Michael Carrick always maintained that he took long-term decisions for Man Utd, and now that he’s the permanent manager, that rings true.
All the work he put in behind the scenes these past few months will bear fruit now, and he will deservedly get the chance to reap it.
A major change he has implemented at Man Utd is how the leadership question is answered.
It will lead to the creation of a new spine of the team, in contrast to Ruben Amorim’s approach earlier.
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Michael Carrick’s approach to Man Utd leadership
As a player, Carrick was never the most outspoken and vocal person on the pitch or in the dressing room.
However, that doesn’t mean that he didn’t lead by example, because his professionalism and mentality set the standards in the dressing room and on the pitch.
Therefore, he is even better equipped to empower every single one of his players in the Man Utd squad rather than just rely on the bombastic ones.
He was recently asked his thoughts on losing a leader like Casemiro in the summer, and he gave an insightful answer on how that leadership vacuum will be filled.
He said: “It’s the feeling comfortable in the best way of being here and knowing what it feels like to play here, having an element of success.
“I think that as much as anything, you can grow and your character and your personality come out even more. I’ve seen that from some of the younger players and, actually, not just the younger players, you can see everyone that little bit more and growing when you’re getting good results and good performances.
“So, I think leadership’s different for everyone. I think there are some leader examples, some show it a little bit more vocally, but you can definitely see each and every player grow when you’re moving in the right direction, for sure, yeah.”
Carrick’s approach will create a spine, Amorim created a hierarchy
By empowering the more silent players to lead by example, Carrick is leading by committee, where players are held accountable for keeping each other in check.
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Quieter players like Senne Lammens are emerging as leaders as a result, something that would be more difficult under Amorim.
Amorim almost created a hierarchy where there was a leadership group, largely consisting of vocal players.
Even that was missing the likes of Casemiro, so the thinking behind that selection was iffy anyway.
Carrick, instead of selecting a group of monitors for a class, has treated people like adults and expects them to behave that way.
That level of accountability will raise the standards of the dressing room.
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