Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick is struggling in an area his predecessor did too.
There is a lot to dissect from Manchester United’s draw with Everton. Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored a superb long-range strike to clinch a 2-2 draw in stoppage time – but it was avoidable.
Gary Neville stated that he was ‘screaming at the TV’ over United’s defensive disorganisation.
He cited Patrick Dorgu and Leny Yoro for their poor positioning, while it was Noussair Mazraoui’s poor clearance that led to the Everton goal.
We can pick that sequence apart all day long – but the bigger picture view is why all these players were on in the first place?
Along with Benjamin Sesko and Andrey Santos, Michael Carrick made five changes during the course of the game.
And we would just ask… did he really need to make five?
Just because Carrick could make five changes, does not necessarily mean that he should have done so.
The multiple changes fuelled the sense of disorganisation among United’s structure as the game became more frantic, and had the opposite effect of the intention – to tighten up the game.
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Premier League rule change
Premier League clubs voted to change the rules on substitutes permanently on 21 March 2022.
Prior to the Covid lockdown, only three substitutes per match were permitted.
Five changes were permitted at the end of 2019/20 before reverting to three, and then club finally voted to permit five changes per team from the start of 2022/23.
In theory the switch should benefit a club like Manchester United, which has a deeper squad.
It’s certainly helpful to be able to name a longer bench, and not have so many players miss out on the matchday squad entirely.
But what this has meant is that managers are spoiled for choice, and can’t help themselves tinkering with the team during games.
Ruben Amorim drove us all crazy by changing his centre-backs in every game. That was one of his many faults.
Michael Carrick is also finding the temptation to tinker too hard to resist.
During the opening three games of the season, Carrick has made the maximum number of substitutes, 15.
You could argue on one hand that this is smart, with player struggling for fitness and others in need of game time.
But when you have a tight game like the one against Everton, making too many changes can be too disruptive.
Football changes and evolves, and the substitute limits are not going back to three anytime soon.
Michael Carrick and his coaching staff must assess how they manage games and strike the right balance.