Tottenham Hotspur sacked Ange Postecoglou after a successful season and there are lessons United’s hierarchy can learn from that
It would be hard to envy the decision-makers at Manchester United this summer, stuck in some upper room biting paper clips and poring over obscure data, seeking the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. Give Michael Carrick the permanent job. Don’t give Michael Carrick the permanent job.
Also, for your break undo your jacket, dive out of the window and plunge headfirst into the ice-cold pool down below.
Manchester United have qualified for the Champions League, the target set for Carrick when he was appointed as interim in January. But not only did the world’s coolest guy do everything he was supposed to, he gilded it by securing 10 wins out of 14 games, the best in the league since his arrival, and also defeating the four teams in the current top five.
He also has players in the squad singing his praises. “You want to die for him,” said Kobbie Mainoo after scoring the winner against Liverpool on Sunday, only a few days after he signed a new contract, beaming in the pictures. Matheus Cunha said he “has the full confidence of the group”.
“I sat on the bench with him and how he teaches everyone is amazing,” said the Brazilian. “I think he has the magic with like these [Sir Alex] Ferguson times, these kinds of things. He’s a pleasure, and then of course I think he deserves it.”
Cunha, Amad Diallo and Benjamin Sesko, who has scored nine out of his 11 league goals so far under Carrick, have all backed Carrick to lead them on to greater things.
Carrick may or may not be able to do that if given the job. We don’t know. Here is a man of destiny, a Delphian prophecy, Schrodinger’s Carrick. He is simultaneously a success and a mistake and we can’t tell which until next season.
But here’s the other bit: the data wizards under the Ineos administration may crunch their numbers and run their simulations all they want, but football is also a game of the heart, not just the head. Last season, Tottenham Hotspur sacked a man who had won them the Europa League trophy, who had the backing of the dressing room. Tottenham Hotspur are also now in a relegation battle, looking for most of this season far worse than they have ever been.
This is not to comment on whether it was a right or wrong decision to sack Ange Posecoglou. But it’s worth mentioning that, just as much as their success, a manager’s connection with the players means something. Dismissing Carrick after such a successful tenure is just as risky as giving Carrick the permanent role.
Ultimately the decision-makers will have their say, but one option that seems reasonable is to offer Carrick the chance to take the role on a permanent basis and let him accept or reject it.
Of course it is difficult to see a coach of any kind turning down the opportunity to manage Manchester United. Seemingly the only reasonable scenario is Carrick turning up at Carrington and Old Trafford again at the start of next season, in his dark overcoat and cool exterior, that Schrodinger’s coach, the box waiting to be opened.
