Carrick beats ‘baffled’ Solskjaer: The inside story of the Manchester United inside stories, including Van Gaal plan

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was left ‘baffled’ at one point in the Manchester United manager race which ‘hands-on’ Michael Carrick won despite a media ‘campaign’.

Carrick was finally appointed Manchester United manager on a deal up to the end of the season in the aftermath of Ruben Amorim’s sacking earlier this month.

In what has been called a ‘close-run’ race between Carrick and Solskjaer, the former won for a variety of reasons, as predictably detailed by the numerous inside stories published since.

They explain how director of football Jason Wilcox told the players that Champions League qualification was their target for the remainder of the season – they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Brighton days later so good work – and that He Knows The Club was indeed their bar for caretaker consideration.

Wilcox made first contact with Carrick and Solskjaer over the phone on Tuesday, conducted face-to-face meetings with them on Thursday and Saturday respectively, then relayed the club’s decision the following week.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, bless him, was interviewed over the phone and promptly rejected.

All three ‘impressed’ but Carrick was, as phrased by many writers, the ‘unanimous choice’ in the end.

But much like in the hours after Amorim’s demise , a great many journalists with contacts in and around Old Trafford have shared what went down in that fateful week leading up to Carrick’s anointment.

Roy Keane might well have sensed “a bad smell” emanating from the halls of Carrington in the week of Amorim’s dismissal, for Sir Alex Ferguson had a degree of involvement from the off in deciding the Portuguese’s successor.

Rob Dawson and Mark Ogden of ESPN write that Ferguson was called to ‘a breakfast meeting’ with Wilcox and CEO Omar Berrada two days after Amorim was sacked, which ‘set the course’ for Carrick’s eventual coronation.

Ferguson ‘was invited into the training ground to give his verdict on the manager search,’ with Wilcox a source adding:

“Omar and Jason spoke to Sir Alex. They met over breakfast to discuss three guys who had all played under him in the past. Some might criticize that, so you can’t win. But Sir Alex knows Michael, Ole and Ruud better than anyone, so Omar and Jason canvassed his opinion.”

The ESPN pair add that it is not known ‘whether Ferguson directly anointed Carrick as his favoured choice,’ but the Scot is described as ‘wholly positive about his former midfielder and fully supports his appointment’.

Four Athletic writers team up, however, to say that of the final choices Solskjaer and Carrick, Ferguson is ‘known to have favoured the latter’s candidacy’.

If the many reports are to be believed, Ferguson might well prescribe to a widespread notion summed up by the oft-cited difference between Carrick and Solskjaer, as summed up by one phrase: ‘more hands-on’.

ESPN, The Athletic and BBC Sport all use that wording to explain in part how Carrick edged ahead of Solskjaer in the race.

Sami Mokbel of the BBC says that the idea Carrick ‘arguably provides greater hands-on coaching expertise than Solskjaer was at the heart’ of Manchester United’s decision.

The general vibes-based approach of Solskjaer was a ‘key consideration’ in the early stages of the process as the desperation to ‘inspire a squad so clearly in need of a pick-me-up’ was identified, but Carrick’s general coaching acumen ‘ultimately became one of the overriding factors behind the decision’.

Another tick for Carrick was his willingness to operate within the Manchester United power structure, which basically means he is fine getting daily texts off Wilcox and Ratcliffe with tactical ideas based on Gary Neville’s latest podcast .

‘Carrick has made it clear he is happy to work within United’s existing systems, pointing out that he did so effectively at Middlesbrough, where he worked closely with head of football Kieran Scott,’ write Rob Dorsett and Danyal Khan of Sky Sports .

‘He also impressed in interview in terms of his ability to lead a team, and his strong knowledge of the players already at the club.’

That greater understanding of the current squad is echoed by other outlets as another advantage Carrick held over Solskjaer, who presumably asked where Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard were.

The well-connected Rich Fay says Carrick’s ‘strong knowledge of the players’ at his disposal was a positive, with the Athletic appraising his ‘pre-existing knowledge of the squad’ .

We simply must know who Solskjaer thinks is still there.

Carrick’s philosophy also ‘aligns with the type of football Wilcox wants to see this United squad play,’ according to Dorsett and Khan, who say there was ‘a unanimous feeling that his experience and tactical nous could prove invaluable’.

