{"id":627356,"date":"2026-09-17T10:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T10:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/627356\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T10:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T10:00:11","slug":"man-utd-carrick-is-gutless-fraud-but-would-sack-stop-the-rot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/627356\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Utd: Carrick is ‘gutless fraud’ but would sack stop the rot?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some Man Utd<\/a> fans want Michael Carrick sacked now and others wonder what will change as the owners have damned the club.<\/p>\n

Send your thoughts on Man Utd and any other subject to theeditor@football365.com<\/p>\n

\u00a0
This has not aged well
Why I\u2019m Backing United to Win the League<\/a> made me laugh when I first read it, but now it\u2019s hilarious. Hang your head in shame Mr Nicholson.<\/p>\n

Has there ever been a worse prediction?
Rob<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kids need to learn
My son, and avid Manchester United supporter was very happy when they wen 2-0 up. I\u2019m very old and can read a game. I told him at 30 minutes United were going to lose. He laughed. At 2-2 he ran to his bedroom, he\u2019s 22! Can\u2019t wait to see him tomorrow when he wants feeding.
Tony Clarke<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fabian Hurzeler\u2019s half-time team talk revealed
\u201cLads\u2026.its Utd.\u201d
Patricio Del Toro (All joking aside, Brighton are incredible)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Carrick, INEOS, Glazers and the nature of rot
I\u2019ve agonised over this one, because I don\u2019t want this to be a rant or an essay, but instead a dispassionate analysis of Man Utd. It\u2019ll largely rehash and play back much of what we already know, but, if only for my sanity, I\u2019m putting it on a page. So, let\u2019s begin.<\/p>\n

Firstly, Carrick has already been condemned by the court of the media. It\u2019s almost like people couldn\u2019t wait to stick the knife in. How dare he finish last season so strongly (on \u201ceasy mode\u201d \u2013 fine, a game a week was nice for him<\/a>, but it\u2019s not like the players suddenly upgraded mid-season).<\/p>\n

Now I get that he might not be the guy, but there seems to be particular venom at the notion of an ex-player managing United. Arteta was basically a no-one when he took over Arsenal. Kompany got relegated before the most almighty failure-to-promotion story. All of which is to say that Carrick \u2013 like Ole, who\u2019s time at United remains criminally underrated \u2013 deserves a bit of time and grace, and an assessment of the bigger picture in which he\u2019s working. He might not be the guy, but right now he absolutely isn\u2019t the limiting factor.<\/p>\n

The game is played on the pitch, by professional players. And in United\u2019s case, several of them seem to have taken head injuries, such is the poverty of good decision making in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

Dalot remains the most brain-fart player I\u2019ve ever seen. Maguire is on a downward slope having dug deep last season in the hope of a World Cup call up. Martinez knows he\u2019s one injury away from being moved on. Luke Shaw, in a surprise to absolutely no one, is injured because it\u2019s a non-tournament year. Yoro hasn\u2019t adapted well to the physicality of the Prem. Heaven is rusty, and seems to have been knocked by the Hulk fiasco. Mazroui is tidy but limited. De Ligt might actually not be alive anymore, who knows.<\/p>\n

Our midfield rebuild was based around a player we probably could\u2019ve bought at any point, but decided to do so on an ankle injury, a 29yr old with the legs of a 35yr old, and a \u00a350m unproven player. Kobbie is the shining light but can\u2019t do it all on his own and needs nurturing, Mount is stealing a living, Ugarte was never good enough.<\/p>\n

Bruno has started the season poorly \u2013 I wonder how much Portugal\u2019s World Cup affected him? \u2013 and then the rest of our forwards haven\u2019t turned up, maybe barring a returning-from-injury Sesko, who still had a stinker last night. Cunha and Mbeumo haven\u2019t taken the creative load from Bruno; teams know that they shut Bruno down, they shut United down.<\/p>\n

