‘He’s a dead man walking’ 😳 Craig Burley on Michael Carrick’s future at Man United | ESPN FC
ESPN FC panel: Carrick is a “dead man walking” and United’s problems run deeper than the manager
The show discusses Michael Carrick’s position after another United setback, his relationship with Bruno Fernandes, the squad and the club hierarchy. Most panelists see Carrick as a scapegoat and argue the real issues are poor recruitment,混乱 leadership and insufficient squad depth, so changing the manager alone will not fix much.
- United cannot feel entitled and must earn wins through respect, hard work and sacrifice — He said the team has drifted from its identity and that the club’s history does not mean victories are owed to them; players must invest themselves and do what it takes to win.
- Carrick is a dead man walking and should drop Bruno Fernandes if he is going down with the ship — He argued that a player publicly questioning the manager creates a divide, so Carrick should throw the player under the bus rather than keep playing him; Burley also said Carrick’s survival depends on getting enough points.
- Bruno Fernandes publicly questioning the tactics was deplorable; as captain he should change the game on the pitch, not throw the manager under the bus afterwards — He said Bruno waved his arms and was substituted before criticizing the manager publicly, which is unacceptable; a captain can affect the game through pressing and physicality instead of airing conflict in public.
- Carrick overachieved by getting United into the Champions League last season, so players should not scapegoat him — He noted United had one game a week while Liverpool and Chelsea struggled, yet Carrick still delivered Champions League qualification and extra revenue; the club then added only a few players rather than the four or five needed for a multi-competition season.
- It is unfair to make Carrick and his staff the fall guys; the blame lies with Jason Wilcox, Jim Ratcliffe and the board after years of bad decisions — He said Carrick had taken the team to a certain level early in the season but was suddenly being blamed for everything; the real issues were the lack of signings and the hierarchy, not the coaching staff.
- United need more top-level players to cope with multiple competitions and cannot expect the same squad to repeat last season’s overachievement — He said Carrick’s side exceeded expectations last season, but a new campaign with Premier League, Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup games requires high-quality cover in every position; if the backup level is not good enough, the team will crumble.
- United’s football leadership under the Ratcliffe group has remained a shambles, spending heavily while making one bad decision after another — He pointed to huge spending on the football operation, comparable to or more than Arsenal’s, with poor results; the hierarchy thought running the football side would be easy but showed little careful planning.
- No manager can save this United side by himself, not even a hybrid of Guardiola and Klopp — He argued that unless they buy about 12 players in January, which is unlikely, the current squad cannot rise to the level needed in the Premier League and Europe; the problem is squad quality, not the manager’s name.
- United are not an appealing project right now; money alone can bring in a manager, but without board support and a squad with elite cover in every position, nothing will change — He said a 60-game season requires two world-class players in every position, and unless the people above the manager provide the finances and structure to build that, United have no way out.
