Carrick lacks ‘football knowledge’ to deliver United title – Keane
ROY KEANE says Michael Carrick does not have enough “football knowledge” to lead Manchester United to Premier League title glory, insisting the club must look elsewhere for a permanent manager.
Carrick has enjoyed a spectacular start since being appointed interim United boss, winning his first two games against Manchester City and Arsenal. Those victories against the Premier League’s top two have led to suggestions that Carrick could be considered for the job on a full-time basis.
However, former United captain Keane has warned against such a move, stressing that the role of caretaker manager is vastly different from managing United with the expectation of winning league titles.
“Being caretaker manager is a different animal to being manager of United trying to win league titles over the next two, three, four or five years,” Keane told The Overlap podcast.
“We talk about what you need with Arsenal trying to win league titles — the players there and the new experience for them. So Michael Carrick is going to be the manager of Man United? He hasn’t got enough experience. I don’t think he’ll have enough football knowledge.
“I’m not saying Michael Carrick can’t be a top manager, but the timing for him to be manager of Man United in the summer? I don’t see it.”
Keane added that short-term success should not be mistaken for long-term readiness.
“If he goes in and proves me wrong and starts competing, fair enough. But just because the wheels haven’t come off yet, that means you should become the manager of Man United?
“If you’d asked us four or five weeks ago who the future manager of Man United would be, Carrick wouldn’t have been mentioned.”
United have risen to fourth place ahead of Sunday’s home game against Fulham and are on course to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Overlap host Gary Neville backed Keane’s view that United must “get the best” available manager, suggesting Carrick could benefit from learning under a proven winner.
“Think what Mikel Arteta did under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City,” Neville said. “If someone like Luis Enrique, Thomas Tuchel or Carlo Ancelotti came in, and Michael was there for two or three years and then stepped up, that for me feels right.
“I do think that being a manager at Manchester United after four months and a couple of years at Middlesbrough is setting Michael up for failure.
“My concern is we’re going to end up watching one of our own go through some form of crash again in the next 18 months. We’ve seen this movie before.
“Manchester United should get the best-in-class manager they can in the world who is available in the summer and appoint that manager.”
— ESPN
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