Michael Carrick insists he has full ‘respect’ for Manchester United fans ahead of protests over the club’s ownership, acknowledging that the frustration has nothing to do with results, having won back-to-back games over Premier League title contenders Man City and Arsenal.
Earlier this month, Manchester United fan group The 1958 called for a vote of no confidence in the club’s ownership, along with a scheduled protest taking place before the game against Fulham at Old Trafford.
The 1958 labelled Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘an incompetent clown’ for ‘turning the club into a circus’, which means the co-owner is getting flak in equal measures to the Glazers for his decision-making since acquiring a minority stake in the club at the beginning of 2024.
Although The 1958 had plans to protest earlier in the season, the announcement came after United decided to sack Ruben Amorim after 14 months in charge, with Michael Carrick stepping in as head coach until the end of the season.
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The pressure is also on director of football Jason Wilcox, whose fall-out with Amorim was well documented in the press, as well as chief executive Omar Berrada.
United have gone on an unbeaten run in the Premier League since the protest plans were announced. To make matters even better, Carrick’s first two games since returning to the club resulted in wins over Man City and Arsenal.
While winning football matches will put a smile on the faces of fans, it won’t be enough to quench the anger they have towards the Glazer family. Ratcliffe’s popularity has also taken a hit in recent months.
Michael Carrick press conference
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Michael Carrick ‘not offended’ by Man Utd protests
The protest begins on Sunday at 1 pm at two separate locations. The first meeting point is at the top of Sir Matt Busby Way/Chester Road, while the second area for gathering is outside Hotel Football.
Both groups will converge at the Trinity statue outside Old Trafford.
United head coach Carrick was asked about the protest in his pre-match press conference.
In response, Carrick stressed that he has the utmost ‘respect’ for the fans in question, despite journalists suggesting that it’s odd on the back of two consecutive wins. Those journalists obviously forget the anti-Glazer protests that took place between 2005 and 2010, during the years United were far more successful on the pitch.
“Yeah, I don’t think it connects with the two wins, to be honest,” Carrick told the press when asked about Sunday’s protests against the Glazers and Ratcliffe’s ownership of the club.
“I think it doesn’t affect the team. I think, fully respect the supporters. They were incredible. They have been for so long and they’ve had a lot of highs and some downs as well. But I’m not offended by it or anything and the players certainly aren’t.
“I think within the stadium, the support we felt, and that’s been there for all the games that I’ve watched for quite some time, has been of the highest level and I’m sure it’ll continue to be like that, you know, the connection that we’ve had over the last couple of weeks has been pretty special and we’ve both fed off that. I think the supporters have fed off it.
“We have as a group, the players certainly have, and that’s something we need to keep building on moving forward because that’s exactly how we want it to be.”
Michael Carrick quizzed about Glazer relationship
Following a question about the upcoming protests about the ownership, one journalist surprised Carrick by referencing his book, where he is complimentary of the Glazers rather than critical.
Clearly surprised by the question, Carrick decided to side-step it and focus on the task at hand, which is winning football matches and keeping morale happy within the camp.
Carrick responded to the question by saying: “Yeah, I think we’ve had a good couple of weeks, and we were moving in the right direction, you know, and we want to keep building on that.
“So, I think that’s part of the focus here is to never get satisfied with what we’ve just done and keep moving forward. And the off the pitch, whatever goes on in and around the club is not really for us as a playing group to worry about and let that affect performances, you know.
“I think it’s what we feel, what we can grasp at the minute. We feel the utmost support from the supporters, as much as ever. And that’s where we want to keep moving towards.”
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