A major head-scratcher for Manchester United fans under Ruben Amorim and Erik ten Hag is no longer a real headache for concern under Michael Carrick.
Ruben Amorim met the same fate as his predecessor Erik ten Hag after the former Manchester United manager was sacked by the Premier League club last month.
The 41-year-old Portuguese coach’s exit from Old Trafford paved the way for the ‘post-Ruben Amorim era,’ with the effects being immediately felt only weeks later.
Michael Carrick was appointed interim United head coach in January and the Red Devils’ 14-month turbulence under Amorim seems like a distant memory now.
The 44-year-old United legend had a dream start to life in the Old Trafford hot seat, with Carrick winning his first four matches in charge at the Premier League side.
Michael Carrick has shown Man Utd fans the real error of Ruben Amorim and Erik ten Hag’s ways at Old Trafford
Manchester United claimed Premier League victories over Manchester City and Arsenal in January before securing wins against Fulham and Tottenham this month.
Carrick has watched on from the dugout as the Red Devils have produced solid performances all-round in the aforementioned Premier League matches under him.
Outside of collecting 12 Premier League points from a possible 12, all four of Carrick’s matches have shared a similarity: the United centre-back partnership.
Both Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire have been at the heart of the Red Devils’ four-man backline under the Man Utd tactical shift of interim manager Carrick.
United have kept two clean sheets from four matches with Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire playing together, with the pair impressing for their defensive stability.
The more important aspect for United fans is how Carrick has approached his two centre-backs by playing them for the full 90 minutes in all four matches.
Michael Carrick’s Man Utd centre-back pairing has exposed what Ruben Amorim and Erik ten Hag were doing wrong
Ruben Amorim was not the only culprit for doing the exact opposite to Carrick, with former Man Utd and Ajax manager Erik ten Hag also very much at fault for it.
The ex-Sporting CP head coach simply could not pass up the opportunity to shake up the backline when it was unnecessary, much to the annoyance of United fans.
Amorim’s constant recycling of centre-backs in his contentious tactical system for Man Utd was not simply restricted to heated criticism from Red Devils supporters.
“You can’t change your centre-back at 60 minutes,” Ben Foster said on talkSPORT, as per The Daily Mirror last October.
“You need them to play the whole 90 minutes. It’s fine if you’re two or 3-0 up at that point, you can bring somebody on.”
Ten Hag, who was sacked as Man Utd manager in the 2024-25 campaign, also had a tendency to rotate his centre-back pairings within matches when it wasn’t needed.
United fans can now breathe a sigh of relief under Carrick, unlike the anxious feelings about what Amorim and Ten Hag would do next with the Red Devils backline.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/hlI2oPF