In a sport where a manager's tenure can be measured in months, Michael Carrick stands at Old Trafford insisting that Manchester United can be managed after all, even as a winless run and public doubts from his own players test that conviction. Before Sunday's home game against Bournemouth he refused to accept the idea that the club is ungovernable, and he pushed back on the charge that his side simply do not run or press enough, arguing that such labels miss what football actually asks of a team. Behind him stand old allies and a legendary predecessor, and ahead of him lies a match that may de
Carrick rejects claim Man Utd are unmanageable as pressure mounts before Bournemouth clash
"We have to be a different team on Sunday."
Mark
Carrick answered the 'unmanageable club' question with a single word. Why does that matter?
Mimi
Because it's the argument that gets used to excuse eight managers failing since Ferguson left in 2013. If he accepts it, he's conceding before Sunday. He refuses it.
Mark
But he does concede some things.
Mimi
Yes. He called the 4-1 loss at Como on Wednesday unacceptable. What he disputes is the narrative that his team doesn't run or press.
Luke
Worth noting that's his view of pressing. The article doesn't give us any pressing data to check it against, so we can't say who's right.
Mark
And the comments from Martinez and Fernandes?
Mimi
They attacked the club's recruitment and his tactics, publicly, which adds to the pressure from the seven games without a win.
Luke
The report describes them as controversial but doesn't quote them, so we don't know exactly what was said.
Mark
Does the Ferguson and Solskjaer contact signal anything?
Luke
Carrick himself says no, it's nothing different this week. We should take that at face value.
Mimi
What's confirmed is that they're close, and that Solskjaer visited in Trondheim in July.
Mark
So what's the real test?
Mimi
Bournemouth on Sunday. He says the team must be different, and a loss would likely deepen the questions about his future.
Il Polso
- Seven games without a win have placed Michael Carrick's job under open strain at Manchester United.
- Public criticism of recruitment and tactics from Lisandro Martinez and Bruno Fernandes has disrupted the dressing room and fueled outside doubt.
- Carrick is pushing back hard, rejecting the claim that the club is unmanageable and dismissing the idea that his team simply do not run or press.
- A 4-1 Champions League defeat at Como has left his side needing an immediate, visible shift before Sunday's Bournemouth game.
- A loss to Bournemouth would make him the third managerial change in three seasons, so the outcome at Old Trafford is landing as a make-or-break moment.
In a sport where a manager's tenure can be measured in months, Michael Carrick stands at Old Trafford insisting that Manchester United can be managed after all, even as a winless run and public doubts from his own players test that conviction. Before Sunday's home game against Bournemouth he refused to accept the idea that the club is ungovernable, and he pushed back on the charge that his side simply do not run or press enough, arguing that such labels miss what football actually asks of a team. Behind him stand old allies and a legendary predecessor, and ahead of him lies a match that may decide whether his time at the club is extended or, like so many before him, brought to an end.
Asked whether Manchester United is a club that simply cannot be managed, Michael Carrick answered with one word: "No." He said it ahead of Sunday's Premier League game against Bournemouth at Old Trafford, while his job hangs in the balance after seven games without a win.
The question carries weight because of the recent past. Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, a long line of managers has failed to find lasting footing, and a dismissal now would be the third change in as many seasons. Intense media scrutiny, including former players running their own outlets and large fan channels, has led some to argue the club is impossible to run.
Carrick's position has been made harder by public criticism from senior players Lisandro Martinez and Bruno Fernandes, who attacked the club's recruitment and his tactics. He accepted that the 4-1 Champions League defeat at Como was "unacceptable," but he rejected the common charge that his side do not run enough or press well. Pressing, he argued, is only one small part of football, and you do not need it to win games.
He has people to lean on. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remains close, and Carrick has also spoken with Sir Alex Ferguson, who signed him in 2006. He insists he trusts his squad completely. "We'll be a different team on Sunday," he said. "We have to be." Whether they are will be answered against Bournemouth.
Asked whether Manchester United is a club that simply cannot be managed, Michael Carrick gave an answer of one word: "No." The head coach said it ahead of Sunday's Premier League game at Old Trafford against Bournemouth, which kicks off at 14:00 GMT, and he said it while holding on to his job after a run of seven games without a win.
The question is a live one because of how the last decade and more has gone. If Carrick were dismissed, it would be the third managerial change in as many seasons. It would also make eight long-term bosses, Ralf Rangnick among them, to lose their jobs since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 without getting close to what he achieved. The scrutiny is also amplified by the number of prominent former players who run their own media outlets, and by fan channels that draw large audiences. That has led some to argue that United is, by its nature, an impossible club to run.
Carrick's own position has been made harder by public comments from two senior players. Lisandro Martinez and Bruno Fernandes made controversial remarks attacking the club's recruitment and Carrick's tactics, adding to the strain created by results.
The latest of those results was a 4-1 Champions League defeat at Como on Wednesday. Carrick accepted that his team's performance there was "unacceptable". But he pushed back on a specific charge made by former professionals and casual observers alike: that his side do not run enough and do not press when the opposition has the ball. He said he does not think the claim stands up to much scrutiny, and it clearly irritates him.
"You've got to be careful with just saying 'not running'," he said. He argued that United have won plenty of games over a period of time, and that pressing is only one small part of football. In his view the word covers many different things: what is actually being done, what it is for, whether it suits a team's strengths, whether it covers other spaces. "You don't necessarily need to press to win games of football," he said. "Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't." Running statistics, he added, do not define matches either. What United need, he said, is to get back to doing many of the things they did last season and in parts of this one.
Outside the dressing room, Carrick has people he can lean on. He was appointed in January to replace Ruben Amorim, ahead of his former boss and team-mate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but the two remain close. Solskjaer drove to United's base in Trondheim in July, before the pre-season win over Rosenborg, to spend time with Carrick and his backroom staff, and they have been in touch this week. Carrick also confirmed he has spoken to Ferguson, a regular at matches who is approaching his 85th birthday. Ferguson signed Carrick from Tottenham in 2006 and managed the United side in Carrick's testimonial at Old Trafford in 2017. Carrick played down any significance: he speaks to both regularly, he said, and nothing is different this week.
He says he is convinced he can turn things around, but he knows it depends on a squad that has underperformed. "I definitely trust them, 100%," he said. "We'll be a different team on Sunday. We have to be a different team on Sunday." Whether they are will be answered against Bournemouth, with his job in the balance.
Citazioni salienti
I definitely trust them, 100%. We'll be a different team on Sunday.— Michael Carrick, Manchester United head coach
You don't necessarily need to press to win games of football. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't.— Michael Carrick
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