Michael Carrick | 2021/22 Interim-Interim Manager Performances

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That was a textbook (Fergie) away from home performance, in Europe. Keep it tight, close the spaces. Keep their fans quiet, and frustrate them breaking down attacks.

With half an hour to go, throw on some quality players to stretch them while they are tiring and nick the win. We could have got 4 in the end, with the Ronaldo miss and Sancho save.

Fundamental changes that were visible.

- Fred was much higher up the pitch and it worked, as we saw with the first goal.
- McTominay was showing for the ball and making risky passes through the lines (second goal).
- AWB had done his homework on Danjuma, and he didn't get any of the joy he had at Old Trafford.
- Sancho clicked in his preferred position, although he needs someone to play 1-2's off, and sometimes has to wait for others to catch up. He will be class, though.
- The tempo was much quicker. One touch, quick passing through the lines. The forwards were dropping back to get involved with the midfield passing play. We saw this with both goals.
- The playing out from the back was much better, but mainly because we were moving the ball quicker. Maguire even played a ball over the top for Sancho! Lindelof also has this in his locker too. If the wingers are able to get in behind then play them in. Saw more players taking those kinds of risks tonight, instead of always playing safe with the handbrake on. The forward passes made a big difference in the second half.
- The subs were perfect, and brought on at the perfect time.
- A clean sheet!

Stuff to work on.

- Corners not clearing the first man. Our corners are a waste of time. We are terrible at taking them.
- De Gea is a master at shot stopping, but he doesn't come out for crosses. And his goal kicks usually go out of play like he is line kicking in rugby.
- Donny wasn't able to find space for himself. Every time we had possession, I looked at him and there was always a Villareal player in between him and the ball. If he cannot work to find the space, he isn't going to receive the ball. He needs to be moving all the time, like Jesse does. Actually, I think that Jesse would really work well in this team at the moment, linking up play with Sancho and Ronaldo.

Big test up next!
 
Best thing was the subs around 60 mins instead of 85 mins.
Completely changed the game. Well done Mike.

6 year contract incoming ha ha
 
He did well tonight did our Michael and he looked spot on with that suit.

Seriously though he started VDB, and dropped Bruno, be it for the fans or not
He got the win in the end. As far as European away games go it was perfect.

He deserves as much respect as any ex player if you ask me. Played for us for 12 years and won the lot and never had any bad press. Take it easy on him.
 
I loved him as a player and that was bang on tonight. In a parallel universe I'd like to see him get the season. In this one he should get the Chelsea game and that be it but very positive tonight. He looks and speaks very well, too.
 
Impossible to criticise him at all after tonight.
Inherited a team in woeful form and came away from home with a win.
Sancho played in his best position and had his best game = tick.
Bruno looked fecked the last few games so bench him = tick.
Dvb looked good last couple of outings so start him = tick.
Make subs early enough to have an impact = tick.

Football is a simple game made complicated by people who should know better - shankly
 
Wheato said:
That was a textbook (Fergie) away from home performance, in Europe. Keep it tight, close the spaces. Keep their fans quiet, and frustrate them breaking down attacks.

With half an hour to go, throw on some quality players to stretch them while they are tiring and nick the win. We could have got 4 in the end, with the Ronaldo miss and Sancho save.

Fundamental changes that were visible.

- Fred was much higher up the pitch and it worked, as we saw with the first goal.
- McTominay was showing for the ball and making risky passes through the lines (second goal).
- AWB had done his homework on Danjuma, and he didn't get any of the joy he had at Old Trafford.
- Sancho clicked in his preferred position, although he needs someone to play 1-2's off, and sometimes has to wait for others to catch up. He will be class, though.
- The tempo was much quicker. One touch, quick passing through the lines. The forwards were dropping back to get involved with the midfield passing play. We saw this with both goals.
- The playing out from the back was much better, but mainly because we were moving the ball quicker. Maguire even played a ball over the top for Sancho! Lindelof also has this in his locker too. If the wingers are able to get in behind then play them in. Saw more players taking those kinds of risks tonight, instead of always playing safe with the handbrake on. The forward passes made a big difference in the second half.
- The subs were perfect, and brought on at the perfect time.
- A clean sheet!

