‘Michael Carrick has no answers’ - Craig Burley after Man United’s loss to Atletico Madrid | ESPN FC

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Craig Burley: Michael Carrick has no answers as Martinez's comments add to Man United turmoil

This video mainly discusses the fallout from Man United's loss to Atletico Madrid: Martinez's public complaints about investment and the technical director, Craig Burley's view that Carrick has no answers and players cannot just blame the squad, and doubts over United's appeal to top stars. Jurgen argues they should stick with Carrick, and the panel also notes Atletico Madrid's strong form.

Craig Burley, Jurgen Klinsmann and Ale Moreno join Dan Thomas on ESPN FC to react to Manchester United's 2-0 UEFA Champions League loss to Atletico Madrid and Lissandro Martinez's comments. ✔️ Subscribe to ESPN Unlimited: https://plus.espn.com/ ESPN ESPNFC

Transcript

Yeah, I'd like to go Madrid too. Manchester United nil is how it finishes. Interesting comments then after the game from Manchester United's Landro Martinez speaking about the result. Really poor. Really poor. I have to control myself a lot, but sometimes it's a reflection in the mirror of how our club is at the moment. I expect more investment 100%. I expect more from our technical director who's Jason Wilcox. I have to be honest, as players, we have to do more. But it's also important when you make a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night. Uh Jurgen Kinsman joins us. We're hearing from Jurgen at the moment. Uh Martinez pretty much reiterating what we've been saying. Well, see you in Jason Wilcox's office in the morning basically because Jason Wilcox who I played again. He was my era by the way playing for Blackburn and other clubs. He's now the technical director there, sporting director. Call it what you like. You can't have players coming out. Well, he'll have to address that because he's basically chucking it all his way. They didn't have a great summer, right? They didn't have the summer that we were expecting after finishing in third place, >> but you but you've still got to deal with that and and Manchester United haven't. That's not the reason they lost to Hul City. That's not the reason they've had the results they've had in the Premier League. 10-man Tottenham, bottom of the league, fool them away, who are now bottom of the league, uh, by the way. So, they've played some of the worst teams. Okay, Hull have had a good start, but they're a promoted side. Then you've played the likes of Hull and Tottenham amongst Everton when you know that they've started the season well in terms of the league position, but that that's another squad that David Moyes was he was spitting feathers after the transfer window. He's got no striker. He's got no this. He's got no no that. And yet they were another team that got a result against Man United. So you can't keep chucking it just at the squad. You're not playing Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona every week. You're playing some poor teams in the Premier League and there are some quite a few actually and they're not getting results. So I I understand that frustration from a players point of view in a sense you're looking to play the blame game. But ultimately you have to take responsibility and at this moment in time Michael Carrick has no answers. him and Steve Holland in the technical area are just sitting there looking as if they're having a conversation about how they're going to fix these problems and they can't. They're all over the place at the back. Tielemans is struggling in midfield. Uh they're getting run over and they're too by the way they had their moments tonight. This was by the way this was not their worst performance because there's been there's been worse. They had their moments tonight but they're too easy to play against. That's the problem. And to that point about being too easy to play against, Michael Carrick leading up to this match was asked in the press conference about the pressures and the early struggles of Manchester United, how they were feeling coming into this match. And one of the things that he was saying is, "We're going to come out fighting. We're going to come out with intensity. We're going to come out with energy. We're we're going to get off to a good start." And a minute in, you're down a goal. and to the point of being easy to play against. While there is a turnover that happens in the midfield in the first goal, it is one pass, one pass that beats everybody from Manchester United. And so you may argue whatever the pressure is on Manchester United, h however poor their team may be in terms of the squad and and the depth or lack thereof of this group, you you can argue the lack of talent in key positions. You can argue all those things and you can put that on the technical directory if you so desire. But one pass beating everybody. It is squarely on not only the lack of pressure in the midfield, but defenders that are ball watching and can't quite figure out a moment in which they have to take a step back and don't allow Alex Bay, who's not the quickest guy, to get in behind. So, you were planning to be energetic. You were planning to be organized. You were planning to get off to a good start. you were planning to come out fighting and this is what you show in the first minute and you go down a goal. It it really I think it when you consider what Michael Carrick said coming into this match, it really goes against everything that was the messaging the performance at least in those first few minutes was against all the messaging that we were hear uh hearing and listening to coming into this match which then is a referendum of both Michael Carrick and the players. Jurgen, regular viewers of the show will know that if you've got a problem with a player, you take him out for a coffee, maybe a quason to have a little chat. What you doing with Landra Martinez when you see him uh tomorrow at training because he said the quiet thing very very loud today. >> You probably hope that he