Michael Carrick has engineered such a remarkable turnaround that sceptics are already rushing to paint this as a new manager bounce, but Man Utd should know better.
Not only has Michael Carrick won three games on the bounce to start off his interim tenure, but he has done so against the two best teams in the league, while Fulham are one of the most in-form teams.
All three wins have been convincing, leaving Man Utd nicely placed in a Champions League spot, and, for once, setting the pace instead of chasing the pack.
Ruben Amorim deserves ___ % credit for Michael Carrick’s BRILLIANT start at Man Utd
Fill in the blank. Did Amorim lay the foundation for success at Old Trafford?
Michael Carrick and Ruben Amorim as Man Utd managers split image
Michael Carrick and Ruben Amorim as Man Utd managers
It has led to accusations that Carrick’s success is a fluke, going as far as to paint him the next Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a suggestion he’s already fought against, but Man Utd should know getting quick results isn’t so easy.
Ralf Rangnick in Manchester United Training Session
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Man Utd have been here before with the “godfather”
The logic behind Carrick’s detractors is straightforward. If a manager couldn’t implement his system in 14 months, what could Carrick do in less than four weeks?
Therefore, his success is due to just a new voice in the dressing room, summed up in that one disrespectful word known as “vibes”.
However, if just bringing the “vibes” was so easy, surely the “godfather of German coaching” would have had a similar time at Old Trafford as Carrick?
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Ralf Rangnick took over from Solskjaer back in 2021/22 for six months, with authority that Carrick doesn’t have, as the Austrian was set to become the club’s DoF at the end of the season.
Although that did not materialise, Rangnick’s struggles showed that engineering a turnaround in six months, never mind four weeks, is not as easy as people make it out to be.
Despite being in a position where he would potentially hold the fate of the squad in his hands at the end of the season, he couldn’t get them to perform.
United’s season trailed off completely, and they salvaged a Europa League spot by the skin of their teeth.
Add to that Rangnick’s DoF role not even materialising, and it won’t be an exaggeration to paint his tenure at United as an unmitigated disaster.
Rangnick disaster shows Carrick deserves respect
In stark contrast to that interim spell under Rangnick, Carrick has engineered an immediate turnaround by generating buy-in from the players.
How many wins in a row will Michael Carrick make it now?
Three wins from three… it's a perfect start!
Carrick
Getty Images
Man Utd’s leaders are gushing about his methods, and his coaching isn’t going under the radar amid all the talk of his man-management skills.
Sometimes, the simplest answer is the right one, and Carrick has done just that by platforming his players in their ideal roles.
Kobbie Mainoo is connecting, Bruno Fernandes is creating, the full-backs are supporting, defenders are defending, and the attackers are scoring.
Just because Carrick is doing the simple thing doesn’t mean his credentials should be written off.
If anything, that interim spell under Rangnick and 14 months of Amorim showed that common sense is not all that common.
Carrick’s success so far is not a fluke, and he deserves more respect for what he’s already achieved.
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