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Michael Carrick’s tenure at Middlesbrough spanned 136 matches before his departure in June 2025.
Manchester United supporters have a well-known chant for Michael Carrick, containing the line, “hard to believe it’s not Scholes.”
The lyrics are notably fitting. In the intensely publicized arena of modern football, Carrick is an exceptionally modest figure.
He refrained from actively seeking media attention during his playing career – perhaps to his own disadvantage – and similarly avoided actively pursuing headlines as Middlesbrough’s manager.
Upon his exit from Boro, many questioned whether he would return to management. The allure of Manchester United has brought him back, with the former midfielder confirmed as caretaker head coach until the season’s end on Tuesday.
What qualities does Carrick possess that Manchester United finds so appealing? And can he effectively address the current turmoil at Old Trafford?
Carrick confirmed as Man Utd caretaker head coach
Carrick has maintained a connection with Manchester United this season.
Notably, alongside Darren Fletcher, whom he succeeds as interim manager, the 44-year-old participated in a legends match for the club against Celtic in September.
In November, Carrick was present at Old Trafford to support the Manchester United Foundation’s annual sleepout, which successfully raised over £30,000 for community initiatives.
More significantly, his association stems from his 464 appearances over a 12-year period as a player, during which he secured five Premier League titles, an FA Cup, three League Cups, a Champions League, a Europa League, and a Club World Cup.
Remarkably, he never received a Premier League Player of the Month award and only earned a place in the Team of the Year once, in 2013.
He earned 34 caps for England, but despite being selected for the 2006 and 2010 World Cup squads, he only featured in a single match.
However, when questioned about perceived underappreciation, Carrick would typically respond with a shrug, stating, “that’s football.”
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Carrick will bring spirit of Man Utd back – Rooney
His managerial style remained consistent: polite and approachable, but without generating sensational headlines.
His enthusiastic celebration following a 3-1 victory against Sheffield United in February 2023, prompted by pre-match tension between the teams, stands out precisely because it deviated from Carrick’s usual demeanor.
One particular pre-match conversation in the dressing room was recalled while gathering information for this article.
While players were completing their warm-up routines on the pitch, many managers prefer solitude and silence. Others are absorbed in their tactical boards. On this specific occasion, Carrick initiated a discussion about outdated television remotes.
“Never excessively elated, never overly dejected,” the source noted. “That’s Michael. He’s economical with his words. At Middlesbrough, he was universally liked.”
Universally, that is, except by the fans towards the end.
When Carrick joined Middlesbrough in October 2022, he revitalized a club teetering on the brink of relegation, accomplishing this by implementing an exciting, winning, possession-based style of play.
Following his initial defeat against Preston, Boro secured 16 victories in their subsequent 22 league games. Carrick implemented various formations, including a three-at-the-back system at times, and scored three or more goals in 11 matches.
When they defeated Preston in the return fixture at the Riverside on March 18th, they were within three points of automatic promotion. Striker Chuba Akpom was on track to score 29 goals for the season, and a return to the Premier League after a six-year absence appeared likely.
However, Boro’s form faltered at a critical juncture. They won only two of their final eight matches, missing out on automatic promotion by 16 points and ultimately losing to Coventry in a grueling play-off semi-final that produced a single goal across both legs.
Carrick’s tenure at Boro never surpassed that initial period, despite remaining for two additional seasons.
The first of those seasons never recovered from a poor start, with the team accumulating only two points from their opening seven games. The second lacked consistency, and a sequence of five consecutive defeats from January into February precluded any late push for the play-offs.
On a positive note, the team reached the EFL Cup semi-finals in 2023-24, where Boro were ultimately defeated by Chelsea.
Carrick could also point to the sale of Akpom to Ajax in the summer of 2023, the departure of five key loan players, and Morgan Rogers’ £15 million transfer to Aston Villa in February 2024 as mitigating factors for not replicating previous successes, as Boro benefited financially from his player development work.
However, supporters did not entirely share this perspective.
Ultimately, they felt he was too rigidly attached to a 4-2-3-1 formation that they believed was ineffective. “No Plan B” became a common criticism.
Carrick’s response – “I’m not going to change the style of play; it’s what I know and believe in. We wouldn’t be good coaches if we suddenly went down a totally different route” – echoes the sentiments of Ruben Amorim.
However, it’s clear that Carrick recognizes the value of tactical adjustments.
Appearing on Match of the Day 2 in October, to analyze United’s victory over Brighton, Carrick explained how his former club had achieved success by having forward players drop deeper and Luke Shaw push forward, thereby compressing the space that midfield duo Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes were tasked with covering.
“Ultimately, it’s a game of numbers and space,” Carrick explained.
“You can see that there is something developing with the connections.”
Carrick has previously managed United, temporarily filling the void after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dismissal in November 2021, stepping up from assistant coach before departing upon Ralf Rangnick’s arrival. His three games in charge yielded two wins and a draw, including a 3-2 victory against Arsenal.
It represented a connection to a glorious past – similar to those provided by Ryan Giggs, Solskjaer, and Ruud van Nistelrooy, in addition to Carrick himself, when they were asked to step in on a temporary basis following previous managerial dismissals.
Carrick will begin with the full support of the fans – although, in the 13 years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, United supporters have generally not turned against the manager. Their discontent has primarily been directed toward the ownership.
As Fletcher concluded his brief tenure, he stated that the objective for the remainder of the season should be Champions League qualification. Should Carrick achieve this, he would certainly have a strong case to be considered for the job on a permanent basis.
Conversely, should United fail to qualify for Europe altogether, would the significant financial shortfall permit the appointment of a high-profile replacement in the summer?
These questions will be addressed in the coming weeks and months. However, more pressing issues require immediate attention.
Whatever Amorim was building, that project has now been abandoned.
Carrick has now been entrusted with the blueprints to determine whether he can devise an alternative strategy.
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