One managerial departure that flew under the radar earlier this month was that of Michael Carrick, who was dismissed as manager of Middlesbrough on the 4th June, following a tenth place finish. [Carrick](https://www.claretandhugh.info/michael-carrick-wont-be-the-next-hammers-manager/) was appointed in October 2022, when ‘Boro were 21st in the Championship. His impact was immediate – he led the team to 16 wins in 23 matches, guiding the club to a fourth place finish and into the play-offs, where they eventually lost in the semi-finals to Coventry City.
His second season saw progress in the League Cup, with Middlesbrough reaching the semi-finals, though they were heavily beaten by Chelsea. In the league Boro finished 8th – just missing out on the play-offs. Carrick signed a new three year contract in June 2024, only to see it cut short 12 months later.
Following Julen Lopetegui’s departure from West Ham in January, the ex West Ham midfielder was heavily linked to the managers job at the London Stadium. Indeed, in supporters polls he was the favourite candidate amongst fans for the job.
Having played under Sir Alex Ferguson for much of his career, and working for Jose Mourinho as one of his coaching staff, Carrick arguably has all the credentials to be a top class manager. His playing career in football is impressive – five Premier League titles, one FA Cup, three League Cup medals, six FA Community Shields, a Champions League title, Europa League win, and a FIFA Club World Cup.
There were concerns from the West Ham board that he was not quite ready for the role at West Ham, and Karren Brady was pushing for Graham Potter to fill the void.
So what led to Carrick’s dismissal from Middlesbrough?
One key moment came in January when Emmanuel Latte Lath a vital attacking presence – was sold and his replacement Kelechi Iheanacho, whom Carrick had pushed for, struggled badly. There were some concerns also within the club, regarding other managers comments that Boro were “easy to predict and counteract”. His team had positive statistics in passing success rate and ball retention yet regressed on chance conversion rate, and XG underperformance.
Addressing West Ham’s season, a 14th place finish for West Ham masked a lot of inefficiencies, and damning statistics under Potter’s half season – which has led to many supporters fearing a relegation fight in the new season.
Ironically should Potter fail to improve results, Carrick could find himself back in the frame – particularly as West Ham’s board is known for avoiding expensive exit clauses. Carrick if still available could resurface as a leading candidate. Potter’s overall career win percentage is 28.75% (46 wins in 160 games), with Carrick at 46.88% (37 wins in 79 games).
For now though, the Board are ‘optimistic’ that Potter is the right person for the role and has their backing, despite the fact he needs to fund the transfer kitty by players sales.