Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently met Michael Carrick at Carrington, and the Man Utd manager came away with one feeling confirmed.
A lot has been made about Michael Carrick and his future at Man Utd after engineering a remarkable turnaround in fortunes at Old Trafford.
In many ways, he has taken the Man Utd manager job by the scruff of its neck and made it his own, but Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a hard man to please.
That’s why Carrick’s recent comments after meeting with the Ineos chief are so interesting, as he came away from the meeting having a feeling reinforced, which he’s felt at United since his arrival.
If not Michael Carrick… WHO ELSE?
Can you name a good available alternative to Michael Carrick you actually want?
Michael Carrick opens up on Sir Jim Ratcliffe meeting
For all the faults of Ineos, and there have been many, nobody can deny that they have been more “present” owners than the Glazers.
In fact, it can be argued that they are almost too present, and the manager could use some distance at times, something Ruben Amorim will agree with.
However, Carrick knows how to play this game perfectly, so when Ratcliffe met him at Carrington recently, he came away impressed.
Carrick said that he’s felt since January that the club is well connected from top to bottom, and Ratcliffe’s support for his job during the meeting reinforced that feeling.
He said: “Yeah, he [Sir Jim Ratcliffe] came in. We had a chat. We had a cup of tea. Casual chat, to be honest, it was nice to see him showing his support. It was quite informal, but it was nice to see him.
“I think, as a football club, we’re hugely connected all the way through. It’s a big part, and I’m really conscious that’s how it should be, and I am trying to do my part with that, as well as everybody else. So, I’ve felt that since I’ve been here since January, for sure.”
Carrick balances Ratcliffe’s approach perfectly
Ratcliffe has been a bit of an erratic figure at Old Trafford in terms of his decisions, but Carrick provides the perfect balance to it.
If not Michael Carrick… WHO ELSE?
Can you name a good available alternative to Michael Carrick you actually want?
It was reported recently that the Ineos chief prefers “alpha” characters, which Carrick isn’t, at least in public, but that actually works to his advantage.
Amorim showed what happens when two stubborn people face off, and the result was a burning of bridges when neither backed down.
That’s not to say Carrick will back down, but he has the emotional quotient and maturity to handle the politics of the boardroom while shielding the footballing side from it.
United’s managerial role is as much an ambassadorial one as it is a tactical one, which makes Carrick the perfect person to take it on.
He’s the ideal calm yin to Ratcliffe’s bombastic yang.
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