He was sacked by Middlesbrough last summer but is set to become the new Man Utd caretaker head coach.
The 44-year-old emerged as the favourite candidate for the United job after the club also explored a shock return for former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Carrick will take charge of United for the final 17 matches of the Premier League campaign before they plan to appoint a permanent successor to Ruben Amorim in the summer.
Carrick has already been in charge of United for three previous matches, in which they defeated both Villarreal and Arsenal and drew with Chelsea. He then spent a lengthy spell at Championship club Middlesbrough, before he was sacked last summer after they had finished 10th in the table. This is what Boro expert Leon Wobschall had to stay about his time at the Riverside.
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How would fans rate Michael Carrick's time at the club?
"Mixed. After arriving in November 2022, Carrick hit the ground running and soon won Boro fans over in a remarkable transformational run of form that saw the Teessiders swap a Championship relegation fight for a promotion charge; it was one of the stories of the season.
"The football was slick, stylish and easy on the eye, headlined by the brilliant tactical decision to reinvent centre-forward Chuba Akpom as a number 10. He was named as the Championship Player of the Season and scored a stack of goals. Boro just missed out on the top two, but a sign of things to come arrived in two play-off games against Coventry, when Mark Robins outwitted Carrick in the second leg of the semi-final.
"Boro had an awful start to the 2023-24 season and the knives were out for Carrick, only for a second successive mid to late autumn resurgence alongside a fine run to the semi-finals of the League Cup, where they bowed out to Chelsea, to change the narrative. Boro just missed out on the play-offs and despite hinting at things in Carrick's final full season in 2024-25, it ended ignominiously."
What were the positives of his tenure?
"Stylish attacking football and the rise to prominence of a number of players, most notably Akpom, Hayden Hackney and Morgan Rogers. Boro were a joy to watch for spells of Carrick's time in charge, with the likes of Finn Azaz and Emmanuel Latte Lath also excelling and some of the victories in his first two seasons in charge will be remembered for a long time. A League Cup first leg semi-final win over Chelsea and a 4-0 win in the Tees-Wear derby at Sunderland in 2023-24 were right up there."
What were the negatives?
"Carrick's lack of a Plan B and questionable in-game management proved his undoing at Boro. He was welded to a 4-2-3-1 system and his inability to be proactive in terms of his substitutions was increasingly used as a stick to beat him with in the second half of last season when his - and Boro's - fortunes went south. Boro remained a good watch at times, but needed to be more streetwise and robust at both ends of the pitch. They were the Championship’s big underachievers in 2024-25, a season when some of the goals they conceded had to be seen to be believed at times.
"Under Carrick, Boro were watchable for sure, but increasingly easy to counter from a tactical perspective as time wore on. At times, it resembled art for art’s sake."
What style of football did Boro play?
Carrick-ball. Huge emphasis on possession and playing out from the back. When it worked, it was a delight to watch. But increasingly as Carrick's tenure wore on, Championship rivals began to counter Carrick's tactics and expose their soft defensive underbelly. Boro always gave teams a chance playing out from the back continually.
Did it feel harsh when he was sacked? Or the right decision?
"I'd say the latter. Most top managers, unless they are lucky, cop a sacking or two along the way, particularly in the early stages of their respective journeys. It can ultimately be the making of them and just as Gareth Southgate and Liam Rosenior impressively recovered from sackings, so can Carrick, who still has time on his side at 44. A likeable guy, that's the hope."
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