With some of what Michael Carrick said after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw at Fulham, it was hard not to wonder what match he was watching. It was certainly a very positive portrayal, where he insisted they weren’t passive and had done enough to win the match.
It also marked the first time he got a bit agitated with the media.
And if it seems absurd to question a hugely accomplished football figure on how he saw a game, Carrick’s perspective deviated from virtually every pundit but also some of his own players. Matheus Cunha’s view, for example, was nowhere near as cheery.
The greater issue is, regardless of perspectives on this match, it is easy to see one possible path for United’s season. Really, it’s been in sight since Carrick signed a permanent contract.
That is, amid the greater pressure of actually being permanent manager, United continue to struggle with these uncertain performances until eventually there’s no choice but to make another change. And back around again they go.
If this sounds extreme after a mere five games, and even somewhat speculative, it is really about specifics of play. That’s why you can see these problems coming around again – in the same way the ball does.
This version of United just don’t build play in the way you would anticipate when you’re trying to establish a new project at a club. So many attacks culminate in apparently aimless passing moves, where someone eventually tries a long shot or a cross.
And back around again. And again, until we’re back in a very familiar discussion.
Even this 1-1 draw seemed to be incubating that same familiar sense of crisis, until Cunha enjoyed the fortune of a wickedly deflected shot to snatch a point. United badly needed such luck.It’s also why Cunha’s post-match interview with Sky Sports was so instructive.
“We always play better after conceding a goal,” the forward conceded. “And it cannot be like this.”
Or, rather, it shouldn’t be like this.
The harsh reality right now is that it’s regularly going to be like this because United seem to need that emotion to play. They don’t currently have the attacking system to shape them. Everything looks so ad hoc.
And there were warnings, even while the clamour rose for Carrick to understandably – and justifiably – be given the full-time job.
As the arguments were being made to appoint him, insiders pointed to the clever moves that completely undid the offside lines of Manchester City and Aston Villa. Carrick would utilise decoy runs to spring a trap.
And such ideas do clearly speak to a good tactical mind. The problem is that those are essentially “set-piece” strategies. They are choreographed moves in open play, but that’s not the same as co-ordinated construction. And, once you execute them for the first time against a team, it’s hard to do so a second time.
Instead, for any kind of build-up, United remain so reliant on Bruno Fernandes. It was something rivals were repeatedly saying last season: “Stop Fernandes and you stop United.”
Here, the Portuguese barely got started moving up the pitch. As with last week’s defeat to Manchester City, Fernandes spent more of the game than anyone would like much further back.
And, from all that, you get what we saw: a lot of possession, a lot of shots, but just not much shape to any of it. Fulham ultimately played to a clearer attacking idea.
For Carrick’s part, some of this has been clouded by the club’s penury. Carrick has been left short in key areas, especially out wide. It is striking that United only made three signings, and all in the one area – central midfield – when comparably wealthy clubs made an average of seven. Even the eventual introduction of Carlos Baleba to the engine room might change the intensity, just pushing United further up the pitch. Some kind of wing-back in January may even give them greater range. Personnel is an issue.
The same players also seemed tense before the game, and Carrick himself bristled at criticisms of “passivity”.
The hierarchy might well see Cunha’s deflected late strike as psychologically crucial in that sense, as it calms everyone down a bit ahead of a three-week break that could have seen everything ratcheted up.
The nature of the goal also stood out for another reason. It was a rare lucky break for Carrick right now.
In that, and a lot like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in mid-2019, he is almost enduring the complete opposite of his first few months in the role.
At that point, everything seemed to be falling for him. Carrick’s immediate untangling of Ruben Amorim’s formation brought a badly-needed clarity, that was only sharpened by a fixture list with considerable space. United had a lot of time to prepare for games against a lot of erratic teams, with the players finally feeling revitalised. Carrick himself had the freedom of only being the caretaker. The pressure is less.
It all formed a very persuasive case, especially with Carrick being viewed as brilliant in changing a toxic culture. That is one aspect said to be very good at United right now. There are a lot of good characters in there.
It’s just that even such personalities can’t indefinitely weather the effect of poor results.
That’s where this gets difficult, where a different pressure grows.
A negative momentum has undeniably developed. It is like nothing from last season has been going for United, with everything instead falling the other way. That goes from the nature of Erling Haaland’s matchwinner for Manchester City to Benjamin Sesko’s latest injury and now the very nature of Lisandro Martinez’s own goal at Craven Cottage.
Another deflected late goal at least changed the mood. But that’s only for now.
It feels like Carrick needs to change so much more. The job is now very different, whatever your perspective.
