Carrick reveals his tea party with Ratcliffe
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Reading Time: 3min | Mon. 27.04.26. | 16:52
Appointing the permanent head coach is now the most important thing in the club now
When Ruben Amorim called out Manchester United executives after a 1-1 draw with Leeds, the writing was on the wall. The Portuguese expert was soon sacked and in came Michael Carrick to be an interim manager. His sole goal until the end of the season was to secure the Champions League participation for the 2026/27 season, nothing more, nothing less. For a club with a loss of over one billion pounds, the Champions League money is essential and Carrick took over with United when they were in the seventh place. Come April and the Red Devils are at third, as Carrick managed 26 points from the 36 available in his 12 matches, the highest in the division in that period. In the meantime, the managerial position is still not solved and the former Manchester midfielder is making a strong case for himself with recent results.
After all, if the Champions League is the aim, Carrick is just inches away from making it, even before May. Only Brighton would be able to deny United a top-five finish on points over the remaining four games of the season, and Bournemouth on goal difference, if both clubs win all their games and Carrick’s men lose their matches, starting with Brentford tonight. But that is an unlikely scenario and that is why United’s co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe met with his interim manager.
“Yeah, he came in and we had a cup of tea. It was a casual chat, to be honest. Quite informal. It was nice to see him showing his support obviously. As a football club, we’re hugely connected all the way through. I think it’s a big part and I’m really conscious of that’s how it should be. I am trying to do my part with that, as well as is everybody else. So, I’ve felt that since I’ve been here since January for sure” revealed Carrick.
Off course the managerial job was certainly the main agenda, as Carrick basically delivered all that was asked of him, and will put around 100 million pounds from the Champions League participation (and possibly more) to the club’s pocket. Now it’s time for Ratcliffe to deliver. But the United’s co-owner is still hesitant to give him the full time job. He would prefer a much more experienced coach in the dugout. Also, the problem with Carrick is a small sample of games on which the United’s brass has to decide on their current head coach. The key question is: how does he react when a full scale crisis comes? So far we haven’t seen one with Carrick on the bench, but it’s not impossible to imagine United starting the season with him as a permanent manager only to see Manchester losing three our four games in a row (Ruben Amorim anyone?). If he couldn’t get out of that negative record, the Red Devils would have to change managers mid-season again and that would be a disaster.
PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 34
Friday
Sunderland - Nott. Forest 0-5 (0-4)
/Hume 17 og, Wood 31, Gibbs-White 34, Jesus 37, Anderson 90+5/
Saturday
Fulham - Aston Villa 1-0 (1-0)
/Sessegnon 43/
Liverpool - Crystal Palace 3-1 (2-0)
/Isak 35, Robertson 40, Wirtz - Munoz 71/
West Ham - Everton 2-1 (0-0)
/Soucek 51, Wilson 90+2 - Dewsbury-Hall 88/
Wolverhampton - Tottenham 0-1 (0-0)
/Palhinha 82/
Arsenal - Newcastle 1-0 (1-0)
/Eze 9/
Monday
22.00: (1.90) Man.Utd. (3.85) Brentford (3.80)
***odds are subject to change***