Which brings us to Ineos, the Glazers, and the nature of rot. Carrick wasn\u2019t backed in the summer. We bought poorly and sold even worse. The Glazers continue to leech from the club. Anyone who has bought anything from the megastore has put more money into the club than the Glazers. There\u2019s an alternative world where the ~\u00a3100m a year they\u2019ve cost the club was never extracted, and we\u2019ve instead basically become the Bayern of Britain. But alas, we\u2019ve instead been lumbered with those Yanks. And alongside them, Ineos, who tried to big brain the summer they played themselves. Who are doing to United what they did to Nice. Maybe if they were sole owners it would be different, but here we are.<\/p>\n

So, our academy pipeline seems broken. Our ability to sell remains non-existent. Our ability to buy is patchy. Our current set of players melt under mild pressure and expectation (when the pressure was off last season, they turned up). Our stadium is falling apart. We\u2019ve been undercapitalised for 20 years, and now the rest of the league has caught us up.<\/p>\n

So fine, maybe Carrick isn\u2019t the guy. But don\u2019t think for a minute that anyone less than the second coming of Ferguson stands any better chance.
Stephen Mears<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2026After the Manchester Derby, I had to take a walk in the garden to calm down. Then I had an epiphany. We are not stuck in some \u201cGroundhog Day\u201d time loop, we are exactly where the Corporation wants us to be. Even to an untrained eye, it is obvious that management does not intend to compete at the highest level. Just look at the level of investment in the Women\u2019s team. Do just enough to remain relevant and hence, marketable. Is it any wonder then that this mediocrity has permeated every facet of the club?<\/p>\n

Unfortunately I think most of us fans haven\u2019t fully come to terms with this yet. It\u2019s a bit like trying to save a relationship when the other person has already checked out. The late night chats, the bottles of wine, the therapy sessions, until one day, one gets a moment of clarity, like I did on my walk, and one begins to accept the reality of the situation\u2026 under the current owners, we will never become a Top Four team.<\/p>\n

Once you accept this, you can adjust your expectations accordingly. We didn\u2019t concede within 5 minutes \u2013 yay! We actually scored more than one goal \u2013 amazing! We didn\u2019t concede \u2013 unbelievable! While we may be \u201ctoo big to fail\u201d (almost!), we can forget trophies and titles. We will always still make money from Exhibition games like the Harlem Globetrotters.
Adidasmufc
(What is truly worries me is that there may not be 3 teams with less fight than us)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2026One thing in your article on Utd\u2019s latest humbling<\/a> struck a chord with me.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnited were awful from the tenth minute; completely dominated by a properly coached football team.\u201d<\/p>\n

United have had a decent squad, good enough for at least top 4 every season post Fergie. They have also had proven managers, world class managers as well as less proven ones. But time and time again they get their pants pulled down by sides who just play as a team and are coached well.<\/p>\n

Are utd against investing in coaching? Isn\u2019t that what Jason Wilcox in his ivory tower is supposed to do? But yet again, we\u2019ll sack the figure head of a manager, throw players under the bus and repeat the cycle of doom.<\/p>\n

Utd need to look at some of these well coached sides that punch above their weight and realise that even when their manager gets poached for a bigger club, they still carry on as they were. There\u2019s much more to a club than a figure head, Fergie is long gone, we need to do something different to expect something better.
Jon, Cape Town<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Is Will Ford a Man Utd fan?
I almost spat out my morning chai when I read Will Ford\u2019s article on how JJ Gabriel missed out on making a name for himself<\/a> in one of the biggest clubs in the world. How he would probably have wished that it could have been him scoring that goal instead of the other kid.<\/p>\n

This is the same guy that takes shots at other clubs in the league (Liverpool fan here) who have won more than his beloved ManU in the last decade and then he goes on to call a dumpster fire of a club in the next article<\/a> when they got dumped out at home, blowing a 2-0 lead.<\/p>\n

Poor Will didn\u2019t see that coming.<\/p>\n

But Good save F365, you gave him a redemption arc in the span of an hour- from taking potshots at a kid who wants away from a crumbling club to then saving face.<\/p>\n

