Michael Carrick Faces Doubt Over Ability to Fix Manchester United's Culture

Michael Carrick Faces Doubt Over Ability to Fix Manchester United's Culture

Scott Saunders has expressed doubts about whether Michael Carrick can fix Manchester United's culture, describing the challenge as too big. The discussion follows United's poor Premier League start, with only one league win from seven games, including a draw away at Leeds.

"TOO BIG FOR CARRICK!" Scott Saunders DOESN'T TRUST Michael Carrick to FIX Man Utd's culture! | Transcript:

Lee's one, Man United won. So, Man United's Scott um this season in the Premier League have still only won one game of football in the league from seven and you know quite a few of those games have you know on paper been against teams that you know have certainly been winnable. In fact, one I go through from the start of the season um and you know lost at Hull, beat Ipsswitch at home 5-2, drew at Everton, drew at Fulham and then drew at home to Tottenham and now you draw away at Lead United. What did you make of United's performance today? Not their worst performance of the season, but it's not a high standard specifically. Some of those games you mentioned there, like the Fulham game, the whole game at the start of the

season, I was really angry with the performance and the fact that United I didn't think were giving as good as they were getting. I think they were outrun in a lot of matches this season. I think I my fear today was that would happen again. Um, but I think look, I think overall maybe a draw is a fair result. I don't think United really made enough chances to go and win the game. I don't think leadeds did the same either. So a draw is okay in the circumstances but of the actual day and like the performance. You look at the grander pitcher that's now 10 games that United have played in all competitions this season I think and they've won only two and they've won one game in the league

out of seven which is really bad. What this does today is I suppose kick the can down the road around the conversation about Michael Carrick. I think the players played for him today. I will say that I think they gave as good as they got. Perhaps not enough quality in there. Um leadeds were unlucky as well. I suppose maybe they could have one of those chances, but a draw was a fair result. Right. What this does though is just I suppose delay the conversation around I think it's an inevitable conversation that we will be getting to at some point in the near future around whether the manager needs to change or not.

United Robbo on Twitter, Carrick made major changes in season to fix this team. It resulted in an immediate uptick in form and performance. Yet, we've undone pretty much everything for the new season. There's no identity, purpose, or synergy in our possession or in any phase of play. It's unrecognizable from all of his previous work. I'd have expected this last season as a makeshift plan. And that leads me to my question to you. What is this Man United team? What do you think Michael Carrick wants this United team to look like in game? I think he wanted to be really nice in possession. and that the goal, you could argue the goal actually came from a really nice move with what they did with

the ball, but I think what the what I saw in Manchester United last season and the hallmarks of that team, I don't know if they're exactly there at the moment. So, I think the play has changed a little bit. It's ironic actually if you play for the second half with like three center backs again and played, you know, Dallow one side and a other side, which was a throwback to the last guy who said that back threes couldn't work in the Premier League or whatever it was. So look, I suppose needs must in the circumstances he's gone about getting a some kind of result from the day, but I think that what you just read out there, it's a fair question to have and to ask.

Um, do you also think his in-game management is not good enough? Cuz I often watch games go by United like for argument sake, I mentioned it a few times during the game, but Ahmad really struggled today. I thought he was nowhere near good enough. You've also got Bruno who at times was going out wide and you've got Lacy Kuna Rashford on the bench who were all wingers. And again, I think that I just sometimes think that maybe Quaker is right. He's too loyal to too many players. Substitutions don't seem to he didn't seem to make the right substitutions. I think he's right. I've got to say and yet the formation changed, the situation changed today. But Bruno Fernandez so far this season, he was player of the

year last season. I thought he was absolutely fantastic. But it is a big call to go and take him out of your team. I think we are watching enough at the moment where the likes of Tielemans and the likes of Bruno Fernandez, they might have earned some time on the bench. I see the way that Shay Lacy played in preseason like I look it's a big risk to take in the circumstances with the pressure that you're under but sometimes like a bit of energy and a bit of flare and somebody like that who's willing to take ownership of the situation just out of fearlessness could come on and maybe tip the scales another way and change things started the game since the Brighton game lacy I don't think I've seen him since

he scor I don't think so but like that performance was so bad you know like it I suppose he's trying to protect him in a sense So maybe he will use him in certain situations, maybe in the Champions League in the coming days, but like you've spoken about Bruno Fernandez a lot today. I personally don't think Bruno Fernandez is playing well enough to play 90 minutes in every single game. I'd also add to that. I think if he wants to play this system where he goes for the extra midfielder, which you kind of understand sometimes away from home in tough environments, you want that extra body in midfield. Yeah. If you've

got Lacy, Rashford, and Bremo who can all play out wide and you put Bruno Fernandez out wide, that I can't get my head around either. I completely agree. And then that's why I guess I had to go Madrid when people were getting on to Bruno. I'm like that's not on him. Bruno Fernandez is in his 30s and he's not a right winger and you're playing him out wide. You are you are selling him down river. You're not doing him any favors. Michael Carrick like that's not his position. He's not he's already not playing well in his own position. To move him out wide is a dereliction of duty. And I feel like you said beginning

