Sir Alex Ferguson’s feelings on Michael Carrick speak volumes after outburst

Michael Carrick has been named Manchester United’s interim manager and spent several seasons working under Sir Alex Ferguson

Michael Carrick enjoyed a glittering career at Manchester United but even he wasn’t immune to Sir Alex Ferguson’s notorious hairdryer treatment. The 44-year-old has been announced as the club’s interim manager for the remainder of the campaign.

The former defensive midfielder bagged 12 major trophies with the Red Devils during his playing days, including five Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League. He seamlessly filled the void left by Roy Keane in United’s midfield, heralding a fresh wave of success.

Carrick’s role on the pitch was often understated, primarily tasked with maintaining balance and dictating the tempo of games from midfield. While his contributions might have been overlooked by outsiders, there was one instance when he attracted Ferguson’s ire for all the wrong reasons.

The incident occurred during the 2008 Club World Cup final against Ecuadorian outfit Liga de Quito, which was goalless at half-time. Despite Carrick’s insistence that all but one of his passes had been forward during the first 45 minutes, Ferguson begged to differ and made his views abundantly clear during the break.

In his 2018 autobiography, Between the Lines, Carrick recalled: “The moment I entered the changing room, the boss launched into me. ‘Pass the ball f****** forward, I f****** told you’. Sir Alex was raging.

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“When he was like that you had to sit there and take it, let him blow off some steam. On the outside, I was calm, nodding at the boss’s points, hiding my anger.

“On the inside, I was fuming saying to myself, ‘I must have played 40 passes forward here and he’s picked the one where I’ve gone back’. But the boss was so wound up that I didn’t dare voice my defence.”

United, who had earned their place in the Club World Cup in Yokohama following their Champions League triumph, went on to secure the silverware with a 1-0 win. Wayne Rooney scored the all-important goal, even though they were reduced to 10 men after Nemanja Vidic saw red.

Ferguson losing his cool with Carrick was probably a rare blip, considering the midfielder’s reliability, given that the legendary boss oversaw 319 of his 464 matches for the club. Having arrived from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006, Ferguson was immediately convinced that Carrick would thrive at Old Trafford.

“One of the things that stuck out to me when we were profiling him and preparing to make a bid was that as a young boy, 16 years of age, he left home to play for West Ham,” Ferguson explained.

“That tells you that the boy had the confidence that he was going to make it. A 16-year-old kid from Newcastle going to east London, that’s a trek, and it impressed me.

“From the minute we bought Michael in 2006, his character has always been outstanding. He’s a football man and that character, coupled with his ability, made him a certainty to be a big success at United.”

Following his retirement in 2018, Carrick took up a coaching role at United under Jose Mourinho and continued in the position during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure. However, he parted ways with the club when Ralf Rangnick took over the reins.

His next appointment was as Middlesbrough manager in October 2022, a post he held until the conclusion of the previous season. Carrick’s first match as United’s interim boss will the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Saturday.

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