Stuff to work on.

- Corners not clearing the first man. Our corners are a waste of time. We are terrible at taking them.
- De Gea is a master at shot stopping, but he doesn't come out for crosses. And his goal kicks usually go out of play like he is line kicking in rugby.
- Donny wasn't able to find space for himself. Every time we had possession, I looked at him and there was always a Villareal player in between him and the ball. If he cannot work to find the space, he isn't going to receive the ball. He needs to be moving all the time, like Jesse does. Actually, I think that Jesse would really work well in this team at the moment, linking up play with Sancho and Ronaldo.

Big test up next!
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Cracking post mate, well summed up.
 
Think he has totally exposed Ole tonight. He's played players in correct positions; been able to make tactical changes through the game; dropped players in poor form (bar Maguire) and made subs at the right time, and not with 5mins to go. Not to mention it's a breath of fresh air actually seeing him on the touchline and not acting like a spectator.

He speaks so much better than Ole in the post match press conference, he actually sounds like he knows what he's on about, ole did not.

This is by no means me wanting him as our manager, though.
 
The Purley King said:
Best thing was the subs around 60 mins instead of 85 mins.
Completely changed the game. Well done Mike.

6 year contract incoming ha ha
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Sorry, but what is this? The subs where at 66 minutes and the only games in which Solskjaer has made later subs than this this season were wins at West Ham, Villareal and Tottenham. Every other game this season he's made changes earlier than that.

And it completely changed the game because we reverted from a bungled diamond formation that Carrick implemented which saw us concede 9 shots in the first half (praise De Gea), have only 2 and massively cede possession until we took off the players Carrick decided to start, brought on our best player and play the formation we played for the last 2 years.

It's easy to complement subs when the two players you benched your subs for did nothing (literally in Martial's case) and one of them is your best player who has assisted in every single Champions League game this season. There's a very strong argument that the best time to sub on Bruno would have been just before kickoff. We might not have needed to rely on De Gea pulling one, arguably two world class saves to keep us in the game in the first half if we had.
 
We did ok but nothing ground breaking. Exactly what you'd hope for from a caretaker.

Job done, get in Poch or an interim asap and let's not mess this up again. At least (I hope) the club can't fall for any new manager bounce with Carrick as he's been heavily involved in what came before under Ole, and Jose to a lesser extent. We already have all the proof we need. Im worried by comments from some fans that think he'll be good enough for the rest of the season based on one game Vs second rate Spanish opposition. Thankfully I don't believe the board would dare go there again. The cynic in me can absolutely picture us letting him have the season, then giving it him full time in the summer. This club just can't help themselves.
 
And for the record I don't think we were even that bad tonight, rode our luck away at a tricky opponent thanks to some poor finishing and some world class saves, then when we decided to put our best player on the pitch he tore open the game.

That doesn't change the fact that his team selection was dreadful and tactically he got it wrong for 66 minutes before he made a change, before the subs we'd had 4 shots compared to their 12 and failed to have any of the ball. If that was Solskjaer we'd have been fuming.
 
mariachi-19 said:
Nobody talking about appointing him permanently but if he can do a job until summer when we will have better options at replacing ole, then why not?
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Season is still young. Carrick is no new entity, he was largely responsible for what has happened here, let's not forget. All the fans, and the players apparently, were questioning how he survived till now only 24 hours ago. Let's be realistic and not just reactive for once.
 
Wheato said:
That was a textbook (Fergie) away from home performance, in Europe. Keep it tight, close the spaces. Keep their fans quiet, and frustrate them breaking down attacks.
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They had 9 shots in the first half and our goalkeeper made 2 world class saves :confused: we were anything but tight.
 
Dion said:
They had 9 shots in the first half and our goalkeeper made 2 world class saves :confused: we were anything but tight.
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We've spent the last month shipping goals - of course we're going to concede chances. It isn't going to be a shutout immediately.

But quite clearly we set up to try and be compact, and thankfully we got some luck and we were able to rely on a strong goalkeeping performance for part of the game.

