Manchester United have won just one of their opening five Premier League matches this season, and Michael Carrick is the man left carrying that record. Wayne Rooney has now given his verdict, and it is a blunt one: Carrick was handed too little to work with.
This Wayne Rooney Michael Carrick assessment, delivered to the Manchester Evening News, lands just as United try to find some momentum during the international break. Rooney’s message is simple. The squad Carrick inherited from the summer window was not strong enough to compete at the top of the table.
Rooney assesses Carrick’s tough start
Here is what United fans need to know before Rooney’s assessment in full.
United have won one of their first five Premier League games this season and are winless in their last four.
Carrick earned the permanent manager’s job after leading United to Champions League qualification as interim boss.
The summer window brought in Andrey Santos from Chelsea for £48million, rising to £50million with add-ons, and Youri Tielemans on a £35million release clause.
Matheus Cunha’s deflected strike salvaged a point at Fulham after Lisandro Martinez’s own goal had put Alvaro Arbeloa’s side ahead.
Rooney, speaking to the Manchester Evening News, says Carrick was let down by the transfer window and left with a weak squad.
Manchester United’s slow start: How it happened
Carrick’s permanent reign began with real hope. He steered United to Champions League qualification as interim manager, and that form earned him the job on a full-time basis. Since then, results have dropped away fast.
One win from five league matches has left Manchester United closer to the relegation zone than the top four, and a run of four games without a win domestically has increased the scrutiny on Carrick’s methods. The draw at Fulham summed up the mood. Lisandro Martinez’s own goal gave Alvaro Arbeloa’s side the lead, before Matheus Cunha’s deflected effort rescued a point United barely deserved.
We covered Rooney’s concerns over United’s approach in our earlier report, and his latest comments build on that theme. He has also spoken before about the need for United to strengthen through the middle of the pitch, something we detailed in Wayne Rooney backing midfield improvements.
Rooney says squad was left weak
Rooney’s central point, speaking to the Manchester Evening News, is that Carrick was not backed properly in the transfer window.
“He [Carrick] knows what’s in for there and listen, you always want more as a manager, I’m sure he would have wanted more from the transfer window, but he’s left with what he’s left with,” Rooney said.
He pointed to the wider competitiveness of the division as another factor working against United.
“I think the Premier League has got better; there are better teams in there. But if you don’t win at Man United, or at any club, at the minute it’s very tough, so I hope he turns it around,” he added.
Rooney was also direct about the pressure that comes with the job regardless of circumstance.
“There’s always going to be pressure, Michael knows that. If you’re not winning football games at Man United, then that pressure is there if you don’t win one game,” he said.
On the squad itself, Rooney did not hold back.
“So, it hasn’t been the ideal start to the season… there are certain things which I felt the club had to do before the window shut, in bringing players in… the squad is a bit weak,” he said, a view that sits alongside the confirmed business of £48million, potentially £50million, for Andrey Santos and the £35million release clause triggered for Youri Tielemans.
What happens next for Carrick after the international break
Rooney believes the timing of the break works in Carrick’s favour.
“He’s got to find a way to get more and the best out of these players to get up the table after this international break… I think the break has come at the right time,” he said.
He also backed Carrick’s ability to improve results with the group already at his disposal.
“He’s shown that he can get results out of this group of players. They have to get their head down and work and hopefully get some better results,” Rooney said.
The Wayne Rooney Michael Carrick talking point will not disappear once the internationals return to Old Trafford. Carrick now has a fortnight to work with his squad away from competitive fixtures, and Rooney’s comments make clear where the pressure sits: on results, not on the transfer business already done.
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