- Non-Manchester United players stick up for Michael Carrick
- Who said what on the overlap
- Do ex-United players have a stigma towards Carrick?
It is a strange world when former professional footballers who played for rival clubs speak more positively about interim head coach Michael Carrick than some of his own former teammates do.
Whilst the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra have had little negative to say about the Englishman, they are far from the only figures weighing in on the conversation.
The three biggest former United voices to comment on the situation have been Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, and Gary Neville.
And once again, the trio offered their verdicts on Carrick’s tenure during an appearance on The Overlap.
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Carrick Debate: Ex-Reds vs Rival Heroes
Whilst discussing Carrick’s chances of becoming permanent manager, Ian Wright immediately leapt to the Englishman’s defence.
Drawing from Arsenal’s appointment of Mikel Arteta—a former player whose only managerial experience came as Pep Guardiola’s assistant—Wright even suggested Manchester United could “win the league” under Carrick.
“Where does someone like a Michael Carrick get to the place where he can start to progress so we can see the players he gets, because look at Mikel, when Mikel got the job he [had] never even managed before.
“At some stage, the club has got to go Enrique or Ancelotti, or they are going to go with Carrick, and then we can see Michael Carrick grow.”
Former Manchester City midfielder Jill Scott also rushed to Carrick’s defence.
“I feel like he’s just got the team together a little bit like what Gareth Southgate did at England. I feel like he’s just settled everything, got them together.
“They look like they’re playing for each other. And I think he should get the job. I think they’re going to get Champions League. I just worry if you take him out, go for this big name. What about if it goes to pot again?”
The discussion, of course, did not end there.
The Negativity
Normally, the slick tongue of the group, Keane actually praised Carrick, stating: “Of course he lacks that experience, but he is winning football matches,” the Irishman still carried lingering doubts.
“Is Carrick going to get Manchester United competing at the top in the next two or three years? I don’t see it. But I’d love to be proven wrong.”
Neville, however, pushed the conversation even further.
“If you’re Pep or Arteta and it’s announced Carrick’s the manager, will they be sitting there going… would they be fearful of him?
“At some stage when does someone like a Michael Carrick get to the place where he can start to progress? So we can see the players he gets.
“So we can see if he’s got the character… Michael Carrick’s demeanour, his personality, he seems like he can deal with the noise… But then will he be allowed to grow?”
Whilst Neville’s concerns hold some weight, Carrick already answered part of that question by beating both Guardiola and Arteta in back-to-back matches.
But Scholes delivered the sharpest criticism of the group.
Neville then turned to Scholes and asked: “If you ran Manchester United, would you appoint Carrick permanently?”
Scholes paused, leaned back into his chair, and initially swerved the question, praising the club for resisting the urge to react emotionally. He pointed out that previous regimes may have handed Carrick a five-year contract after a run of major victories.
“The only thing he has really done is play Kobbie Mainoo and play people in the right positions,” he eventually said.
“What we’ve seen from the other managers, the team were all over the place. There was a system they had no idea how to play.
“They’ve got four good forwards that get you out of a lot of trouble at times. And I still see issues right through the middle of the pitch… Every time there’s a problem with Manchester United, it’s right through the middle of the pitch.
“The Szoboszlai goal… Every goal they concede seems to be like that. Now, I don’t think we’ll know about Michael until we get to November, December.”
Scholes later admitted he “would” appoint Carrick, but only if Luis Enrique was unavailable.
Read: “These Records are a Joke” – Rio Ferdinand Hails Michael Carrick After Man Utd 3-2 Liverpool
