Gary Neville’s Michael Carrick Assessment Exposes Old Man Utd Flaws

Roy Keane and Wayne Rooney had different views on Carrick after Sunday’s dramatic 3–2 victory over Arsenal.

Gary Neville (left) spent five years playing with Michael Carrick for Manchester United. | Ash Donelon/Manchester United/Getty Images

Gary Neville refused to get carried away by the giddiness of Manchester United’s deserved 3–2 victory over Arsenal on Sunday, insisting instead that the club should turn to a figure in the mould of either Carlo Ancelotti or Thomas Tuchel, two wildly different candidates, to succeed Michael Carrick at the end of the season. Not all of his fellow United alumni agreed.

United’s transformation under Carrick has been staggering. This is the exact same group of players that were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by League Two Grimsby Town, that lost at home to an Everton team fighting themselves and failed to beat the relegation-battling duo of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley. Yet, in the space of eight days, they have outplayed the two principal contenders for this year’s Premier League title.

The fickle fortune of a new manager bounce has gripped United before. Ole Gunnar Solskjær famously won his first eight games as caretaker boss after lifting the toxic gloom which José Mourinho had left. The former striker steered United to victories over Arsenal and Chelsea before knocking Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League in dramatic circumstances. Within a matter of days, he had been handed a three-year contract.

After boasting a win-rate of 74% during his 19-match caretaker stint, Solskjær won a little more than half of his next 149 games (52%) before his permanent tenure was brought to a belated halt without a trophy to show for his efforts.

In the continued tradition of a club haunted by their past, Neville blindly advised against a return down that path. “Manchester United have acted emotionally a number of times in the last 12 years,” the Sky Sports pundit sighed this weekend. “I honestly could not be happier with the last two weeks. The familiarity in what I’m watching feels like I’m watching my team play again properly.

“They played properly, with intensity. I think it’s right that Carrick keeps the job until the end of the season and then hands the baton over to a Tuchel or an Ancelotti, someone of that world-class ilk.”

Thomas Tuchel (left) and Carlo Ancelotti will both be at the 2026 World Cup. | Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

Tuchel and Ancelotti share some qualities—the pair have experience of the Premier League (a decade apart), can point to a Champions League trophy in their cabinet and may both be available after leading foreign nations at this summer’s World Cup. Yet, their dramatic differences highlight the jumbled thinking when it comes to United’s appointment process.

Ancelotti, Real Madrid’s revered Galáctico whisperer, once mused: “There are two types of coaches: those who do nothing and those who do a lot of damage. I try to be in the first. The game is for the players and you can tell them a certain strategy but then the decisive thing is their quality and commitment.”

Tuchel undoubtedly belongs to the second category, though he would argue that his tactical instructions do more damage to the opposition than his own players.

The issue for United is that they have cycled through almost every type of manager across the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era and not one has inspired a title race. Neville appears to have his heart set on a proven winner, whether it be a cult leader or detailed tactician. Roy Keane is content to have anyone who isn’t named Michael Carrick.

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Roy Keane: Anyone Can Win Two Games

Roy Keane is a tough man to impress. | Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images

Keane has been wary of Carrick’s appointment from the start. The former United captain questioned his managerial credentials, his backroom staff and even his wife before the Manchester derby. That victory over City wasn’t enough to earn universal praise from Keane, who doubled down on his stance that Carrick is emphatically not the right man for the job this weekend.

“Two great performances but anyone can win two games,” the retired midfielder scoffed from the Sky Sports studio, ignoring the fact that it had taken Ruben Amorim 11 months to collect consecutive Premier League victories.

“If United win every game until the end of the season, I still wouldn’t be giving him the job,” Keane continued. “I still wouldn’t be convinced he’s the man for the job. Absolutely not.

“They need a bigger and better manager. The size of the club and the challenges they face over the next few years, you want a manager who you feel can get them winning league titles.

“Are we going to sit here and believe Michael Carrick can get United winning league titles? It’s not enough for me. I don’t believe he is the man to get them winning league titles.”

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Wayne Rooney: This Feels Different Than Ole Gunnar Solskjær

Wayne Rooney was trying to get a job at Man Utd under Michael Carrick. | Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu/Getty Images

Unlike Keane, Wayne Rooney played alongside Carrick at United and formed a close bond with his compatriot which continues to last (the pair were on holiday together in Barbados as recently as Christmas). Whether that friendship came into play is a question only Rooney can answer, but he certainly gave Carrick the big buildup.

When asked by Match of the Day host Kelly Cates if United’s current coach could take on the job beyond the end of the season, he was in no doubt. “Of course he can,” Rooney quickly replied. “I think Michael Carrick’s got an opportunity to show everyone, to show Manchester United, that he’s capable of doing that job.”

“What we’ve seen is he’s very capable of doing it,” the club’s record goalscorer continued. “And if it continues like this, there’ll be a massive pressure on the Manchester United board to put him in at the end of the season.

“I know they’ve been there with Ole before, but I think this feels a little bit different.”

Fellow pundit Danny Murphy could not contain his guffaws at this suggestion. Carrick, himself, is doing his best to downplay the speculation.

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Michael Carrick Coy on Man Utd Future

Carrick has gotten off to the perfect start. | Marc Atkins/AVFC/Aston Villa FC/Getty Images

“What happens next [manager position] I’m not going to be answering it every week,” United’s defiantly drab head coach warned. “I’m enjoying it and I’ll continue to do what I can.

“I know from our perspective it’s just about moving forward to the next game. It’s been less than two weeks that we’ve been together, so it’s just keep getting good habits and good routines. The boys have been fantastic with that.

“But I don’t think we can look too far ahead. We certainly won’t be anyway, so we’ll finish where we finish by getting the results.

“I know that’s kind of obvious, but looking too far ahead can come back and bite you. We’ve taken this week by week, game by game and we’ll certainly continue to do that, but we’ve got to ride it, you’ve got to use the emotion, you’ve got to use the energy, you’ve got to use the confidence.”

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