Carragher wrote a column in The Telegraph discussing Carrick's performance as Manchester United manager.

Carrick had two realistic objectives this season at Manchester United: secure a Champions League place and prevent Old Trafford from becoming a theater of chaos.

Ending the era in which Manchester United frequently became a laughingstock seems like a modest expectation. But considering that neither of his two previous permanent predecessors managed to do it, it says much about how much more challenging this task is than it appears.

After the club's upheaval, Carrick's greatest achievement during his interim period was guiding Manchester United back to the top with composure and professionalism.

His presence on the touchline brought a reassuring sense of familiarity and, most importantly, this composure was backed by results. This weekend's Manchester Derby is a perfect opportunity to review the "Carrick effect," as Manchester United defeated Manchester City 2-0 when he first took charge in January this year.

Carrick's impressive points-per-game ratio may not have received sufficient attention. To say he stabilized the team would be an understatement. Before last weekend's match against Everton, Manchester United had accumulated 42 points in their previous 19 games. Although the late draw conceded by the team at Goodison Park was frustrating, such a mid-season record is on par with a title-contending team. Arsenal won the 2023-24 league title with 87 points.

When Carrick took charge, Manchester United had fallen to seventh place. His subsequent victories against Manchester City, then Arsenal, Liverpool, and Chelsea, which culminated in a third-place finish, were impressive.

If newly appointed managers at Manchester City, Chelsea, or Liverpool had achieved such brilliant results early on, the outside world would likely have hailed them as the second coming of Guardiola, Mourinho, or Klopp.

Despite the impressive statistics, for Carrick, everything will be re-evaluated as he enters the new season. The goodwill fans held toward him nearly vanished after the final whistle of the opening match defeat to Hull City. A new manager debuting in the Premier League might receive a bit more leeway. However, criticism of Carrick remained strong, and he has responded to each instance, which illustrates precisely how quickly public opinion shifts in one of the most pressurized managerial positions in football.

He must be thinking: "Look at what I've already achieved; can't I at least get a few more matches this new season?"

The problem facing Carrick and Manchester United is that, over the past decade, the club and its fans have been deeply scarred. Any poor performance, any setback, will be seen as further proof of "another false dawn." Whoever takes the reins must carry this historical weight. Carrick does not yet possess the authority of an experienced manager; he lacks a full track record of managing any Premier League team, let alone a giant like Manchester United. Whether you consider such judgment fair or not, he must grow accustomed to leading the team under such scrutiny.

While Carrick needs to completely move past the eras of Amorim and Ten Hag, he also knows that past memories remain vivid, and fans and media are inevitably concerned that the team's deep-rooted problems are merely being masked, not eradicated.

Even during the period when the team's performance improved significantly, Manchester United's final league position remained inconsistent. If a team makes a significant leap up the league table, they generally build on that to aim for higher positions the following season.

But for Manchester United, Carrick's push to Champions League positions in the second half of the season created an illusion: that the team's theoretical strength was much greater than its actual level. Manchester United's good results benefited from the team having no European commitments, while Liverpool and Chelsea experienced their own inconsistent form.

An important outcome of last season's second half was that Carrick and his coaching staff delivered such a convincing performance that the club postponed its plans to find a successor to Amorim. Despite strong initial calls from outside for a different manager, Manchester United's board virtually had no choice but to retain Carrick. While retaining Carrick was a logical decision, it still carried risks, especially when most rivals had made exciting managerial changes.

Outside Old Trafford, many observed Maresca, Xabi Alonso, and Iraola, and couldn't help but feel that Manchester United should have followed the same path of managerial change.

Carrick secured this permanent managerial position based on a traditional belief: a manager is judged by their match results. But as for playing style, we're still unsure where he fits in modern football's system.

People are accustomed to categorizing managers by their training intensity, preferred formations, or football philosophies.

Maresca, Alonso, and Iraola have already established clear managerial identities and are easy to categorize. Carrick's football philosophy, however, is difficult to define at present; everyone simply hopes he can revive the traditional attacking style of Ferguson's legendary Manchester United.

Manchester United's counter-attacking system is highly potent, and this has been the foundation of the team's standout performances in recent years. This style of play will be key to beating Manchester City again. However, this team still depends too heavily on Bruno Fernandes.

In my view, Manchester United fans generally understand and support the decision to retain Carrick, and they hope he is a long-term option to lead the team back to winning the Premier League title or Champions League; but everyone else outside the club remains skeptical.

In the eyes of most, Carrick's official appointment is essentially that of an interim candidate. The club handed him the reins of Old Trafford simply to wait for a top manager to arrive in summer 2027. Of course, Carrick himself would never view the job this way, but this inherent impression is difficult to shake.

Outside Old Trafford, people view Carrick much the same way they viewed Solskjaer when he officially became Manchester United manager. Both were initially named interim managers because they were club legends. After achieving good results, converting them to long-term managers was a rational choice driven by emotional factors.

But one undeniable point remains: based solely on their records as managers, elite clubs in England or elsewhere in Europe would not proactively offer them positions; other clubs would not factor in sentimentalism when evaluating whether to offer a permanent contract.

Frankly, the challenges facing Carrick also affected Southgate during his tenure as England manager. After a single defeat, or one poor tactical decision, that nagging question would resurface: Does a manager who was once sacked by Middlesbrough really deserve one of football's most important managerial positions?

Fighting the expectation of "destined to fail"

At Manchester City, Chelsea, and Liverpool, outsiders are full of anticipation, curious to see how the new managers will inherit or even surpass the brilliant achievements of their predecessors. Fans expect Maresca, Alonso, and Iraola to succeed. At Manchester United, Carrick seems to be constantly fighting a preconceived notion: that he will ultimately fail.

On paper, Manchester United's early-season fixture list is relatively easier compared to their top-four rivals.

However, the team has won only one of their three league matches, and with upcoming encounters against Manchester City, a League Cup clash against Brighton, and a trip to Fulham, the fixture difficulty has increased drastically. Every time the first international break of the season arrives, there is always a manager under media scrutiny. Carrick needs some morale-boosting victories to avoid becoming the focus of criticism. Last night's comfortable victory over Shaba was a good start for this crucial period.

Considering his trajectory so far, he deserves time to prove that he is not just an excellent interim manager, but also the right long-term leader for Manchester United. However, he must also understand that there is much more he needs to demonstrate to solidify his position as Manchester United's permanent manager.

Like last season, the Manchester Derby could be the perfect opportunity to begin this trial.

Traducido por IA.

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