Michael Carrick is working miracles at Manchester United so far, but there’s a feeling of doubt over how his Middlesbrough spell ended.
Middlesbrough is where Michael Carrick went for his first permanent head-coach job after doing well at Man Utd as caretaker before Ralf Rangnick came in.
On paper, going from being sacked at Middlesbrough to getting a permanent job at Old Trafford is quite a leap.
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However, a look under the surface at his Boro spell makes it clear that United are already immune to the problem which doomed Carrick in the Championship.
Why Michael Carrick got sacked by Middlesbrough
Any spell that ends in a sacking naturally raises questions about a manager’s talent, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that failure, like success, is not translatable.
Carrick was also sacked by Middlesbrough for a reason that doesn’t translate to bigger clubs.
In many ways, he suffered from success, as he had such a huge impact right away that his players played far above their level.
Players like Chuba Akpom scored career-highs in goals for a season, earning moves elsewhere but never repeating those heroics.
He took over a team that sold two players to Premier League teams – Djed Spence (Spurs) and Marcus Tavernier (Bournemouth).
Then, after working miracles after coming in October 2022, his first summer transfer window saw the club sell his top scorer (Chuba Akpom) and best creative spark (Morgan Rogers to Aston Villa).
He was given an unproven striker in Emmanuel Latte Lath to replace Akpom, who went on to have his best scoring season before, you guessed it, being sold for profit the very next summer.
Carrick lost his best creative players and top scorers every summer, and yet, managed to keep Middlesbrough competitive.
Meanwhile, he created stars out of youngsters like Hayden Hackney, and revived careers of players like Riley McGree, who’s powering Boro’s latest promotion push.
Not even Pep Guardiola could survive at Man City if the club sold Haaland and De Bruyne after their first seasons. That’s what Carrick had to contend with at Boro.
Carrick is better-suited to Man Utd
Carlo Ancelotti was sacked by Everton before going on to win more Champions League titles with Real Madrid.
Michael Carrick is just another Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with better players: __ % AGREE
Fill in the blank. Is Carrick actually a better coach, or are we falling for the same trap again?
Vincent Kompany is tearing up the Bundesliga more than even Pep Guardiola did, and he got the Bayern job after relegating Burnley.
The point is, a manager’s career should not be analysed in a straight line, because some managers are better suited to managing better clubs.
Carrick’s style of play, the problem that plagued him at Boro, and his prior experience as a Man Utd player all make him more suited to United than he ever was for Boro.
It was due to the tactical genius that he still managed to make such an impact in the Championship before Boro’s transfer policy ultimately left him in a no-win situation.
He won’t have the same problem at United, who are theoretically only behind Real Madrid and Barcelona on the transfer food chain for players they don’t want to sell.
Everything is nicely coming together for the manager who looks like he was born to be at Man Utd.
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