8 lessons Michael Carrick has to learn from his failed Man Utd predecessors

Michael Carrick as the permanent Manchester United manager is looking increasingly like a when, not if, scenario.

A run of 10 wins in 15 games, launching the team into the Champions League places, is as good an audition any manager can put together. Carrick was a short-term fix who could well become the long-term solution in Manchester, and the early signs are promising.

The former player turned coach has certainly made the most of his advantages, the biggest perhaps being a lack of games given United were out of every competition bar the league. But Carrick's record isn't one to be sniffed at and the Old Trafford hierarchy are ready to give him his shot .

Carrick played in Manchester during the trophy-laden years, and was then part of the early struggles post-Sir Alex Ferguson . He was also an assistant during the later struggles, working alongside Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before his dismissal.

If learning through watching is anything to go by then the former United midfielder has had quite the education. Despite the lack of success at Old Trafford there have been green shoots, even if that hope did quickly die off.

Carrick is by no means the finished product as a manager, how could he be at 44? But he's clearly been learning from watching others fall short. You only need look at how he's taken the same group of players that Ruben Amorim had, put them in a different system, and reaped the rewards.

If he can look back to take this team forward then there's some valuable lessons to be learned - for better and for worse. We cast our eye over the recent United managers to see what they got right, but also what led to their demise as Carrick bids to avoid a repeat of his own.

Do - Engage with the media

The Portuguese boss will go down as, statistically, one of the worst men to occupy the home dugout in modern times. Some of his results set unwanted records, be that his 15th place finish last season or losing five times in a single month, as he did in December 2024. But given all that, you get the impression he got a much easier ride than some of his predecessors.

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That in part was likely owing to his charisma. Even when results were going against him, he remained a likeable character. He was engaging in press conferences, spoke honestly, rarely deflected or ducked questions and gave some top tier sound bites. Always helps.

Don't - Stubbornly stick to a failing system

This underlined his demise in Manchester. He arrived off the back of his success with a 3-4-3 system at Sporting Lisbon. That required unique and specific personnel, which United didn't have, yet Amorim pressed on with his philosophy. He pressed on even when it wasn't working, claiming he'd rather be sacked then change. In fairness, he got his wish in the end.

Do - Ensure you pick up silverware

In truth, the Dutchman lasted several months longer in Manchester than he ought to. The reason largely being that he won the FA Cup in 2024, which saw United go from considering the sack to handing him a new deal. Previous to that he won the Carabao Cup, ending a six-year wait for a trophy. No matter the week-to-week results, picking up silverware buys time and gives the impression things are heading in the right direction, even when they aren't.

Don't - Push for lottery transfers

Ten Hag made several big recruitment calls and got almost none of them right - and United are still feeling the impact of that now. The £80million plus deal for Antony in his first summer will go down as one of the biggest flops in Premier League history. Questions need to be asked about that level of investment in a player from the Dutch league, which was unprecedented.

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12 months after that Ten Hag decided David de Gea was surplus to requirements and Andre Onana should be the answer, only to see the Cameroonian make numerous mistakes. He's since left the club.

In need of a striker, the Dutchman went for Rasmus Hojlund, accepting that he was one for the future, a development player if you will. That did little to help United in the present. The Dane took until Christmas to score his first league goals and now looks bound for the exit door.

Do - Lean into the club's traditions.

Carrick will have no problems here. Fans want to see their own do well, especially if they've scored the winning goal in a Champions League final, as Ole did. Carrick too has been part of a European Cup winning side and knows what the club stands for.

Solskjaer was determined to give academy products a go, which hasn't always happened under previous managers, and often spoke about knowing the stature of the club he was leading. Others have played it down, to their detriment.

Don't - Establish no identity in nearly three years

A major issue for the Norwegian, who some thought was ultimately never the man to lead United back to the top, was his lack of style. There was a school of thought that Solskjaer's team had no clear traits, there was no obvious plan and they often played on the counter, which was an issue when they faced certain teams.

The former United boss' team became known for their comebacks, but ultimately good teams don't constantly go behind, and when it all began to go wrong, it went wrong very quickly.

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Do - Win the big games

In fairness Carrick has done this so far, beating all of United's fellow top-five rivals. Mourinho, despite his mixed spell, did often come up trumps in the big games and that counts for a lot. Downing fellow heavyweights stays with fans and showcases that you can mix it with the best. Nothing's worse than being labelled a flat track bully.

Mourinho beat Chelsea and Manchester City in the seasons both lifted titles, downed Jurgen Klopp's upwardly mobile Liverpool and did the business in several semi-finals. The early signs for Carrick are good in this regard, but he needs to keep it up.

Don't - Pick fights

The Special One is hardly one to back down and that confrontational edge was certainly evident in Manchester, but he picked battles he would never win in the long run. Mourinho called out Luke Shaw , a player who has lasted much longer than the ex-Chelsea boss did. He and Paul Pogba had their moments, one famously caught on camera before training.

He launched his famous 'football heritage' rant after a European loss, claiming that United's Champions League pedigree wasn't all that anyway. All that is never going to endear you to fans, your players or the powers that be.

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