Managing Manchester United is difficult, but so many who have tried it over the past 13 years have made it seem like an impossible task. Just weeks after taking charge, Rúben Amorim declared that his team might be the worst in the club’s history. A few months into a seemingly temporary tenure, Michael Carrick looks completely at home.
Carrick has never quite declared himself a candidate to succeed Amorim on a permanent basis, but he may never need to. The audition was quite successful and made him look like the leading man. After beating Liverpool – his fourth major scalp after Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea – he has confirmed as much as he can the obvious; he wants to stay.
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“I love doing what I’m doing,” he said. “It’s a good position for me and if I’m completely honest it feels natural. I’m not blasé because it’s a difficult role but it feels like I’ve been here for a long time, at different times, on and off, but I can understand what it brings and it’s a good position to be in.”
Carrick often said a lot while saying very little. In this case, he said a lot and said very little. He seems to fit the bill. Four years after leaving Old Trafford, he returns with a knowledge of long-standing players as well as Coby Mainu, whom he met in the youth teams. However, Benjamin Sesco’s goal and prolific return against Liverpool, like Patrick Dolgu’s form in Carrick’s first two games, seems to suggest he knows how to capitalize on Amorim’s signings better than Amorim himself. Carrick seems to know this team well.
It’s only natural, seeing United’s back four, the width of their attack and the verve of their game. Carrick restored United to their former glory. Perhaps the defining player of his tenure is homegrown Mainu, who has been restored to a central role with the help of the former Manchester United midfielder. But if the academy is part of United’s identity, it’s worth noting Carrick’s commitment to the youth teams, so much so that he traveled to Oxford to cheer on the under-18s in the FA Youth Cup. His reasoning is that he is trying to look after the long-term interests of the club; however, in the process he makes himself appear to be part of the long-term development.
Carrick under-promised and over-delivered, partly because he never talked about clear goals. When he returned, United were seventh. It now looks likely that they will finish third. They know they will be competing in the European Classic next year. “The Champions League is still a bit away and we want to try and get back into Europe,” Carrick said. “To achieve this with three games left is a good achievement.”
Carrick receives support from players and supporters (Getty)
It’s also tens of millions of dollars worth of money for a club that usually specializes in wasting money. United may be daunted by the €11m compensation they paid for Amorim, even before they considered paying him the remainder of his contract.
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They got Carrick for free. They may have stumbled in the process; he did little long-term thinking when he took over the salvage effort. A few years ago, Sir Jim Ratcliffe said that Manchester United should be looking for “the best in class” and “ten out of ten”; that didn’t necessarily mean Middlesbrough sacked their manager.
So Carrick lacks the resume of some so-called contenders. Yet Luis Enrique or Thomas Tuchel may now be just daydreams; Carrick has a reality. The job will change next year: there will be up to 20 more games, at which point the benefits of not being Amorim will diminish over time. The similarities to Solskjaer could now serve as a warning; however, the Norwegian is arguably the best United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson. Knowing the club helps him; this may seem like a simplistic statement from a former player, but Carrick uses his insight well.
United’s hierarchy will know that choosing anyone other than Carrick at this stage would be risky (Jacob King/PA Wire)
From another perspective, he was a natural candidate. Amorim doesn’t know the club, but United seem to think they have found a manager who will last for generations. Instead, he’s an arrogant loser. The erring decision-maker at the time may have redeemed himself and saved a season by turning to Carrick in January.
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Keep him on the job longer and they’re covered if something goes wrong. Carrick’s players certainly want him to remain in charge, and the feeling is that much of the support is that, and there’s no one else enjoying the campaign. However, going up against a manager with a strong record in interim management, appointing others, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox will be severely affected if they struggle. The risk has become tearing it up and starting over. Carrick, a big man who feels comfortable at Old Trafford, became the natural choice.