The Right Carrick-ter? - The Pros and Cons of Giving Michael Carrick the Permanent Manchester United Gig
Managerial Blog
The Right Carrick-ter? - The Pros and Cons of Giving Michael Carrick the Permanent Manchester United Gig
It’s no secret that Michael Carrick has impressed during his time as Manchester United’s interim manager.
The former Red Devils player has forced himself into the conversation to get the job full time come the summer, but will he actually be awarded the role?
Football Park takes a look at the pros and cons of Manchester United appointing Carrick as their next permanent manager.
Michael Carrick is waiting for formal talks with Manchester United, but is a strong contender for the role.#MUFC want to speak to multiple candidates as part of a thorough process. Qualifying for the #UCL will not alter that plan.
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) May 4, 2026
Several senior players, including Bruno… pic.twitter.com/hCr4avz1Rj
Pro: His Excellent Results as Interim Manager
Carrick has performed exceptionally well during his time as Manchester United’s interim boss. The former Middlesbrough manager has won 10 of his 14 games in charge of The Red Devils.
These include wins over Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, showing Carrick can perform against the best teams in the league. Despite only playing 14 games, Carrick has got United getting the results needed in order to compete with the best teams in England on a regular basis.
Con: Similar Situation to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Will history repeat itself? Manchester United have already been down this road before, giving their ex-player and interim manager the permanent job after a successful short spell of results.
Solskjaer found himself the full-time United boss after only 13 games as the interim manager. During that time the Norwegian international accumulated 32 points from a possible 39 points.
Carrick has also picked up 32 points during his time as United’s interim manager, although he has played one game more than Solskjaer. After what seemed a positive start to his time as The Red Devils manager, the 53-year-old failed to win a trophy in his three years at the club alongside suffering some serious defeats.
Pro: Part of Manchester United’s DNA
Carrick is without a doubt a Manchester United legend. He racked up 464 appearances across his 12-year tenure as a player with the club. During this time, he won many accolades, including five Premier League titles and a UEFA Champions League title.
Carrick knew how to win as a Manchester United player, as he’s showing how to win as a Manchester United manager too. Therefore, the former Red Devils player knows United’s style of play like the back of his hand, getting the club back to playing attacking and entertaining football.
🚨It looks like Michael Carrick is set to get the permanent job at Manchester United — especially if UCL qualification is secured.
— Manchester United Forever (@UtdForever7) April 14, 2026
He understands the club’s DNA better than most, but there are still questions about experience…pic.twitter.com/Lv9dIhbIQe https://t.co/pll8UYCixu
Con: Not Getting the Best Out of Some Players
While some players have thrived since Carrick has brought back the 4-2-3-1 formation, such as Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Benjamin Sesko, there are still some players who have seen a dip in form since his arrival.
For example, Bryan Mbeumo, Diogo Dalot and to some extent Matheus Cunha, have all seen a downturn in performances and goal contributions since Carrick took over from Ruben Amorim.
Cunha has seen spells of individual brilliance bring around some goal contributions, however Mbeumo hasn’t picked up a goal contribution in his last eight games. Dalot has regularly struggled to get the better of his counterpart in games, being exposed down that right hand side far too many times this campaign.
Pro: Securing Champions League Football
When looking ahead to the 2025/26 season back in August of 2025, many United fans would’ve had their sights set on a return to the Champions League for the 2026/27 campaign.
Carrick has delivered this target with still three league games to go, something that every fan would’ve taken at the start of the season. Getting Manchester United back onto the biggest European stage doesn’t just bring in more revenue to the club, but puts The Red Devils back competing with the best teams in Europe where they belong.
Con: Performances Haven’t Been Convincing Despite the Positive Results
As aforementioned, United have posted 10 wins in 14 games since Carrick’s stint as interim manager. However, a lot of these victories haven’t been the most convincing performance wise.
To highlight a few, the club’s last two wins against Liverpool and Brentford respectively, were two scrappy, end-to-end games which could’ve easily resulted in United failing to come away with all three points on both occasions.
Victories against Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur were influenced by the two sides receiving red cards, meaning we never got to see what would’ve happened under normal 11 v 11 circumstances.
It’s fair to say that Manchester United have been on the fortunate side of a lot of these results. As they say, what goes around comes around, and maybe next season it will catch up with The Red Devils.
🚨Let’s talk about Manchester United’s poor performances… again.
— SportsDeeva (@Blesing_Andrew) May 4, 2026
You CANNOT be 2-0 up at home against Liverpool (Cunha 6’, Sesko 14’) and then let it slide to 2-2 inside the second half because your defence completely switches off.
Szoboszlai and Gakpo punished us with two… pic.twitter.com/IHfKxIEY7e
Pro: The Players are Happier with Carrick
With Amorim changing United’s formation to a back three, and Carrick coming in to reverse what the Portuguese manager implemented, it has naturally meant the majority of the team are playing better because of it.
Reports have surfaced recently that Fernandes, Cunha and Harry Maguire would all prefer Carrick to keep his job come the summer. When the players have a manager they like and can trust, it usually means those same players just give that little bit extra when out on the pitch.
Con: No Previous Managerial Experience at an Elite Level Club
Despite Carrick having success early on in his managerial career, he hasn’t had the experience of managing elite clubs, or many clubs for that matter.
The former United player was The Red Devils’ caretaker manager for three matches following Solskjaer’s sacking. He won two out of his three games in charge before being replaced by fellow interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
After this the current Manchester United boss took charge of Middlesbrough for two and a half years. His tenure with The Boro spanned from October 2022 until June 2025, and Carrick led the club to a fourth place in his first season in charge.
However, what Carrick lacks on his managerial CV is experience outside of England or past experience with an elite level club.
Pro: Failed To Get It Right When Changing Managers
Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013, Manchester United have gone through 10 managers, counting both permanent and interim, in the 13 years since his departure.
Some of the most notable names on this list include Jose Mourinho and David Moyes, however neither manager, nor in fact any of the 10 managers, have been able to guide The Red Devils to a Premier League or Champions League title.
Could this mean that if United were to move away from Carrick that nothing would really change, well history seems to suggest so.
Con: Demands of Playing Every Three Days
With Champions League football secured for the 2026/27 campaign, and with domestic competitions to balance alongside the Premier League, Manchester United will be playing a lot more football next season.
The mid-week commitments will mean The Red Devils will be playing every three to four days, something that they haven’t had to deal with this season due to not qualifying for any European competition in the last campaign.
It will be interesting to see how United handle this change and if they will still be able to perform to the same level they have this year in the league with all of these other competitions running alongside.
Is Carrick the right man to lead Manchester United forward into a season which will look very different to this campaign?
Man United are BACK in the Champions League 🤩💪 pic.twitter.com/8f6LLxfW2J
— OneFootball (@OneFootball) May 3, 2026
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