As Michael Carrick drove into Manchester United’s Carrington training facility on Wednesday morning ahead of taking training for the first time since returning, there will have been a palpable sense of anticipation among the players.
Ruben Amorim was popular with the dressing room and his exit has, in the words of Diogo Dalot, been ‘difficult’.
But Carrick is in situ until at least the end of this season and offers the chance for a clean slate and a chance to go on a run to finish the campaign with Champions League football.
At Middlesbrough, Carrick showed his hand, at least in the beginning, by playing fast, attacking football and even by the time he departed the Riverside, his attacking stats were best in class in the Championship.
With that in mind, here is Daily Mail Sport’s winners and losers from the 44-year-old’s appointment as Head Coach…
Michael Carrick is back in charge at Man United and it is a clean slate for the players
WINNERS
Kobbie Mainoo
Far and away the biggest winner in the post-Amorim era.
Under the Portuguese head coach, Mainoo started just one game – away to Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup – and became a source of contention for Amorim as he was consistently grilled on why he was not using the youngster more.
Amorim’s removal has not totally covered all of the fractures between Mainoo and the United hierarchy – as detailed in this week’s Man United Confidential column – but Carrick is ideal in helping get Mainoo back on track.
Carrick will most likely stick with the 4-2-3-1 system that he favoured at Middlesbrough and that should allow Mainoo to play alongside a defensive midfielder and have license to push forward as a No 8.
One of the biggest problems in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 was that both midfielders in the pivot were viewed the same; both were seen as defensive players and Amorim was unconvinced Mainoo was fit for that role.
Already Carrick is making all the right noises that Mainoo can and will be a focal point for the side in the last 17 matches.
‘I think for a club to have a player that’s come through the academy and knows the club and feels it… I think Man United’s got to have an element of that [in the side],’ Carrick told former team-mate Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube show.
‘[They] always have done and always will. I think to have a talent like he’s shown already, you’ve got to have players like that, where you say, ‘Right, they get it. They know it.’
‘Let’s help them, let’s build them and stick with them. There’s definitely a place for him there, for sure.’
It may be too little too late for Mainoo to make a strong enough case to make England’s World Cup squad but there is a clear feeling at the club now that he can be in a much better place come the summer thanks to Carrick than he would have been had Amorim stuck around.
Kobbie Mainoo should now get the opportunity to consistently remind people of his qualities
Benjamin Sesko
There has been plenty of unfair criticism levelled at Benjamin Sesko since his £73.7million move, but there has also been valid critique for his displays under Amorim.
Since Amorim left Sesko scored a brace at Burnley and also netted in the FA Cup exit to Brighton making it three in two games.
Sesko should be very excited at the prospect of working with Carrick given the impressive form the former United midfielder managed to extract out of Chuba Akpom at Boro.
Akpom was averaging around four goals per season before teaming up with Carrick and in their
one season together he scored 28 goals, the most goals a Boro striker has scored since Bernie Slaven in 1989-90.
‘He’s the manager I’ve been dreaming of my whole career!’ Akpom said that season.
‘Honestly, he’s a pleasure to work with… he’s showed so much trust and confidence in me, I really appreciate it.’
Crucially, Akpom was played more as a No 10, a second striker, and so Carrick may well get creative to open up space and opportunities for Sesko should Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha or Bryan Mbeumo go beyond to stretch defences.
Either way, Akpom’s glowing endorsement should be the music to the ears of the Slovenian.
Carrick favours attacking football and that should be music to the ears of Benjamin Sesko
Noussair Mazraoui
Ask United fans about Noussair Mazraoui and generally speaking few would have too many complaints.
He routinely got moved into unfavourable positions in the previous regime and did his best as a wing-back on both sides, despite clearly looking like a player that is suited to a back four.
Mazraoui has enjoyed a fine Africa Cup of Nations so far with Morocco reaching the semi-final stage and he should return full of confidence to make an impact at right back under Carrick.
Diogo Dalot will believe he should be the first choice right back moving forward, himself better suited to a back four and also a player that can invert inside, something Carrick showed an appetite for at Boro, but the Portuguese was an unused sub in two of the three games Carrick took charge of as caretaker boss back in 2021.
Mazraoui offers less going forward than Dalot but is equally comfortable operating inside in midfield spaces and provides greater security defensively, something which may be more important than ever if Carrick is aiming for helter-skelter football.
Mazraoui won’t be available for the Manchester derby but he should come back enthused that a 4-2-3-1 system can maximise his skillset and offset the weaknesses we saw when he played wing-back.
LOSERS
Mason Mount
Mason Mount is an extremely good pro and Carrick and his staff will no doubt really like his application and his attitude – every manager he works with waxes lyrical about this.
But the struggles seen in the FA Cup under Darren Fletcher in a 4-2-3-1 will also be a warning that he does not fit the system well.
He is not suited to playing in one of the wider roles and in central areas it is likely to already be crowded with Fernandes, Cunha and, should he have the license to push up, Mainoo in similar spaces.
The lack of a left winger certainly poses a dilemma for Carrick, but it is far more likely that one of Cunha or Amad occupies that role and Mount’s minutes moving forward likely arrive from the bench.
Mount does already have a strong relationship with Carrick’s assistant for the next few months in Steve Holland and that is a feather in his cap.
But one of Fernandes (it won’t be him), Cunha or Mount is destined for the bench and the feeling right now is that Mount looks most likely to be that guy.
Having started to find his rhythm again in the 3-4-2-1 system, it’s now over to Mount to adapt and make an indisputable case for minutes.
Luke Shaw revitalised his career as a centre back in a back three but that system is now gone
Luke Shaw
One of the players that should still see plenty of minutes but is increasingly likely to see a dip in performance level.
Shaw was one of the biggest winners of Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 because his best position now is as a centre back in a three.
His performance levels in that system saw him restored to the conversation as to whether he should be called up by England ahead of the World Cup this summer.
It should be said that based on what we saw at Middlesbrough, Carrick’s preference was to use a 3-2-5 in possession, with one full-back joining the attack and the other acting as the third centre back.
The issue is, a back four is still going to require more up-and-down output than Shaw was required to deliver under Amorim.
Shaw’s experience made him a real asset in that centre back position and while he should still get plenty of game-time at left back, his effectiveness these days in that position is far less than it is when playing centre back in a three.
It is unlikely he gets too many nods at centre back in a two and faces competition from the more athletic Patrick Dorgu at left back.
Shaw is experienced and has been at United for 11 years now so writing him off feels a touch naive. But there is no escaping that all signs point to his effectiveness waning at left back.
United’s centre backs are likely to be busy if Boro’s defensive record is anything to go by
Centre backs
The consequence of attacking football means the door is likely to remain open at the other end.
In his first season at Middlesbrough they conceded 56 goals – the second most in the top 10 teams that season – and followed that up by shipping 62 goals the following season and 56 the season after before getting the boot.
So, entertainment at both ends hasn’t been in short supply and that should, as Carrick mentioned in his opening interview, get people off their seats.
But it will also be asking a lot of his centre backs, particularly if he leans on the experience of Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt, both of whom have shown their struggles with pace in behind.
Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven are young defenders learning the game still, while Lisandro Martinez is the best ball-playing centre back at the club, but has his own limitations, not least in the air.
Carrick is a clever manage and may well scheme the defensive set-up to lean on back three shapes in spells of games due to familiarity.
Yet, it’s hard to escape the numbers that Boro’s defenders were seeing during his tenure. Tons of goals at both ends. It certainly is unlikely to be boring!
