Speaking after Manchester United’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa, Wayne Rooney gave a strong verdict about who should be in the dugout next season.
After choosing to start Benjamin Šeško ahead of Amad in the previous two matches, Michael Carrick brought the Ivorian back into the starting XI as Manchester United moved a step closer to Champions League qualification with a 3–1 victory over Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
United found it difficult to build momentum in the opening half, with both sides battling to establish control in the Premier League encounter. However, the hosts created better chances. Emiliano Martínez produced an excellent save to deny Amad, while Diogo Dalot also missed a promising opportunity that could have given United the lead before the break.
The home side returned for the second half with far greater intensity, and their fast start paid off just eight minutes after the restart when Casemiro powered in a header from Bruno Fernandes’ corner to put United in front.
Villa responded less than ten minutes later, though, as Ross Barkley fired home a fine finish that left Senne Lammens with no chance of preserving his clean sheet. With the score level, Fernandes once again made the difference, threading a superb pass through to Matheus Cunha, who restored United’s advantage.
Bryan Mbeumo, who had struggled to influence the match, was replaced by Šeško with 15 minutes remaining. The Serbian striker made an immediate impact, sealing the win five minutes later with a deflected effort that looped beyond Martínez and into the net.
Rooney and Keane disagree over Carrick’s credentials
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live after United’s victory, Wayne Rooney was full of praise for his former teammate, insisting that Carrick should be his former club’s next permanent head coach.
“100% he should [get the job]. I have said this. I knew this was going to happen with Michael Carrick. I know him very well. I know his character, his personality. It needed a calm head, but someone who knows the place and the players needed some love, and he has given them that.
“We have seen the players play with more quality, more together as a team, and they look like a very strong team. For me, why would you change? He has got the best winning percentage of any Manchester United manager after that many games. For me, he has to get the job.”
However, speaking on Sky Sports, his former teammate, Roy Keane, disagreed. “There’s loads of options out there. Are we all sitting here, ex-football people, saying there’s not better options than Michael Carrick?
“There’s loads of options out there, you go and get the best. Carrick’s not the best option for Man United. Simple. “If they do give him the job, good luck to him.
“And if he does the business in the next few years and United are winning league titles, I’ll happily sit here and go ‘listen, I got it wrong’. No problem. But I believe there are better options out there.
“Simeone, Enrique. You go and try and find and get the best, there’s loads out there. Tuchel, you [Jamie Redknapp] have just mentioned. He’s just signed a new deal anyway with England, don’t get me wrong.
“You still have to go looking for the best option. It’s like when you’re looking for a midfielder as a club, you go and try to get the best midfielder. You don’t get one who has maybe come on loan for five or six games and go, ‘he’s the one’. That’s your responsibility.
“If they go out and try and suss these managers out and they all come back and they want £25-30million a year then I get it, but the responsibility of the board is surely to go and get the best that’s available to Man United. That’s it.”
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Man Utd’s next head coach appointment is pivotal
Despite insisting during the interim hiring process that he will only be at the helm until the end of the season, Michael Carrick’s fantastic start to life at Old Trafford has meant that the camp that wants Carrick as their head coach going into next season has only grown larger and larger week by week.
United, under Carrick, have won seven of nine matches, with the Manchester side accruing the most points out of any Premier League side in that time, propelling the club to third, and putting themselves in pole position for Champions League qualification next season.
The 44-year-old’s start to life at Old Trafford has also led to Sir Jim Ratcliffe revealing his thoughts about Carrick, as INEOS actively work on their next appointment.
United simply need to get their next managerial appointment right, and while it remains to be seen whether Carrick is the right man to lead United into the future, he’s certainly putting himself in the shop window by his electric start to life at Old Trafford.
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