Manchester United just need to find a bit of ‘common sense’ and appoint Michael Carrick if they sack Ruben Amorim, says one of their title-winning former coaches.
The Red Devils can be a ‘fantastic’ side again with a man who ‘knows the club’ and uses a more suitable system, according to Rene Meulensteen.
Amorim is staunchly wedded to his failing 3-4-3 system and it has once again been fruitless, leaving United 14th in the Premier League after four games – their worst start in 33 years.
United have no immediate plans to sack him but the squad are losing faith in his ideas, as Daily Mail Sport has reported, and club legends are increasingly turning on him.
By contrast, Carrick made quite the impression as a pundit for Amazon Prime as Tottenham beat Villarreal 1-0 in the Champions League. The former United midfielder enjoyed a fairly successful stint in charge of Middlesbrough, leading them to the play-offs and two other top-ten finished before being sacked in the summer.
And speaking to football betting site BetVictor, Meulensteen said: ‘Michael Carrick might be the obvious option if Ruben Amorim is to go.
Manchester United should make Michael Carrick their next manager if they sack Ruben Amorim, says Rene Meulensteen
Club legend Carrick won 18 trophies with them and had a good spell managing Middlesbrough
Amorim is under increasing pressure after United’s worst start to a season in 33 years
‘Obviously Michael Carrick still knows quite a few players that were there when he was there. So he’s still got some good inside information. He obviously knows the club.
‘He knows what’s expected from the club. Well, you always get that and there’s always names being thrown around. Jose Mourinho’s out of the job as well [but is reportedly set to rejoin Benfica]. So that will be thrown around and there’s all other managers as well.
‘But the key is that you need to have a guy that obviously has got a clear idea but puts some kind of a structure in place that the players buy into and that you get a spark from the players. Because they’re not bad players, there’s plenty of good players there.
‘I’m sure that if they would play in a system that suits them, they really play at the best. I think you could see a fantastic Manchester United. Maybe Michael could well be the guy.
‘It’s not magic. It’s common sense more than anything, that’s it and Carrick has got plenty of that.’
Meulensteen was a first-team coach at United between 2007 and 2013, helping Sir Alex Ferguson to win three Premier League crowns and a Champions League among other honours.
Daily Mail Sport understands that some of United’s stars have never been comfortable with Amorim’s system.
Meanwhile, Carrick typically played a more conventional 4-2-3-1, though he did at times deploy a back three.
Carrick impressed fans as a pundit for Tottenham’s Champions League win over Villarreal
Meulensteen, right, was one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s sidekicks during United’s golden era
Despite their woeful start to the season – the nadir of which was their Carabao Cup embarrassment against League Two side Grimsby Town – United will be reluctant to kick Amorim for various reasons.
Firstly, his remarkable work at Sporting Lisbon, where he brought two league titles to a side who hadn’t won one for almost 20 years, proves his potential.
United have also backed him to the tune of £236million this summer and willw ant to give him a chance to get his ideas across to his new players.
Finally, as Daily Mail Sport exclusively revealed, it would cost United a staggering sum to sack Amorim inside the first 12 months of his deal – an expense they could do without.
Appointing a former player who ‘knows the club’ is often a pitfall which leads clubs to further damage and it is certainly no guarantee of success.
Ex-player Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s managerial legacy at Old Trafford is complicated but after seeing Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag, and Amorim after him, fans may see his tenure in a better light.
Carrick took charge of United for three games as caretaker after Solskjaer’s sacking in 2021 and won two of those games, drawing the other. he beat Villarreal and Arsenal and drew with Chelsea.
Over 12 years as a player for the club, Carrick rose to the rank of captain and won 18 trophies including five Premier League titles and a Champions League.
After seeing his composed punditry on Amazon, many supporters took to social media to demand his appointment.
