them all but performances have nosedived ever since that Arsenal game on January 25
I would say these stats are broadly in line with what I've seen in our performances under Carrick.
More stable, less aggressive, better defensively, worse offensively, getting more points, probably to a greater extent than the improvement in performances has warranted, but that improvement is still there.
I don't think his football is a lot worse than we saw under Amorim (as someone said above), nor do I think it's been a massive upgrade (as some people imagined initially). It's the same team tweaked in a way that has on balance had net benefit, but maybe also isn't the approach we'd want to take longer term.
I stole this line from I think Stephen Howson (who's not anti-Carrick. Possibly the opposite). I found it interesting, and from my own Googling hard to dispute:
Carrick managed his first game in 2021. He was employed at Middlesbrough for 3 years. In that time he's never - at no press conference, at no interview - given any sort of high level tactical insight. None, beyond what you'd hear from your average Sunday League manager.
For my own interest I checked it out and these are quotes from Carrick about his ethos:
It was very hard to find any quotes on the topic, or even tangentially related, from him.
You could say that managers like Guardiola, Alonso, Enrique, Flick etc (or at a slightly lower level Iraola, Glasner, De Zerbi, Hurzeler etc) are just more candid in public about their vision and are happy to drill down on things like their pressing structure, positional play and build-up. Kompany was such a good talker, with such a clear ethos, that it got him the Bayern job despite being relegated with Burnley.
Maybe Carrick just does it behind the scenes?
But then there's quotes from different players he's managed:
Carrick seems to trend closer to a Steve Bruce type manager than a Pep or an Enrique. Which is fine - but not at United, for me at least.
Carrick managed his first game in 2021. He was employed at Middlesbrough for 3 years. In that time he's never - at no press conference, at no interview - given any sort of high level tactical insight. None, beyond what you'd hear from your average Sunday League manager.
For my own interest I checked it out and these are quotes from Carrick about his ethos:
It was very hard to find any quotes on the topic, or even tangentially related, from him.
You could say that managers like Guardiola, Alonso, Enrique, Flick etc (or at a slightly lower level Iraola, Glasner, De Zerbi, Hurzeler etc) are just more candid in public about their vision and are happy to drill down on things like their pressing structure, positional play and build-up. Kompany was such a good talker, with such a clear ethos, that it got him the Bayern job despite being relegated with Burnley.
Maybe Carrick just does it behind the scenes?
But then there's quotes from different players he's managed:
Carrick seems to trend closer to a Steve Bruce type manager than a Pep or an Enrique. Which is fine - but not at United, for me at least.
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My hesitation with Carrick or an Iraola type manager is they'll be too grateful for the opportunity and may avoid rocking the boat in terms of our squad make up. A manager like Enrique know what he wants, understands the players that fit and has the clout to force a deck shuffle. This group of players do not aspire to win the league. They are happy to bounce between 3rd and 15th because the manage will pay the price and they get their checks regardless.
He needs a great performance, not just resul, against Chelsea.
We need to have a serious look at Naglesmann.
We need to have a serious look at Naglesmann.
Oh yeah he's desperate for him to get job because his beloved Ancelotti has committed to Brazil now
We can't afford to fund what he wants or is there someone in the same mould you think is realistically gettable
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I am not sure you can make any claims about high horses when this stated because you arrogantly got up on yours and then charged off in completely the wrong direction.
I'm also not sure you can attest to any kind of reflection given you're still being defensive and trying to deflect rather than make it right.
I find the equivalence you're trying to draw rather childish and transparent. Having an opinion you disagree with, no matter how right or wrong it is, is not the same as insulting the wrong person because you misread something. You can and should be better than this.
To be honest I don't worry too much about that. I'm not aware of many managers who deliver high level tactical insight in their press conferences, at least not with any regularity. If anything to simply not to give away anything to their opponents that can be used against them, it wouldn't make much sense for them to be open.
But the quotes from his players that he's basically a "go out there and express yourself and be confident" type of manager is definitely what I would have guessed looking from the outside. It feels like an old school approach that is probably going to have a ceiling on how far it takes us, ala Ole who Carrick was a coach for.
This is why I'm tempted by Iraola who's teams look to consistently reflect the work he does on the training pitch and how he wants his teams to play.
Having said that, Zidane and Ancelotti's players might tell you a similar thing judging by Bale's interview on the overlap, and you can't deny the success. I remember Bayern players didn't like the lack of detailed coaching under Ancelotti regime as they were used to Pep prior to that. Whereas clearly Madrid players did like Ancelotti's style.
It really is isn't it? I just looked and he was 4/6 on, Iraola 8/1 next best. I know betting companies don't appoint our managers but...