David Ornstein insists Michael Carrick is not still in charge of Manchester United by “default” after the players’ attempt to “see him off” failed.
Many assumed Carrick was finished after a 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth at Old Trafford, which followed a 4-1 Champions League humiliation at the hands of Como.
Crisis talks between Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Jason Wilcox, Christopher Vivell and Omar Berrada instead granted Carrick a “stay of execution.” The blame for the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea could be laid almost entirely at the door of Lisandro Martinez, so the club saw no need to change course. Its leaders decided to wait for the international break before making a decision on Martinez’s future.
A 3-2 comeback win over Roma has since eased the tension at Old Trafford and the pressure on Carrick. Ornstein says the club’s hierarchy retained him after they “took the temperature” following the loss to Bournemouth.
Club Weighed Dressing Room Mood
Ornstein told The Athletic podcast: “I do think, whether you like it or not, that they wanted to keep Carrick on.”
“That was their decision to make him permanent head coach. And when they gave him this sort of vote of confidence after the Bournemouth match, despite two such chastening results, I hear that they sort of took the temperature of the dressing room and the environment at Carrington.”
He added that the club’s leaders saw a turning point in the reaction to the Bournemouth match. Players were booed off the pitch while Carrick was cheered and serenaded, which Ornstein described as “a moment of realisation for this group” that they had not managed to see off another coach, and that Carrick would not be the one to pay the price immediately.
Market Played a Role
Ornstein said the decision was not made by default, but he acknowledged that the transfer market played a significant part.
“I don’t think it was by default that he got it, but naturally, let’s not kid ourselves – the market plays a big factor. If there had been a dream target available for Manchester United, I think they would have made a change. It’s not disrespectful to Carrick to say that, and he would probably know it too.”
“So the market is significant, but I think, in the circumstances, they really did want Carrick to try and have a little bit more time to turn it around. Because of course they could have got rid of him if he was the main problem, and they could have put an interim in charge and tried to get some sort of bounce while they do this work to bring in a permanent successor.”