Does F365 owe this guy some kind of debt?<\/p>\n

What a roller coaster, fun for us rival fans.
M. Nair. Mumbai. LFC<\/p>\n

(No, Will Ford is really not a Man Utd fan; he supports Chelsea because he is a southern posh boy \u2013 Ed)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Give Carrick until Christmas
So after a shambolic record breaking defeat against Brighton, Carrick must be in top 3 to be sacked list<\/a>. I usually refrain from being reactionary to a loss or 2, afterall the season isn\u2019t over, we still have an entire PL campaign, 7 more matches at minimum in CL and possibly some run in the FA cup too, fingers crossed. The midfield combination is a bit new (Mainoo looks a man transformed though), and Carrick is probably trying his own tactics, so I would give him sometime before handing him over to HR for an exit interview.<\/p>\n

But, it does seem like Carrick rode on the wave of Amorim\u2019s and ETH\u2019s work. As much as I hate Amorim (and his suffering in every press conference) and it shows he isn\u2019t a great coach either after losing to Benfica yesterday, he did develop some tactics and patterns in the team. The famous Bruno Cunha Shaw Cunha Bruno Cunha passing triangle that frustrated Cherki in the derby last season wasnt all Carrick after a week or 2 of coaching. That was the trainings drilled in already by Amorim (and ETH to an extent).<\/p>\n

No doubt Carrick build on it and inspired United to finish in top 3, but now the difficult work starts. I would give him until Christmas to see what he does, else we ll sack him and get a replacement (No Eddie Howie Please). I also see how little Santos is playing, and with Baleba getting fit soon, we could probably have better spent the Santos money on an LB.
Rahil, MUFC, India
(When it rains, it pours, the timing of JJ Gabriel wanting to leave couldn\u2019t have come at a worse time).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why? Sack him now because he is doomed
\u2013 They show that statistic about leading at halftime at OT everytime\u2026and it was always going to happen someday<\/p>\n

\u2013 That was the kind of performance that will live forever in the memory, like the 4-0 loss under LVG. It was so bad that it may have single-handedly undone 6 months of credit Carrick had in the bank<\/p>\n

\u2013 If you turned on the match and watched for 10 mins you\u2019d honestly assume United were down to 10 or even 9, such was the positional dominance of Brighton. In both final thirds, on both flanks it felt like they were a man up, such was the contrast in structure and effort between the two<\/p>\n

\u2013 Carrick will go, so we might as well do it now<\/p>\n

\u2013 Despite all that, it is important to note that goals came from quite possibly the worst full back performances \u2013 on both flanks \u2013 I\u2019ve ever seen from us<\/p>\n

\u2013 Dalot is the symbol of this United squad. 250 matches, responsible for god knows how many goals to the opposition, and a vacuum of productivity going forward<\/p>\n

\u2013 Finally, their first goal gets ruled out 100% of the time with VAR, and even as a United fan, I\u2019m so glad there was no VAR anyway
Ryan, Bermuda (Can we not find a single proven manager?)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2026Having supported Manchester United since I was 6, back in the Busby days, I\u2019ve grown up with some glorious highs and some ignominious lows. Sadly, the glorious highs are becoming a distant memory and the ignominious lows are becoming commonplace.<\/p>\n

Tonight\u2019s performance against Brighton (who were terrific, by the way) was just awful, in every way. We have players who just aren\u2019t good enough, some who don\u2019t even seen to try (I\u2019m looking at you, Aiden Heaven<\/a>, jogging around like it\u2019s a kick-around in the park), and some who manage to completely disappear for long stretches of the game (Santos). But the most disappointing \u2013 and worrying \u2013 thing was that no one seemed to know what to do. Where was the structure, where were the patterns of play? Where was \u2026 the coaching and management?<\/p>\n

The TV cut to Michael Carrick lots of times, but they might as well have used a photobooth still. He just stood there, with his arms folded cradling his face, looking completely lost. Hey Michael, how about giving them some direction, ordering them around? You could have looked at Brighton\u2019s manager for a clue about how to do it. Fergie would have been apoplectic, with steam coming out of his ears (and flames from his mouth). Is this what you does during training sessions?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never, ever been a knee-jerk \u2018sack the manager\u2019 fan, but tonight I\u2019m sorely tempted.
Roger<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2026Carrick ran up a decent run of results when he took over because he only had the League to worry about. Maybe he\u2019s going to try the same conditions by exiting the other competitions ASAP.
Ken Charlatan<\/p>\n