Ultimately, with McTominay as our deepest midfielder we will continue to ship chances. He's not solely responsible, but he stands out as one who exposes us as much as anyone.
 
NotoriousISSY said:
We've spent the last month shipping goals - of course we're going to concede chances. It isn't going to be a shutout immediately.

But quite clearly we set up to try and be compact, and thankfully we got some luck and we were able to rely on a strong goalkeeping performance for part of the game.

Ultimately, with McTominay as our deepest midfielder we will continue to ship chances. He's not solely responsible, but he stands out as one who exposes us as much as anyone.
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We conceded the same types of chances we've been conceding all season, my point was exactly that, it's nothing new. Carrick didn't shut up shop and it wasn't "textbook Fergie away from home in Europe", De Gea pulled the drawbridge up and said "not today". We didn't do anything meaningfully different today than have done previously other than the lopsided diamond which frankly was a terrible choice, ended up benching our best player and putting us on the back foot for an hour and a bit, yet some people seem to want to make it sound like it. As if it was really obvious what Solskjaer was doing wrong, when the reality is we were only ever in the game when we played the formation and players we've been relying on for 2 years now (namely Bruno).
 
It is the same coaching team as we had before. I think many of us are trying our best to spot elements of better coaching to cling on to some hope of progress now that Ole has left. Apart from Carrick's openness to trying out Sancho and dropping Rashford and Bruno, there is still a lot to be discovered on his coaching style under the pretext that he wasn't the man calling the shots when Ole was in charge. If it is the latter we're still screwed.

Yes we got the win, but apart from that this result doesn't mark the emergence of a more organised and disciplined side. Villareal were woeful at finishing their chances and DDG is a superman reincarnate.
 
4-4-2 out of possession, 4-3-3 in it. Organised, decent organised pressing(atleast not the shambles it was under Ole), and falling back into a good shape when it fails and playing on the counter.

Mildly impressed.
 
Dion said:
We conceded the same types of chances we've been conceding all season, my point was exactly that, it's nothing new. Carrick didn't shut up shop and it wasn't "textbook Fergie away from home in Europe", De Gea pulled the drawbridge up and said "not today". We didn't do anything meaningfully different today than have done previously other than the lopsided diamond which frankly was a terrible choice, ended up benching our best player and putting us on the back foot for an hour and a bit, yet some people seem to want to make it sound like it. As if it was really obvious what Solskjaer was doing wrong, when the reality is we were only ever in the game when we played the formation and players we've been relying on for 2 years now (namely Bruno).
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The power of the bench you might add...something Solskjaer often left until about the 85th minute when the game was screaming for change beforehand.
 
The-Natural said:
Chuckled at the sheer childishness of this. Bravo mate!
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Seriously though grinds my gear when we got battered and he sit there watching his ipad. I have seen Sunday League managers with more life on the touchline than him
 
I have a feeling Carrick might have a decent managerial career compared to most of our ex-players. His style of play was built around reading the game well, intelligent positioning and picking out passes which I feel are crucial qualities to have as a manager. But at the moment it doesn't seem to have the charisma to go along with the other technical qualities he has. It'll be interesting to follow how his career shapes up if/once he leaves us. Hopefully he gets a job in some lower division clubs and works his way up.
 
Dion said:
We conceded the same types of chances we've been conceding all season, my point was exactly that, it's nothing new. Carrick didn't shut up shop and it wasn't "textbook Fergie away from home in Europe", De Gea pulled the drawbridge up and said "not today". We didn't do anything meaningfully different today than have done previously other than the lopsided diamond which frankly was a terrible choice, ended up benching our best player and putting us on the back foot for an hour and a bit, yet some people seem to want to make it sound like it. As if it was really obvious what Solskjaer was doing wrong, when the reality is we were only ever in the game when we played the formation and players we've been relying on for 2 years now (namely Bruno).
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True but Bruno has been terrible for a long while and Rashford also. Sticking them on the bench lit a fire under their ass resulting in then playing much better. And he did it when Villarreal were tired. That made a lot of sense. Don’t think Ole would’ve had the balls to do it. Small steps but job done. If all Carrick manages to do is secure Champions league for our next manager and for players on January then that’s enough for me. It was absolutely critical for us to get into the next round and makes attracting prospective managers a lot easier.
 
