Carrick, United, long-time love and short-term hope
When Michael Carrick retired as a player at Manchester United, Jose Mourinho presented him with a coaching top emblazoned with “MC”, a whistle for overseeing training games and some headache tablets. “You’re going to need them!” Mourinho laughed as he ushered Carrick into a coaching career.
Even more headaches bedevil United today. Form, confidence, results, structure, leadership, ownership. Where to start? Carrick’s role when he’s appointed as interim head coach on a six-month contract is to instil organisation and belief and get United into the Champions League. He’s up for the challenge. He lives locally, his Foundation works with the club on local schemes and his United-mad son Jacey is in the academy. He loves the club. That doesn’t mean Carrick will be a success; it just means he understands what needs addressing and will give everything to do achieve that.
When Carrick was 19 he had a dream about Manchester United. The midfielder, who grew up watching Newcastle United, was at West Ham United, forcing his way into the first team, yet it was another United that dominated his thoughts one night. In the dream, Carrick wore the famous red, playing alongside Gary Neville and David Beckham, and they won the league. Quite a lot to pack into a dream, let alone unpick, but Carrick’s never forgotten the main theme of the dream, especially when dream became reality.
Carrick represented United on 464 occasions from 2006 to 2018, winning 18 trophies, including five titles and the Champions League. On his first day after retirement, he received an early-morning text from Mourinho, outlining plans for training. Mourinho could tell the type of a player who’d make a manager. He saw Carrick’s potential.
Carrick worked for Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and was briefly caretaker in 2021. He won away at Villareal, drew with Chelsea and beat Arsenal. Now he’s back. Carrick can tweak certain things tactically, improving performances and form, with his preferred 4-2-3-1 system, especially with Bryan Mbeumo returning from Afcon and when Matthijs de Ligt is fit. A run to the fifth Champions League position shouldn’t be ruled out, especially as United have all week to prepare for games.
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Carrick’s biggest job is changing the mood. He loved it when Mourinho was appointed at United in 2016 because he felt the Special One would bring some “swagger” back to United. Carrick was at the Monaco Grand Prix when he heard news about Mourinho. Could he get United back into the fast lane? On returning from Monaco, Carrick went straight to Carrington and into a meeting with Mourinho. “I was immediately struck by his aura,” Carrick wrote of Mourinho in his 2018 autobiography. “You know you’re with somebody who’s the Boss, and who’s got the ability to make the big, bold decisions which sets the best managers apart from the rest.”