Carrick and Solskjær: Is it déjà vu at Man United again?

Former player returning to Manchester United to steady ship after roller coaster journey under Portuguese manager: Comparisons between the interim appointments of Ole Gunnar Solskjær in 2018 and Michael Carrick eight years later are obvious.

It may not end there. Solskjær took over from Jose Mourinho and did enough to win the job permanently, while Carrick took the reins from Ruben Amorim.

After Carrick began his tenure with impressive wins over Manchester City and Arsenal, rumors were swirling among enthusiastic fans that United might already have the right man in the dugout. Today there is a new hierarchy with different voices making the big decisions. Yet the similarities between Solskjær and Carrick are hard to escape.

United have been lured by the promotion of a goalkeeper before, and continued success between now and the end of the season will strengthen Carrick’s case for that to happen again.

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From palliative to main man

Sources involved in Solskjær’s hiring in December 2018 told ESPN that the Norwegian was seen as a “stop-gap” when Mourinho was sacked. The plan was to buy time.

Laurent Blanc, who also had a brief spell as a player at Old Trafford, was another name being tipped to fill the role temporarily, but there was a feeling internally that spells in big jobs with France and Paris Saint-Germain made it seem like it was a long-term appointment in waiting.

Solskjær was considered a safer bet. He had a job at Molde to return to in the summer of 2019, when United’s recruitment process to find a new manager was due to reach its natural end. Solskjær – who had Carrick in his squad – was not initially considered a favorite for the permanent job but, according to sources, had what was described as “option value” by United bosses and was not completely ruled out.

Carrick is in a similar boat. At the time of his appointment, United sources told ESPN that it would take something “exceptional” for the former England midfielder to get the job permanently and that the focus, when the time came, would be on external candidates.

The overarching message was that it was “highly unlikely” that Solskjær’s situation would happen again. Carrick – as Solskjær did – left the door open when asked about his future. He could argue that there is nothing more exceptional than winning a Manchester derby against one of the greatest managers the world has ever seen, Pep Guardiola, and inflicting a first home league defeat of the season on the Premier League leaders.

Get back to basics

Solskjær won his first eight games in charge, with United scoring 22 goals in the process. Sources told ESPN that it was not just the results that began to convince bosses, but also the manner in which they were achieved.

Mourinho’s pragmatic style was gone, and in its place was “attacking flair, risk-taking and first passes”, according to one source. Carrick was also braver than Amorim in his opening matches, particularly at the Emirates when he made attacking substitutions with the game hanging in the balance in the second half.

With Solskjær, there was a feeling at the time that he was helping to reclaim something that had been lost under Mourinho. A source told ESPN he had “real details about what United needed to do to become Manchester United again. It was like talking to Sir Alex Ferguson.”

Before Mourinho was sacked, managers had been alarmed by comments he made about some of his players during the previous summer’s American tour. It was then considered the beginning of the end.

Likewise for Amorim, the club’s leaders were not impressed by the comments about Benjamin Sesko and Patrick Dorgu. He said Sesko was “struggling” and Dorgu was “anxious” every time he touched the ball.

It is worth noting that Carrick shortened the press conferences. He had the opportunity to criticize Diogo Dalot following a poor individual performance against City, but rather than agree – as Amorim might have done – Carrick chose to defend him.

Solskjær has gained favor with the way he has handled the media, and Carrick also says all the right things.

Off-field considerations

It’s not just on the pitch that Solskjær has impressed. When Mourinho read reports that United wanted to hire a director of football, he angrily approached then-executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and said: “Tell me that’s not true.”

The club’s goal had long been to modernize the structure, but there was a feeling that this could not happen while Mourinho was there. Solskjær, according to one source, was more open-minded and saw himself as a “hand in a glove” rather than a dictator.

With Solskjær in charge, United were able to appoint their first director of football and technical director in March 2021. A source told ESPN that it was “easier to move forward” without Mourinho in charge.

There will be similar considerations this time. Amorim eventually rebelled against the structure of the club, and his dramatic fallout with director of football Jason Wilcox contributed to his departure.

But rather than change the distribution of powers following Amorim’s sacking, United are doubling down and insisting the next permanent manager will have to accept his place in the decision-making process.

Other external candidates like Thomas Tuchel and Roberto De Zerbi have shown in the past that they can be very demanding, particularly in terms of recruitment. Given how the relationship with Amorim ended, you can understand why a more low-key, easy-going character like Carrick would appeal to Wilcox and CEO Omar Berrada.

Is history repeating itself?

At the end of the day, it’s the results that matter most. Solskjær won 14 of his 19 matches as goalkeeper and was named permanent boss in March 2019.

“Since taking over as caretaker manager in December, Ole’s results speak for themselves,” Woodward said at the time.

Sources told ESPN there was “no defining moment” when bosses decided Solskjær was the right fit. It helped that in January 2019, Solskjær took his team to Tottenham – managed by Mauricio Pochettino, the leading external candidate for the United job – and won 1-0.

“We talked about doing a process, but it turned out we didn’t need one. He showed the right things on and off the pitch from the start,” a source said.

United, as things stand, still plan to continue their search. They talked about waiting for a manager who is currently preparing for the World Cup – someone like Tuchel, Pochettino, Carlo Ancelotti or Julian Nagelsmann.

There are also suitors with Premier League experience like Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva and Oliver Glasner. One thing in particular that Wilcox and Berrada are looking for is the ability to handle the pressure of managing United, especially as a key part of the job involves teaching players to do the same.

There was a feeling that it was too much for Amorim, and United don’t want to make the same mistake again. It’s one of the things that sets Solskjær apart in 2019. Yet it could do the same for Carrick.

Both learned to cope with the intense spotlight and unique scrutiny of Old Trafford as players, each winning multiple league titles and the UEFA Champions League. They both went there, saw it and did it.

United have so far been keen to distance themselves from suggestions that history could repeat itself. A few more good results and the noise could become impossible to ignore.