Steve McManaman, Craig Burley and Luis Garcia join Dan Thomas on ESPN FC to react to Michael Carrick recent comments about Manchester United’s disappointing season and what needs to change in order for them to improve. ✔️ Subscribe to ESPN Unlimited: https://plus.espn.com/ ESPN ESPNFC
Transcript
Manchester United. A debacle against Ko has left. Questions about Michael Carrick's future, his relationship with his players. So we had the chance to hear from him for the first time today in the press conference ahead of Bournemouth. He started off with a fiveinut statement. My responsibility is to get a team on a pitch that represents this football club, represents his supporters and and they they can be proud of it with the identity that we're showing. um we have gone away from that just just recently in in in certain games which which I'm totally fully aware of and um definitely doing something about. So I think it's important that we um we all recognize that. I certainly recognize it. We're in a moment where it's it's it's not gone well. So we need to show what um exactly what it means and um you know respect this football club, respect what it takes to be here, respect what it takes to win, what you have to do to win. Um, we're not I'm not entitled to be here. Entitlement cannot be at this football club. We're not entitled to win. We've won in the past. We've got an incredible history, but that doesn't um mean that you're entitled to to to just win. Um I'm fully aware of that. It takes it takes hard work, takes a lot of sacrifice. You got to you got to invest yourself in the football club and you got to do a lot of things that maybe aren't so nice, but you got to do it for each other and you got to win and you got to win. Um, and I think it's important we live up to that and it's important for me to to push those values and it's important for our supporters to to feel that um, moving forward. We've had it. We've kind of lost our way a little bit if I'm totally honest. Um, and we'll get her back. I'm totally confident we'll get her back. I respect this football club. Respect what it takes cuz it's very very important to me. the responsibility for me to be in this position is is um is to lead. You know, I'll I'll it is my responsibility to whatever goes on the pitch and um and what we are as a group and what we look like and what we feel like if if anything um you know, I'll I'll hold that umbrella for for me to get wet and and for for for everyone else to stay dry. If >> you get the sense that everyone feels the same way that you do, >> Yeah. as deeply as you do. >> Yeah, I do. Yeah, 100% do. Uh and if you don't, this is not the place for you. Is it all white noise, empty words? Has the damage been done to such a state now that we know he's going to leave? It's just a matter of when, not I think he's a dead man walking and and that's the reason I think if he he knows he's gone out. Uh that I would take some of those players with me in terms of I I said yesterday I just wouldn't play Bruno Fernandez after he came out. He was asked about that and he said he wouldn't comment, wouldn't talk about what's what's happened between him, Bruno, if there's been a conversation, what's going to happen at the weekend. >> I just don't think any manager worth salt can have a player coming out >> public privately. We we talked, we said this yesterday, you can go to your manager's room and say, "Look, I don't agree. This is not work. I don't agree with that and this isn't working." And you can have that opinion, but once you do it publicly, then there's a divide. And if I'm going if I'm sinking with the ship, then I'm going to throw him back under the bus. And I think Carrick clearly is. And it it would be no surprise uh if if you know if they don't get the points that they need for him to survive. And there was so many cliches there. It's just as you said, it's it's just kind of noise now. >> Ma, what have you made of the last what 48 hours regarding Manchester United? >> Um I felt sorry for the manager. I really did. after the Landro Martina's debacle where he came out and had a moan. I mean, I hate players moaning full stop. I hate it. >> But he but at least he never moaned about the manager. >> No, I know. And I thought Bruno Fernandez I mean it's a wonder Michael Carrick didn't take him into room and and beat the living daylights out of him. It really was as as an ex player cuz I thought that was a deplorable to come out and question tactics when you're on the pitch and you're the skipper and you can actually change those tactics by closing people down and kicking people and changing the way the game flows. You can't come out after the game when you've you've waved your arms 25 times and been brought off and then um decided to chuck your manager under the bus. Michael Carrick came in at a difficult time last year. Got them to the Champions League, got them to a place in in the position which they probably didn't deserve, but they got there because of having one game a week, Liverpool not playing well last year, Chelsea having a really poor season. They got there. So, he got them to the Champions League. He got them to an extra 150 million pounds worth of Champions League money. And then he was rewarded with Biba, Tielemans and Sanche Santos who don't get me wrong are not bad players but he needed four or five more because it was going from 30 games a season 38 games a season to properly 50 games a season if you're successful 60 games a season. So you need to bulk that squad up considerably. Team of in a bad shape at the moment in time and then the players decide it's the manager's fault. I mean, how dare they? How dare they? >> He got Rashford back and and and Rashford doesn't want to be there. >> But look at that back four. That back