Mokbel touts a reported switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation, adding that ‘it also has not gone unnoticed by United chiefs’ that Carrick ‘oversaw a transition from a three-at-the-back system deployed by predecessor Chris Wilder’.

And when Carrick ‘outlined his vision for the remainder of the campaign’, Wilcox and Berrada were described as ‘impressed by those plans, as well as Carrick’s enthusiasm for taking on the role,’ according to Mark Critchley and others of The Athletic .

In some ways it was a race Solskjaer lost as much as one Carrick won.

It is claimed by numerous outlets that the Norwegian was eager to discuss a more permanent arrangement. The Athletic say his ‘preference would have been to take the job again on a permanent basis, working for the long term’ on ‘a major rebuild’.

But another phrase which crops up regularly in these insides stories is ‘backwards step’; Solskjaer’s three-year reign at Old Trafford seemed to count as much against him as for in the end.

Carrick, however, expressed a ‘willingness to take on the role with no guarantee’ of anything beyond the end of the season.

One of Solskjaer’s biggest issues was the composition of his backroom staff. The Athletic call that a ‘stumbling block’ considering his last assistants at Old Trafford were Carrick and current Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna, neither of whom would be prepared to back him up this time around .

That was especially pertinent, as this line from Mokbel makes clear of Solskjaer:

‘It is also acknowledged that much of the coaching during his reign was completed by Carrick and McKenna, who were his assistants.’

One last obstacle for Solskjaer is presented by Pete Hall of The I Paper , who points out that ‘in the eyes of Ineos’ power brokers’, Carrick ‘has more recent experience in the dugout’ than Solskjaer, whose only spell since leaving Manchester United in November 2021 – a seven-month reign ended by his sacking at Besiktas in August – ‘was not the kind of experience needed to steady a sinking ship’.

With complete deference and humility, of course.

Solskjaer – along with Van Nistelrooy – was informed by Wilcox of the decision on Tuesday and, if an ESPN source is to be believed, “took the news like a gentleman”.

The Athletic say Solskjaer was ‘naturally disappointed’ but remains ‘fully supportive of Carrick’. And even ‘carved out a few hours’ during the search ‘to go to the cinema and watch Marty Supreme’.

That is pure, uncut Athletic inside story long read.

In a word: no.

But there were those within Manchester United who were left ‘suspecting’ that a concerted effort was being made ‘to push his name through the press and social media,’ in the words of The Athletic.

They immediately clarify that there was no suggestion such a drive actually came from Solskjaer, who himself was ‘personally baffled by suggestions that he was keen to take the role before he had even been approached about it’.

Solskjaer felt ‘he had the support of Wilcox and Berrada’ but less ‘backing from the club’s ownership’ in the Glazer family and Ratcliffe.

Manchester United, for their part, ‘insist that at no point did anybody within the ownership challenge Wilcox’s recommendation to appoint Carrick,’ because why would you challenge a man who has just sacked his last recommendation after 14 months and hundreds of millions of pounds being spent?

It is fairly obvious that at some point Wilcox will stop “interfering” and simply take the reins himself .

But who will inherit Carrick’s Manchester United and lead them into next season?

There is a deeply Championship Manager-influenced belief that with this being a major international tournament year, the list of the best available managers will be further boosted in the summer once the World Cup is finished and every nation besides the winner has done away with their coach in a massive panic.

It worked with Louis van Gaal so yeah, crack on.

Thomas Tuchel is thrown into the ring by The I’s Hall, the German having ‘cropped up in several conversations’ with ‘a feeling that after the World Cup’ he will seek ‘a fresh challenge’.

Fabrizio Romano corroborates the very idea Manchester United want him , but Tuchel might be harder to convince.

On a similar note, Richard Jolly of The Independent crops up with a delightful clarification: Steve Holland’s arrival as part of Carrick’s staff ‘is not, United insist, a prelude to bringing in Gareth Southgate’.

But the former England No.2 ‘was suggested by the club’ as someone who could work closely with Carrick and help him ease into such a pressured role. So Michael Owen ought to be ignored as Sir Gareth takes to the Manchester United throne in June.

Over at Sky, Dorsett and Khan provide a helpful list of options in Tuchel, Oliver Glasner, Carlo Ancelotti, Luis Enrique and Marco Silva.