‘I Hope’—Roy Keane Ties Himself in Knots With New Michael Carrick Prediction

Man Utd’s former captain has taken aim at Carrick, his coaching staff and his wife during an eventful few weeks.

Roy Keane (left) has been outspoken on the topic of Michael Carrick. | YouTube/The Overlap/Robbie Jay Barratt-AMA/Getty Images

After making a series of widely disparaging comments about Michael Carrick and his prospects of becoming the long-term Manchester United manager, Roy Keane bizarrely claimed that he “hoped” the former midfielder would get the permanent position while predicting a top-four finish.

Keane made it abundantly clear that he had no confidence in Carrick immediately after he was appointed as United’s head coach for the rest of the season. The former club captain, who took a swipe at Carrick’s wife for a deleted tweet from 12 years earlier, wouldn’t be swayed by back-to-back wins over Manchester City and Arsenal.

“If United win every game until the end of the season, I still wouldn’t be giving him the job,” Keane stubbornly insisted last Sunday. Four days later, his thought process was a bit more muddled.

“I hope they give it to him. I hope they give it to him in the summer,” Keane surprisingly declared on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast.

Before Gary Neville could leap in to point out the flip-flopped opinion, Keane tried to clarify his position: “I don’t think it’s the right decision, but good luck with it.”

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Why Roy Keane Is So Unconvinced by Michael Carrick

Roy Keane’s often outspoken about his former employers. | Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images, Visionhaus/Getty Images

Keane’s issue with Carrick—aside from Lisa Roughead’s decade-old comments about his punditry style, which she described as saying “anything to provoke a reaction”—stems from his fervent belief that there are more impressive candidates on the market.

“I think you can get a better manager than Carrick, absolutely,” Keane shrugged. “But he’s doing a good job, perfect timing for him, and even if he doesn’t get the United job, these results, a bit like Ruud [van Nistelrooy], he can get another job, probably another Premiership manager.

“But just because you’re doing well at United, it doesn’t mean he’ll do well at another club. He’s got the players back, it’s all been sliding-doors moments. Great for him, and he’s took [sic] advantage of it.”

“As a caretaker manager, it’s a different animal to being manager of United trying to win league titles over the next two, three, four, five years,” Keane added.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær is the blinding piece of evidence upheld by Keane. Much like Carrick, the former United player was appointed as the club’s short-term fix with an understated managerial record elsewhere. After enjoying his own blistering start with 14 wins from 19 games, Solskjær was handed a three-year deal. The Norwegian tactician oversaw a third-placed finish in his first full season before leading United to a distant Premier League runners-up spot in 2020–21. The Red Devils are yet to climb as high since.

However, Solskjær failed to win a piece of silverware during his near three-year tenure and instilled a one-dimensional style of football based primarily upon swift counter-attacks. When United were not afforded space to break into, they crumbled. Solskjær then managed to rob the team of its only strength by signing an ageing Cristiano Ronaldo, who slowed down their fast breaks forward.

Keane’s pick for United’s permanent boss was oddly Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe. Yet, by the pundit’s own reckoning, Carrick may finish the current campaign sitting above the Magpies.

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Can Man Utd Live Up to Roy Keane’s Prediction?

The 44-year-old is in charge until summer. | James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

Looking down at his untouched pastry, Keane smirked: “I think they will get top four.” With 15 games of the campaign remaining, that is precisely where United currently sit.

However, the Red Devils are still predicted to slip behind Liverpool and Chelsea to finish sixth, with Opta’s supercomputer giving them little more than a 20% chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League (which will be the Premier League’s top five, rather than just the leading quartet).

The lack of any other cup competitions gives Carrick and his backroom staff complete focus to devise and perfect a specific game plan for each opponent. They have already got this season’s leading duo out of the way and are set for a relatively gentle run of fixtures over the next month to build upon the momentum forged against Arsenal and City.

Sunday’s visit from Fulham will prove to be the real acid test as Carrick is faced with his first fixture as the clear favourite. Marco Silva needed three sentences to explain how he dismantled Ruben Amorim’s system at the start of the season, overloading their understaffed midfield with Alex Iwobi. How “simple” this weekend’s clash turns out to be should offer a more well-rounded view of Carrick’s coaching credentials—not that it will change Keane’s mind.

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