Opinion by: Poorit “Sports in 1” Lertpaitoonpan
This is my hot take, but I think Micheal Carrick may be the Ruben Amorim that Manchester United are looking for this whole time.
The strong characteristic on fast flowing offense, and effective pressing, that’s the identity that INEOS perhaps envision when they hire the Portugese head coach. Though, that will never be fully materialize after the sack in a few weeks ago.
The situation is not easy for the former United legend, coming in midseason with chaos and question mark around the club. However, with two decisive wins against two of the top teams in the Premier League, the support for having Micheal Carrick being permanent head coach for Manchester United grows exponentially.
And perhaps, that is the right option.
Some Red Devils fans are skeptical still, fearing the repeat of Ole Gunnar Soljkaer, who seems to fade after a very strong start, and yes INEOS shouldn’t jump the gun, even if the starting results is very impressive.
Manchester United are competing in a marathon, not a sprint. There are key area of squad that need improvement, such as midfield, and adding depth to the squad.
Still, when disecting Carrick’s approach towards Manchester City and Arsenal, one might think about this certain playstyle for the previous gaffer: prioritize second ball, and high pressing.
First is the priority of winning second ball, Carrick choose to have Bryan Mbeumo acting as a false 9 instead of having Benjamin Sesko holding in front, this is so that when long ball is thrust, there are effective speed and pressure to be done after the ball drop to the ground. This is similar to Amorim approach to Liverpool, the one where they won 2-1.
The second is the high pressing, against both City and Arsenal, it can be seen that the squad press effectively, often cause chaos and error from the opposition (who are very confident on the ball). Against Arsenal, they even net a goal after error in front of the box from Martin Zubimendi. For those who watch a game against Brighton, you can see Amorim squad score a few goals after relentless pressure against the Seagull’s build-up.
It a style that is not different from the previous head coach, but the effectiveness is splendid, exceeding every expectation.
But there are parts where Carrick make this style his own as well.
First is the speed of build up pass in the middle. With more emphasis on short quick passes, United can increase the tempo in midfield, which has lead to chance and goal (the rondo against Man City and Dorgu and Cunha goals against Arsenal).
Second is defensive shape, Carrick forego the previously shaped 5-2-3 and using 4-4-2 instead, with this, the width is more tighten and there are less space between the midfield and defense to exploit. Though Carrick did utilize 5-2-3 to close out the game against Arsenal after the score is 3-2.
Nevertheless, after 2 games it is too early to call for how tenure under Carrick would go, there is still one more challenge that awaits him, a challenge that has pose a great difficulty for previous bosses.
Sports in 1 