Jamie Carragher feels Manchester United should not sack Michael Carrick just yet, with the under-fire boss seen as an essential figure in the current climate.
Michael Carrick’s name has been all over the media as his Manchester United future comes under scrutiny. The team’s performances this season have been a stark contrast to the progress they showed under the Englishman after he took charge on an interim basis midway through last season.
Heavy expectations were already placed on Carrick after he was appointed permanently in the summer, but those have not been met so far. Manchester United have managed just one win in their five Premier League games, while also exiting the EFL Cup in embarrassing fashion against Brighton at Old Trafford.
There have also been several below-par displays in the league, including the opening-day defeat to newly promoted Hull City and the Manchester derby loss at home to ten-man Manchester City. Overall, those results have cast serious doubt over Carrick’s immediate and long-term future at Old Trafford.
Reports have already linked the club with several high-profile managerial names, including Aston Villa’s Unai Emery. Other candidates mentioned have included Eddie Howe, formerly of Newcastle United, while stories have also claimed the club have established contact with Antonio Conte.
Overall, there is plenty of pressure on Carrick’s job. However, Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher says the club would be making a mistake if they sacked him now. The former defender and Sky Sports pundit, speaking on The Overlap via the Mirror, suggested that while Carrick may not be a long-term solution, United still need him right now.
Carragher said, “I did a newspaper column a couple of weeks ago on Michael Carrick and, like always happens, nobody really reads the column, the read the headline and it was seen as though I was having a go at him when it was actually the opposite,” he said.
“I think it would be ludicrous to get rid of Michael Carrick. Maybe this is where people think I’m having a go at him. In my mind, I don’t see Michael Carrick as the Man United manager. I feel like he’s in there doing a job for the club to get them through a rocky period and then almost to pass on the baton.
“If that’s me being disrespectful, then I’m not meaning it like that. But he came in, and Man United needed calm; they needed it to not be a circus and not to be the banter club. He did that amazingly. His results have been unbelievable since he came into the job over the long period.
“He got the job on the back of that. And the fact he got them into the Champions League brings the money. Man United need to be a Champions League club again; it’s not about ‘wow we’re going to win the league again’. Calm down. Last year, it was false that they finished third. No cup games; Carrick coming in affected supporters.
“They need another season of just making it straight in the Champions League. That’s the way I see it. And then it would be the case of [getting] one of the top managers about who could manage a club of that level. I don’t like the idea of changing Michael Carrick now or in the next international break – it just needs to be relaxed.”
Carragher may have raised an important point, and Manchester United cannot afford to get into another cycle of sacking and hiring managers again, so his argument makes sense. For now, United are not considering a departure for Carrick, although that could change depending on how the team performs after the international break.