I think whoever comes as permanent manager needs to keep Carrick as his assistant or part of the coaching staff. There is something about him which makes him different than many of these ex players.
 
Eddy_JukeZ said:
He was in charge of Barcelona B.

Carrick's never managed anywhere.
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True.

By all accounts, Pep was ruthless upon taking over the first team. I guess that inside knowledge allowed him to know who the bad eggs were and what was required to change the philosophy and work ethic.
 
One match in charge and all of a sudden we have the team pinning balls out to the wings like it’s 2008 with Scholes and Carrick running the show.

Ffs I even saw Fred ping one out with his right foot
 
Much better performance, liked what I saw!

I’ve said elsewhere that I do think he could be a good manager. He read the game very well as a player so hopefully that comes across as a manager too.

He does need to go out and learn the trade if that’s what he wants to move into though, much like Gerrard has and build a reputation. You get a much longer career being a manager than you do a player so no need to rush.
 
My favorite thing he did was drop Bruno, as he was as poor as anyone bar Maguire recently and it showed no one was undroppable. And right on cue Bruno came on and was his old self controlling the game.

Tactically he’s a bit limited at the moment in what we could really experiment with. I’ll be interested to see what he goes with against Chelsea.
 
Shows how overrated Ole's game management was. If I'm being honest if it this was last season, where our form hasnt dropped massively and we have to face Villareal away under Ole, I'd be worried.
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
My favorite thing he did was drop Bruno, as he was as poor as anyone bar Maguire recently and it showed no one was undroppable. And right on cue Bruno came on and was his old self controlling the game.

Tactically he’s a bit limited at the moment in what we could really experiment with. I’ll be interested to see what he goes with against Chelsea.
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I actually think that was the most impressive thing. I'm also slightly confused with the whole Bruno thing tbh, with Ole he was always playing more as a second striker than part of a midfield 3, I'm not sure if it was Carrick's instruction or him seeing DVB playing the position properly but it worked and tbh we need that Bruno if we want to have any sort of success this season.
 
It's Villareal lads...let's calm down and see what happens against Chelsea at the weekend.
 
Dion said:
We conceded the same types of chances we've been conceding all season, my point was exactly that, it's nothing new. Carrick didn't shut up shop and it wasn't "textbook Fergie away from home in Europe", De Gea pulled the drawbridge up and said "not today". We didn't do anything meaningfully different today than have done previously other than the lopsided diamond which frankly was a terrible choice, ended up benching our best player and putting us on the back foot for an hour and a bit, yet some people seem to want to make it sound like it. As if it was really obvious what Solskjaer was doing wrong, when the reality is we were only ever in the game when we played the formation and players we've been relying on for 2 years now (namely Bruno).
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They had 2 chances that they could have scored from with an inferior goal keeper. If they go in maybe it ends 2-2. That is already better than the thumping we have been getting recently looking like conceeding on every attack. The result is we kept a clean sheet for the first time in forever. However people want to dismiss it is up to them but I saw a better, more compact unit in terms of structure.
 
Highfather_24 said:
4-4-2 out of possession, 4-3-3 in it. Organised, decent organised pressing(atleast not the shambles it was under Ole), and falling back into a good shape when it fails and playing on the counter.

Mildly impressed.
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Yeah, you can see good shape without possession, 4-4-2 and aggressive press by picking moments.

Like you said, mildly impressed.
 
I thought he spoke very well during the post game press conference as well. Spoke a lot about game plan and how we closed down the spaces and lines well etc. To be honest I was impressed. You can tell he's an intelligent guy.

I was also impressed with how he set the team up yesterday - kept it compact and tight. Sure we still had to rely on De Gea but it was so much better than Ole's ridiculous 4-2-4 shit.

I also liked that he was on his feet on the touchline the entire game. It was such a change to Ole sitting on the bench most of the game looking at iPads.
 
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