the show there are so many people to blame for this. It's not just Bruno Fernandez. It's not just Michael Carrick. It's not just Jason Walkoff. No, we have we've spoken earlier on in the show about the bigger problems of Man United and that's well documented. This is they're not in this mess because of Michael Carrick. But right here, right now, we got to talk about where United are right now and Michael Carrick seems to be making bad decisions game in game out. You like, sorry to interrupt you, but like we've we've had the statistics flash up on the screen. That's 61% possession for Leads over the course of

the 90 minutes. You talk about playing style and that kind of thing and you want your team to be dominating the ball and to play nice football when you've got it. You got to have more than 39% possession. Leads won on xG as well by like 1.44. 44 to 0.9. But I do think previously this season you have had you have dominated the ball. You haven't run. Yeah, it's true. So I don't know if that's why the performance today I'm not going to like sit here and say that it was the worst thing I've ever seen because I think the players actually as limited as it was actually gave an account of themselves similar to what they did in the Champions League the other day. And that is a base to build off but it's obviously not good enough

because United need results immediately. like they should be I don't care if they haven't signed a left back and they haven't signed a striker. Brian Bumo has strikers instincts, right? I don't care. This team should be better than seven points from seven games. There's no question about that. They should be up there in the conversation at the moment. Yes, you can excuse a few results here and there, but they should be in the conversation for top five. Absolutely. the left back and the striker one is also interesting to me because what was the first signing they made under Amarim?

Patrick Dorgan, but they had a manager who wanted to play a back three. So they did bring in somebody who was supposed to play in that area just can't play as a traditional left back. So in their minds like we spent the resource on that position and we like now we've got to go again and then what happens with Dawkins? Do we sell? So I kind of I don't want to sit here and defend Inosk. I'm not defending Inos. But then you look at the strikers like we did bring in Cesco and think and Boomer can play down the middle like and Cesco's injured and all these other players are carrying injuries or whatever. I feel like

it's just because everything's going so badly for Manchester United. They were pointing to the transfers. That's probably where you are right. You're saying we're here right now. We're not in January. What can Michael Carrick do? Both conversations are true. like what you spoke about earlier about the glaz that's obviously the bigger picture as to why Man United are where they are but right here right now Michael Carrick is the manager and he has got to work with these players and I'm not entirely sure what he's trying to make this United team look like and again I think the biggest problem I have is I think he lets games go too often I think he needs to be more brave with the substitutions

and too often I'm watching a bad Man United performance and either a he doesn't make any substitutions or then b when he does make his substitutions they seem to be the wrong substitution ions again. I looked today and look the fact that Bruno Fernandez and now Madiallo managed to see out that game is absolutely crazy. Cars Bleber coming off. I thought he looked like your best player in that middle of the park. So I'm fearful when he's not in the team at the moment. Bel. Yeah. It's only been three games that he's played. Um look, the conversation when Carrick came in was put these players in the right positions and they should like they should be amazing because they're good players and just

play them in the right position and everything will work nicely. And then everything did work nicely for a little while and now we're back at a point where we're talking about if the players are trying hard enough and if there if there's cultural problems at the club again, you know, and that might be beyond carrot's control, but at the same time a coach and the players are responsible for putting out their best selves every week before I bring in qu table and I saw Brighton's goal difference was plus 18. I was like, what on earth is that about? I've literally read the Brighton goal stat 15. I know we just see it visual like that's insane. A lot's been not a lot, but people sometimes talk about Carrick's

his um the way he carries himself and he's not very vocal and he's not, you know, shouty enough. Is does that have any role in any of this? It was good last year, but I don't know whether you want to jump. I do think that's important. Like, do you think the players might look at him softly spoken? You know, we use the word aura a lot these days, but does he need to have a bigger personality to be the Man United? He needs to be too harsh. He needs to be himself. And if he I think players could smell authenticity and if he now starts being shouted like that's not but I think the rem of the job was

so different last year. Last year he could reduce the intensity of training. He could let players come in later. He all he has to do is make these players feel good and make these players play to the potential and the remake not rubbish. Only guess you so far though. Yeah. Exactly. And he could be the players friend last season because he's interim manager. Now he can't. He's the boss. He's got to be the boss and he's got to enforce some I don't know some structure there and it's a different it's a completely different job. I feel part of me feels a bit sorry for him because Man United is such a mess of a football club and they've been run like a mess of a football club for such a long period of time. Um they've

had experienced managers, bigname managers that have come in before him and failed, but he looks out of his depth. He's a relatively inexperienced manager and this move at this stage of his career I think it just feels like to go from Burough to United they kind of almost needed that move in the middle somewhere you know like back in the day we think with you know the Crystal Palace job or maybe West Ham when they were in the Premier League that might have been a better learning ground for him I just think he let he lets games go too often without making substitution today's a great example where I don't think he made the right substitutions um and it's not all down to him but I just maybe think tactically

he's making too many mistakes I think costing Manchester United need the seven games gone, so it's not too late. United absolutely, positively, fundamentally need to get into the Champions League this season. That is above all the biggest thing. We're talking about why United can't buy players. They need to be back in it next season. And based on what we've seen so far this season, United aren't one of the five best teams. No, absolutely nowhere near it. They should be for me, but they're absolutely nowhere near it. And what do you change in order to go and achieve that? Like we saw last season, you change coach.