PS. I\u2019m not a fan of sacking people but after how long does it stop being \u2018too early\u2019<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2026Seriously, after that shite, can anyone be blamed for wanting to leave the club?<\/p>\n

It\u2019d surprise me if any promising academy player were still at the club by the end of the month.<\/p>\n

Carrick out.
Ant MUFC<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2026Readers of a certain age will remember the tv shows Shooting Stars and The Fast Show. They may or may not remember the fairly recent renewals of these shows.<\/p>\n

I say may or may not because they didn\u2019t work. The motivation and thought processes were different. When they originally created them in the 90s, they were simply writing stuff they thought was funny. When they renewed the shows years later, they were trying to recreate what they did in the past. That\u2019s a different mindset. It\u2019s not \u201cwait till everyone hears this funny joke I wrote\u201d, more \u201cI need to write something funny using whatever method I used 20 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what United have been doing since Ferguson left. They\u2019re trying to retell or extend a story that ended over a decade ago when they need to be writing a completely new one. That has seen to the whole institution becoming a tribute act. They\u2019re small time, know deep down they are, but are under pressure to look like big timers. They\u2019re the new Tottenham.<\/p>\n

They need to be changing the mindset and that starts by getting rid of everyone with that mindset. Rashford? Out. Maguire? Out. Shaw? Out.<\/p>\n

They also need to forget about romanticism. United need to win and need to do it now. None of this giving managers a chance thing. The club got lucky with Ferguson 40 years ago. Stop trying to find the next one. Go for the best available and if they don\u2019t work out, fire them and go for the next best one available. Hopefully at some point, you\u2019ll happen across an exceptional manager but until then, stop hoping every failure you appoint is eventually going to solve everything if he just gets another few months. When\u2019s the last time Madrid or Barca had a manager for more than 3 years?<\/p>\n

Can we please get Conte in now?
Eamonn, Dublin<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Carrick has always been a \u2018gutless fraud\u2019
Just lost the second game in 4 days by one goal with four defenders and two holding midfielders on the pitch until the end.<\/p>\n

I was about to spend 20 minutes writing about how I always thought Carrick was a gutless fraud as a player and his management is more of the same, compounded by the presence of Steve Holland (widely considered the brains behind Gareth Southgate\u2019s scintillating England teams) and Jonathan b*tard Woodgate.<\/p>\n

Amazingly, the last email I wrote on that very subject is still available online and relevant today:<\/p>\n

Back in 2010 LVG popped up at Old Trafford with a relatively ordinary Bayern team. They weren\u2019t ordinary, they were exceptional, but we had the likes of Darron Gibson, Rafael da Silva and Darren Fletcher so obviously cruised into an early 3-0 lead (4-2 aggregate), outplaying them in every sense.<\/p>\n

Then, somehow, at the arse end of the first half, 6ft 2 Michael Carrick ended up right in front of us at the Stretford End \u2013 contesting Ivica Olic, 5ft nothing Ivica Olic, for a header. He chickened out of the initial challenge, allowed Olic to outmuscle him in the box, fell over, and Olic scored. Second half, Rafael took a daft second booking, Robben scored a wondergoal and we were out.<\/p>\n

For me, for that one moment, Carrick was a pile of sh*t footballer and I absolutely hated him (was a tad younger and perhaps too emotionally invested). That was one incident, one time he bottled it and I loathed him for years. I was far more upset with that than the result and missing out on a pretty easy final vs Inter.<\/p>\n

Simon MUFC<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And finally
Many, many years ago, someone wrote in to the mailbox saying that Steve Bruce\u2019s nose needed to make up its mind and decide which direction it\u2019s pointing.<\/p>\n

Fabian Hurzeler\u2019s hair reminded of that tonight. Is it ludicrously thick or is it thinning?
Hesh (LFC)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some Man Utd fans want Michael Carrick sacked now and others wonder what will change as the owners…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627357,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":["post-627356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}