Carrick failed at Middlesbrough but has chance to seal permanent Man Utd role

Former United and England midfielder might be employed as an interim manager but there is every chance he could seal a permanent deal by taking the club into the Champions League

This time last year, Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough were preparing for a trip to Portsmouth, where they would face a team that had lost five of their previous seven Championship matches. Middlesbrough were beaten at Fratton Park and would then lose five of their next six games, a disastrous run that effectively condemned them to another campaign in the second tier.

A year on and Carrick has one of the biggest jobs in world football. To label the situation bizarre would be kind. To describe it as a farce is more accurate.

But, as the modern saying goes, it is what it is. And never mind the interim title, the well-respected, personable Carrick has a dream role that it is now his to lose.

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This is no old-timer popping in to help out, this is no rookie stepping up from the junior teams. Carrick is 44, approaching what some would consider to be a prime age for modern management.

Carrick managed 136 games at Middlesbrough, a big and challenging club to look after. There were some who suggested, after he was sacked around the same time as Ange Postecoglou lost his Tottenham job, that Carrick would have been a good fit at Spurs.

Essentially, Carrick failed at Middlesbrough, where a return to the Premier League is the only brief for the manager. But his reputation is sound.

And even though a club such as Manchester United should normally be demanding an established, stellar, managerial name, there are instances of odd-looking appointments working well. A route does not have to be tried and trusted.

It is not quite the same but who would have thought Bayern Munich would give their job to a manager who had just got Burnley relegated with a club record low of 24 points? It has not worked out too badly for Bayern and Vincent Kompany.

Managing and coaching this elite calibre of player might suit Carrick and there is a clarity to the task ahead that should help. United are creating plenty of scoring chances, they are carrying plenty of threat.

Converting more of those opportunities and conceding fewer goals – only the Premier League’s bottom six have let in more than United – is easier said than done but he will have excellent technical assistance from Steve Holland. They will certainly have plenty of time to work on the training ground – United and Carrick will have 17 fixtures in 19 weeks.

If United fail to finish in a Champions League spot, Carrick is out. Simple as that. If they do get a Champions League slot, the board will have a dilemma.

Fifth might be good enough and, even if it is not, fourth place should be attainable for United. Below the top three right now, the standard is much of a muchness.

You have to go back to the 2003/004 season to find a team in fourth place with 35 points or lower after 21 matches (Liverpool’s current state). Fourth and fifth places are there for the taking. It would be a mildly commendable achievement to finish in one of those spots – not a startling one.

But the bottom line is that if Carrick manages to take this dysfunctional United into the Champions League, it will be mission accomplished and he should get the nod for next season. Is it a farce? Yes, pretty much so. But Carrick is a sound footballing character and this could yet have a good ending.

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