is able to kind of digest two double espressos. Um because obviously this is not the stuff that you want to hear. Um, if you're the manager of uh my Michael Carrick's now situation, you don't want to have players come out and telling their own stories and thinking, you know, that you know, no more than the sporting director or more than more than the coach or the the CEO and you're talking about the the players transfer market that they did in the summer and all that stuff. No, it's it's not it's not good. It's not good timing from for Martinez at all. I mean as uh as uh the guy said just now you know everything that you kind of try to do in this game is through the window uh after one minute because you conceded already a goal. I think after that actually Manu had their chances and Bueno had he had two very very good chances. There was there was the opport the opportunities were there to actually uh cause really trouble to Atletic Madrid. But Atletico Madrid is just a team that needs very very little to kind of knock you out. you know they need three chances score two goals you know meanwhile uh Man United is not able to to score any of their opportunities and and uh yeah you look then you know yeah you look um in in trouble and and Michael Carrick knows that everything right now is uh is kind of turning against him not only the media and and uh everyone you know from from a fan perspective but but when players come out and and and talk that stuff after a game like that um it's it's just not it's That's not good, you know. And uh um I would uh I would probably call him in at 6:00 a.m. already tomorrow morning and not even let him sleep in. >> So isn't this where Manchester United are? You can complain and the fans complain. Look, we're not bringing the quality players that we need to take us to the next level. But you look at the players that made a move this this summer. Elliot Anderson, no way he's going to United. Morgan Rogers, why would he go to United? Gordon, why would he turn down Barcelona to go to Man? This is just where they are. If you're a big player, if you're a top quality star, Manchester United aren't even on your radar. >> And they don't want to throw huge money because because that's the other thing that tempts players. Obviously, we've seen it with Saudi Arabia. They don't want to under some Jim Ratcliffe and and all the cronies that he's brought in on the footballing side. They don't want to throw that kind of money at at players in terms of in terms of wages. They're saying they have a structure and all that sort of thing. So, that's fine. you have to work within it. But that's not going to that's not going to dilute the argument that I was talking about earlier about the teams have played and the team they're going to play on Saturday lead United away because you look at you know man for man and and squads then there's no reason why United uh apart from the fact they're not playing well there's no excuse for getting beat by these kind of teams are certainly not competing and yet looking forward they go to uh lead United at the weekend at Ellen Road which is one of the big rivalries and it has been for 30 40 years in terms of the fans in England against a lead side under Daniel Far who are absolutely solid and for an hour at Arsenal at the weekend gave as good as they got uh and they'll be baying for some more Man United blood and for some to pile more misery on on Michael Carrick and at this moment in time as you look at those upcoming games the old one game at a time scenario who who's going to put up an argument for Man United going to to Ellen Road and winning let's not forget This is where it didn't unravel for Ruben Amarim at Ellen Road last year, but it was almost the final nail in the coffin. They got beat. He came out talking about I'm not the head coach. I'm not the and all this sort of nonsense. And so that's a huge hu every game now for Michael Car. He can't look three, four, five, six games ahead. He can't because he's he's under so much early season pressure. He's just got to look at the weekend now and think, right, how do I stop this? How do we get a result? How do you stop the press talking? How do you stop the fans talking? How do I get the players some confidence? How do I stop people from talking about me being the next guy to get the chop at Man United? That that's where he is. And we're only what early October. >> Yeah. And and how can you focus on leads United? Well, now the conversation is going to be, hey, Leandro Martinez said said this. Can you react to this? So, you have to address >> get suspended. Yeah. Right. >> I I I mean I don't if you if you suspend him then you you you you give you give this even more life, >> right? >> I I I believe you have a conversation with him. You may bench him if you so desire. But if you suspend them, you're going to give more life to this and these are more questions that you're going to have to answer. Lzandro Martinez saying what he said. While he may not be incorrect in the messaging, he is not the one that should be delivering that messaging because let me just Hey, Landro, let me just remind you, you're part of the players. >> Yeah. >> And those guys that you're talking about who you're saying are are essentially the if you read between the lines saying we're not quite good enough because we don't quite have the players. These are your teammates that you're talking about. So the it it's not a popular position to take in the locker room because those teammates that you're taking a shot at are going to look at you and say, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait a minute." >> Yeah. >> You're not the we're taking enough from the outside. We don't need it from the inside. >> If your team's coming over the summer, >> yeah, yeah, were you talking about me? >> Am I Am I the guy who's not good enough? So it's it's not his place to say this. And it only adds to what just Craig was just talking about, which is if you want to focus on the game against Le United, but then you got to deal with what what