Gary Lineker’s sarcasm around a Manchester United call that Michael Carrick made shows the full extent of Ruben Amorim’s backwards mentality at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim’s reign as Manchester United manager ended earlier this month, with the 40-year-old former Sporting CP head coach axed from the Premier League club.
TalkingPoints TV: Was that the BEST Manchester Derby EVER?
Where does the Michael Carrick-led demolition of City rank for you?
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
The Portuguese coach’s time at Old Trafford lasted only 14 months before his relationship with Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe unravelled in a matter of weeks.
Amorim’s exit from Man Utd paved the way for a temporary caretaker spell under Darren Fletcher before the return of Michael Carrick was confirmed last week.
Michael Carrick was appointed interim United head coach and the 44-year-old already showed one major flaw from the whole of the Red Devils reign under Amorim.
READ MORE: Forget Patrick Dorgu, Peter Schmeichel thinks ‘fantastic’ Man Utd star perfectly sums up his ‘very long time’ point
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim talks to Diogo Dalot and Matheus Cunha during the Premier League match between Brentford and Manchester United at the Brentford Community Stadium in 2025 in Brentford, England.
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Gary Lineker rightfully shows the error of Ruben Amorim’s ways with Michael Carrick’s straightforward Man Utd call
Michael Carrick’s reign at Old Trafford kicked off with an emphatic 2-0 win for Manchester United against Manchester City in the final derby match of the season.
More United News
The Red Devils produced a superb and dominant performance in the derby, with both Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu scoring against Manchester City.
Man Utd’s approach to the Man City match saw Carrick instantly pivot away from the contentious tactical system that had been at the heart of Ruben Amorim’s reign.
Carrick deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation and the United legend’s decision allowed the door to open for Kobbie Mainoo’s return to the starting XI on Saturday afternoon.
How would YOU rate Kobbie Mainoo’s performance vs City out of 10?
Getty Images
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
Speaking on his podcast, Gary Lineker’s sarcasm around the “surprise” of Kobbie Mainoo in the midfield role was a damning assessment of Amorim’s managerial reign.
“While we’re on United, I think it does show that if players are given jobs that work for them and a system that works,” he said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“I mean, people say, ‘Yeah, why don’t they always try?’ I think you do as footballers, you always try and give your best, but for various reasons, sometimes you can’t.
“And then confidence saps and stuff like that. And then you get a fresh, fresh impetus coming in with a new manager.
“And he brought in, oh, surprise, surprise, Kobbie Mainoo, who came in and looked very comfortable in midfield and he hasn’t started since August or something.”
READ MORE: Man Utd fans did something Wayne Rooney picked up on even before Michael Carrick’s men kicked a ball vs Man City
Kobbie Mainoo’s performance under Michael Carrick showed the stubbornness of Ruben Amorim’s approach to Man Utd
It did not need to be a flawless performance from Kobbie Mainoo, who made his first Premier League start of the 2025-26 Premier League season on Saturday afternoon.
Instead, the 20-year-old Stockport-born midfielder reinforced the major difficulties that former United manager Amorim caused for himself in the current campaign.
Mainoo was steady in the midfield pivot alongside Casemiro across the 90 minutes against Manchester City and that was all that was needed in the fixture.
Michael Carrick is off to the PERFECT START at Man Utd, and he wants more!
Why do you think it went SO RIGHT for Carrick against City?
Carrick graphic
Getty Images
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
United were already dominant against City as it was in the 2-0 win and Mainoo simply helped things tick along with his confidence and composure on the ball.
Carrick wasted no time turning to Mainoo for his starting XI, while Amorim was forever haunted by not picking the Man Utd and England midfielder in his team.
Lineker couldn’t be more right with his subtle dig at Amorim and Mainoo’s Man Utd performance against City was the perfect example to do it with as well.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox