Michael Carrick has fixed a lot of Ruben Amorim’s mistakes so far at Man Utd, but his latest verdict on one player risks a repeat of his predecessor’s error.
A sense of calm and confidence permeates Man Utd under Michael Carrick, and while the results help, his own personality doesn’t invite chaos.
Carrick resists rocking the boat and calling out his players in the same way as Ruben Amorim often did.
While that was to the detriment of the squad’s morale more often than not, one player always escaped that treatment from him. Carrick is following Amorim’s worrying lead in that aspect.
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Michael Carrick delivers ‘brilliant’ verdict on Mason Mount
Since Carrick took over at Old Trafford, Mason Mount has played a grand total of one minute of football for Manchester United.
This is coming in a season where United play a frustratingly small number of games with remarkably large gaps between them.
Clearly, Mount is no longer a player who can be relied upon to even be a squad player, let alone the status that his wages should warrant.
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However, Carrick struck a confident and optimistic tone recently as Mount inches closer to his latest return.
He said: “Starting would be too much at this point, from training time and the exposure he’s had. It’s brilliant to have him back; he’s a fantastic player and great to have around the group. The break coming up is a good time for him.”
While Man Utd fans won’t debate Carrick on the stance that Mount is a “fantastic” player, the long-term picture is that he just doesn’t play enough.
For Man Utd’s sake, these comments by Carrick on Mount need to be just a case of a manager propping his player up.
Otherwise, he risks repeating Amorim’s mistake.
Ruben Amorim’s backing of Mount proved costly
Mount has always been a head coach’s favourite throughout his career, but the difference now is that his body can no longer justify that billing.
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Amorim fell on the sword of backing Mount, and even though he repaid that trust on occasion, the sacrifices Amorim made to accommodate Mount when fit just weren’t worth it.
Benjamin Sesko dropped to the bench so Mount could play as the No. 10, and Kobbie Mainoo remained rooted to the bench because Bruno Fernandes had to play deeper.
Basically, everyone had to be open to changing positions just so Amorim could deploy Mount at his preferred No. 10 spot.
That level of backing for a player who plays once in a blue moon and is on huge wages is just not warranted.
Hopefully, Carrick doesn’t repeat Amorim’s mistake. Saying Mount is a brilliant player and it’s fantastic to have him back is just the safe narrative he wants out there.
The problem will begin if he backs up those actions with his words and falls on the same sword of backing Mount that proved costly for Amorim.
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