Lando Martinez just said and you got to deal with the pressure and you got to deal with this and you got to deal with that. How does this make the job easier for Michael Carrick? It does not. How does it make it easier for them to win against Le United? It does not. None of this is good for Manchester United and it really creates an atmosphere in which people start pointing fingers at each other. And Jurgen knows this very well being a manager. When players start pointing the fingers at each other, whether it's publicly or behind each other's back inside the locker room, things fracture. And when things fracture, there's no coming back. >> Michael Carrick isn't suspending anybody. And and and Omar Bar certainly not anybody of Landro Martinez's ilk. uh and Omar Baratti and Jason Wilcox are not suspending anybody because if they even mention suspending uh one of and let's be honest, he's a key player for United now because they cannot afford to lose anybody with experience. That's that's the struggles. So if any there's any talk about reprimanding uh Landro Martinez whether we like it or not with with you know not being available for Man United at the weekend, Michael Carrick will tell him to sort off because Michael Carrick has enough problems without losing an experienced player. So he'll be playing uh Jurgen say Carrick goes say say say say say say say say say say say say say say say say say say say say say say that they decide right that's it we want to bring in someone with more experience we saw during the summer um during the international break Antonio Conte very much flirting with a return to the Premier League even with someone of key's experience and resume with this squad can he actually get them to be the Manchester United that their fans expect them to be >> I think it's a very very good squad I think definitely you know, they can be successful and they can get back on the right track. Also, with Michael Carrick, I mean, obviously, you know, if a player comes out and talks like that, there's need to talk. There is need to to get the team together and and talk it out because you got to make those players feel accountable. You need to make them feel responsible. And and Martinez in that moment now, he's even double accountable for for not only how he plays, but also, you know, how he communicates. So I think this is definitely a situation that you can fix. Obviously you know the the results are not going their way at the moment. I hope that they stick to Michael Carrick because you know when when when clubs panic after two months into the season because the results are not there and they switch right away uh the manager and and kind of feed everything into the hands of of players because they are you know there's there's no player in the world that is always 100% happy. Um so my wish is Michael Carrick stays on board figures a way figures out a way to get on a on a successful path. Um and uh and there is no change of coach. You know one thing this is this is amazing. It's amazing how you can deflect in a sense and and in some sense what he's saying is is correct. But let let's let's roll it back four days. >> 10 man. >> Yeah. Who was who was >> who was marking Dominanki? >> Who was who was in completely the wrong position? Who wasn't even watching the ball when Dominic Silanki scored that excellent header by the way? Lovely little flick from a great ball. But that was his responsibility. That was his job. >> How dare you? >> He was the guy as whether he's smaller than Salanki or not. He was the guy that >> Jason Wilcox had a laser in his eye. He he his job was to be in a good position there to defend that ball into the box. He was not Sanki and Tottenham 10 man took full advantage of it and more pressure was piled on Michael Carrick. So there is there is accountability on on all sides and that includes Landro Martinez because he's got a short memory thinking back through the weekend. >> Uh just a word on Atletico Madrid in their opening Champions League game disappointing Anfield against Liverpool. Since then, they've gone a great run, which has included beating Real Madrid. Uh today, kind of as expected, you look at their form going into this tie. Uh they got the win. They're looking a bit more athletic like, aren't they at the moment? >> They are with a little flare, right? With a little a little sauce, a little flavor about Atletico Madrid. and and I think highlighting a player like Alex Vaya who carried the momentum of what was a really good World Cup for him individually and how important he has been for Atletico Madrid this season. In fact, over the weekend when they were struggling against Alves and it felt like well maybe he's going to finish 1-1 and this is drop points and it's more separation between them and Barcelona this and that and the other. He comes off the bench and hits the most gorgeous ball with the outside of his right foot to Christristen Romero at the back post. He scores the game winner. They win the match 2-1 and momentum carries onto this match and again today he was critical to their success. His ability to get involved in the play in the middle third and then more importantly in the final third. Creativity I think this is a confident team now. The work rate of Juliano Simeone is is always important. Marco is running and coming and running and coming and coming and going. It was an emotional night as well for these players given the death of the mama kokes and they responded and when this play when this team not only do they have the emotional aspect in the game they have the physicality. They have the work rate and now you add a little bit of flare a little bit of creativity and goals. That's what they are able to get the result that they got today. Uh atlet in action this weekend they'll take on Espanol. Just a reminder all La Liga games live on ESPN app. Big game on Saturday, intriguing game, Real Betis taking on Barcelona. We're talking about Barca a little later on. And on Sunday, it's Real Madrid against Sevilla. Uh, that game's also available on BBC.