Oh my goodness. You can't just go through it again. No, I know. But like if you get to the turn of the year and United said Champion football was so important they had no choice. Like it was different last year when Amar was in charge. I actually thought that something was happening behind the scenes because he had an identity like he was ridding them of cultural problems. He was trying to lay foundations for the team to be good in 3 four years time. Whereas now they took that plaster off right and look whatever reason it was that he left he's not here anymore. And if you think that he should have gone then fair enough. Like the results weren't good enough. You know, I

put a plaster back on which you still believe you should be here, though. No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that I want a manager or a head coach in there to or somebody to get a hold of what the cultural problem is and fix it. That's what I want. That's what I thought Ruben Am was doing at the time. And I was willing to sit there. When you say cultural, do you mean just what bad attitude? Bad attitudes of players feeling like you're a big enough personality to go out and do an interview calling out the sporting director. Like I agree with him, but should a healthy football club have that happen? Probably not. No.

So it's I think that is too big for Carrick personally. I don't think he's the kind of personality to be able to do that. And I personally at the moment don't have enough trust and faith that through these performances now, I don't think there's going to be enough of an uplift through Carrick to go and take them to top five. That's what I'm I think now. It could change. I would love it to change, but I don't think it will. Yeah. No, I do agree. It just seems like it goes round and I look at the teams that you expect to finish above to qualify for Champions League. We'll see what happens with City, but not better than City, not better than Arsenal, not better than

Liverpool. I don't think they're better than Chelsea and they won the last They're not better than Brighton. I know they're not better than Brenford. It's tough. They should be. They're not, you know, and tell you what I know they're the tricky start. They're not better than Aston Villa, but they Yeah. Arguably not Aston Villa, but they should be. Yeah. United should be winning leagues every year. They should, but we know they're not. But it's just I don't know, man. But the group of players that we have, right? Like Tielemans was hailed as a

great signing, he's been pretty rubbish so far. He did well today actually to assist. And is that him or is that a system issue? That's that's what why does every player that joins Manchester United become worse? Like people look at like Lewis Hall Martin Samuel in the Times right in front of me the headline United are the club where talent goes to die. I didn't even see that and that is absolutely spot on though. It is that is the existential problem that United have and there's there has to be a reason behind why that keeps happening. They spend hundreds and hundreds of millions of pounds and every player gets worse outside of Brun Fernandez and you could even say that he's got worse now.

Yeah. And some people think that he's the problem and he needs to No, it's not just quu. You know, I'm not taking the mick by the way when you say that about they should have taken that Saudi money because the problem that worries me with that more is I wouldn't trust a football club to spend that£125 million on you can get three good players in for 4050 million pound Fernandez that sounds okay but look at the way United recruit over the best part of a decade. I think it has been better last two years. The summer the last summer with the Kuna and Bumo Lmens and one more was there Shesho that was better than previous season and I like Belaba I think he will really help right and there's two ways they can go here. If carrot

doesn't work they can go the way of find a new short shortterm manager who can get all these players to do the uplift or you can go like there's talk of I don't know why he would go for it right but Fabian Herzel's name over the week has been talked up. Do you think there's any chance that Fabian Herzler comes in here and makes a big difference like he does at Brighton? I think there's no chance. Before you even entertain that idea, he would surely at this stage of the season with how Brighton have started. He it would be insanity for him to even consider walking away from that football club at this stage of the season especially. But what I'm saying there's people out there who want him. But there's a there's an underlying

reason as to why coaches like that don't work at this football club. Go and address that first. I think a lot of it, the fact that Martinez felt the other day he could come out and say the things that he said, it points to him being tired of going through this phase over and over again. You either go and find a coach that can get the best out of him, which is a temporary plaster, or you get rid of that leadership group completely. But those and then try and just go young. But then I always think those kind of interviews that Mart does it there is no way to recover a season because you basically you like if you've got family and there's family fuse but you keep it in the house you don't let everybody else outside know he

has just opened up the floodgates for everybody to talk about it and I remember when Lukaku did that sky tal interview it torpedoed the season Liverpool never recovered after you played at Ellen road and Moal stood outside your season it's almost impossible to put the plaster back on there it's like well everybody knows that things aren't cop everybody knows there's no squad harmony. I think when you do those kind of interviews, you're basically torpedoing the I think there is actually squad harmony. It's just it's it's quite weird how there is squad harmony against the football club rather than in there's something probably altogether the football club is running particularly well.

Yeah.

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