four has been there for five, six, seven years. >> Exactly. You can't squeeze a You cannot listen. Ma's right. Uh he's lucky Bruno Fernandez is playing in an era where everyone's a bit softer and they go about things differently. Cuz had that been when we were playing, >> they would have been, and I'm not condoning it, but they would have been fisty cuffs in the dressing room. I'm telling you now because that is unacceptable. But how how stupid do you need to be as a player to think whether we're not talking about Carrick's right or wrong no team can go and squeeze a game particularly at that level with those two center backs. >> You can't right you can't. >> And how come how come Michael Carrick is the one Carrick Steve Holland Jonathan Woodgate Johnny Evans they're going to be the fall guys? It's like Man United are attack. They have dug this hole over years of horrible. >> Yes, I understand that. But how can Michael Carrick who got them to a certain point what 10 games into the season be that it's his fault? It's not Jason Wilcox. It's not bad. It's not Jim Radcliffe. It's not etc etc. It's not people below. It's those four people who are going to lose their jobs because of this awful side and the awful not the awful signings, the lack of signings he's been given. suddenly rests on these guys who got them to the pinnacle last year, who overachieved last year, and they're suddenly going to go, "Ah, they have to go. They're the fall guys." I mean, how awful is that? I mean, the Premier League in English football, if they are, if this is the result, I just think it's atrocious. I really do. But then, who do you bring in? Who can fix this, Luis? Because we all sit here and agree this is a bang average Manchester United squad. So you could have a hybrid of a Klopp, a Guardiola, an Angelot, whoever you want. But who is really going to get a tune out of these players? >> No, I think that it's it's not about get the best of these players. It's about getting more players who can compete against the team that that you got on place. I mean, you you proved last year that because of the push that Karim made, the the the the amount of confident they gave to this players, they managed to get in that position that I think no one from the beginning of the season could have said that they will achieve. and you go to the next year just thinking okay we do this and this everything is going to be fine because we did it last year and that's never going to happen and we've seen it so many times when a team doubles up that means that you're going to play in two three different competition you know that in England you're going to do that you need to double up and if you are Manchester United or any team at the top of the table you need top top players to double up if not it's not going to be enough to play in the Champions League in the Europa League in the Premier League and the FA Cup is not enough because the intensity the way that you play the amount of games that you're going to have is not going to be enough. In the moment that you double up in the the the players that you have abroad in they are not at the same level that you expect the team is going to crumble. They any spent one point or thereabouts 1.25 billion to not own the club just to run the football department and they've been a shambles. Do >> you remember that? We were like, "Okay, maybe that will work." Glazers, you know, >> the Glazers are set back eventually club will be worth more and they also >> but then they bring in someone who knows about cycling and it just seems and and and uh they've just made bad decision after bad decision. They've actually we graphic a week or two ago. They've spent the same as or they spent more I think than Arsenal and some of the other teams. They've just spent badly. >> Mhm. So they've come in thinking it was going to be a breeze running this the football side of things and and they found out it's actually very difficult and you got to put a lot of thought into it and there's not a lot of thought. >> Eddie how's the favorite if he comes in miraculously will everything work out? Will that be the the change for Manchester United? >> If they buy 12 people in January maybe but I don't think that's going to happen. They're going to get bodies back from the Ko game which will help. But the the those players that they've got when you see them on a piece of paper, all of them fit well. They're not going to elevate you from here to there against the opposition that you see in Europe and in the Premier League. Absolutely no chance. Whether it's a hybrid of Pep Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, it's not going to happen. So Eddie how Narglesman I mean Fabian Herzella got mentions as if he'd leave Brighton to go to Manchester financially possibly but as a project never in the wildest dreams would would you change one for the other but financially they'll get somebody in because they'll pay decent amounts of money but God help them if they haven't got the help from up above and the finances to build a team as Luis said as Craig said as I've said to have two worldass players in every single position across the pitch to help them across 60 games a season. There's nothing down for them. They thought that Antonio Conte I mean you you have you have to laugh at that >> given his history >> given his given the way listen he's done some amazing stuff but it's usually over a two or three year period and then when he realizes his squad is either aging or or they're selling players and he's not getting reinforcements he does what the Man United players are doing >> and he throws >> and he's he's going to be starting at that point with Manchester United. >> They're just not a very appealing club. Yeah. >> To go and play for at this moment in time.