Rio Ferdinand has accused the likes of Roy Keane and Gary Neville of ‘unbelievable disrespect’ for suggesting Michael Carrick should not continue as Manchester United manager beyond this season.
The 44-year-old has made the perfect start to life as interim head coach of the Red Devils, winning his first two matches in charge.
Carrick could scarcely have been handed a more difficult opening two fixtures, but has emerged with six points, beating Manchester City 2-0 at Old Trafford and Arsenal 3-2 at the Emirates on Sunday.
Now fourth in the table, the Red Devils look like contenders for a return to the Champions League next season.
Manchester United fans are not just thrilled with the back-to-back wins, but the rapid change in style of play under Carrick, with far more pace and attacking intent to their play almost instantly.
Despite Carrick’s dream start, former United captain Keane has been dismissive of his suitability to take charge beyond his current contract, which only runs till the end of the season.
‘I think if United win every game from now until the end of the season, I still wouldn’t be giving him the job,’ Keane told Sky Sports.
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‘I just think they need a bigger, more experienced manager. Simple as that.’
He added: ‘I don’t believe he’s the man to get Manchester United back winning league titles.’
Neville also feels Carrick is not in the ‘world class’ manager bracket which the Red Devils should be looking for.
‘I think it’s right that Michael Carrick keeps the job till he end of the season and hands the baton over to a Thomas Tuchel or a Carlo Ancelotti, someone of world class ilk,’ he said. ‘That’s what his job is now.’
‘Where the hell are you people coming from?‘
Ferdinand is not on board with this way of thinking at all, believing Carrick has the perfect opportunity to show that he is right for the job and is doing just that.
Not only does he disagree with Keane and Neville, but feels they are being extremely disrespectful to the interim manager.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents, he said: ‘Michael Carrick’s come in and turned the collar up on his long trench coat and said: “Listen guys, get behind me, I’m gonna put you in a structure that’s gonna actually suit the players that we have, we’re gonna be hard to play against, we’re gonna work hard, and we’re gonna be a threat. And, by the way, guys, my first two games are Man City and Arsenal.”
‘He’s gone and got six points! And people are telling me that, no matter what Michael Carrick does, he shouldn’t get the opportunity to manage Man Utd. Where the hell are you people coming from? The disrespect is unbelievable.
‘For somebody to say, no matter what this person does, he doesn’t deserve to be given the keys to Man Utd, on what grounds are you saying that? That’s mad talk.’
Keane and Neville are perhaps being cautious after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returned as interim manager, did well and was given the job permanently but ultimately achieved very little during his time in charge.
Ferdinand famously backed Solskjaer for the permanent job after the Red Devils knocked PSG out of the Champions League in 2018.
‘Man United might not thank me but get the contract out, put it on the table. Let him sign it,’ Ferdinand told BT Sports. ‘Let him write whatever numbers he wants on there, given what he’s done since he’s come in. Ole’s at the wheel, man. He’s doing it. He’s doing his thing. Man United are back!’
‘I think this feels a little bit different.’
Wayne Rooney is another Manchester United legend that is backing Carrick, saying this feels like a different situation to the Norwegian’s.
‘Michael Carrick has got an opportunity to show everyone, to show Manchester United that he’s capable of doing the job and what we’ve seen over the last two weeks…of course he has to have a consistency about his results and performances, but what we’ve seen is that he’s very capable of doing it,’ he told Match of the Day 2.
‘If it carries on like this there’ll be massive pressure on the Manchester Untied board to put him in at the end of the season.
‘I know they’ve been there with Ole before, but I think this feels a little bit different.’
Metro at the Match: Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United
Metro’s Tom Olver breaks down the winners and losers from Arsenal's 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at the Emirates.
Gabriel Jesus stutters in centre-forward audition
Given the nod over Viktor Gyokeres after an impressive brace against Inter Milan in midweek, Gabriel Jesus will no doubt have been itching to nail down his spot as Mikel Arteta's first-choice centre-forward.
But with the Gunners utterly dominant in the early exchanges, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard combined to provide the main threat from out wide - with the Brazilian a largely peripheral figure through the middle, in stark contrast with Bryan Mbeumo at the other end of the pitch.
It was more of the same from Jesus as the second half wore on and Mikel Arteta had seen enough by the 58th minute, with his side stumbling in search of an equaliser after a spirited fightback from the visitors.
A huge opportunity missed for the former Manchester City attacker as United threw a cat amongst the pigeons in this year's title race. It leaves Arteta with a tough call to make up front ahead of Arsenal's return to top-flight action at Leeds next weekend.
A rare moment to forget for Martin Zubimendi
Martin Zubimendi helped gift United a route back into the game with a horrible lapse in concentration at a crucial stage in the contest before half-time.
Arsenal's usually metronomic summer signing has hardly put a foot wrong since joining from Real Sociedad and the Spaniard could scarcely believe what he had done as Mbeumo latched onto his misplaced pass before calmly rounding David Raya and stroking the ball home.
An unwanted collector's item for Zubimendi and a moment he will not want to repeat any time soon.
Even ignoring his blunder, there was a distinct lack of creativity and urgency from Zubimendi when the hosts badly needed someone to stand up and take the game by the scruff of the neck.
Arsenal match ratings: Raya 7, Timber 7, Saliba 5, Gabriel 5, Hincapie 6, Zubimendi 4, Rice 7, Odegaard 6, Saka 6, Trossard 6, Jesus 4. Subs: White 4, Merino 7, Eze 5, Madueke 5, Gyokeres 4.
A mixed day for Martinez
Martinez has endured surely his toughest period yet as a United player and things went bad to worse for the diminutive centre-back on the half-hour mark at the Emirates.
After being on the end of some scathing criticism from Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, the Argentine will have been desperate to build on his encouraging display against Manchester City.
But another of United's Class of '92 was left less than impressed as Martinez - put under pressure from Jurrien Timber - directed the ball into his own net to open the scoring for Arsenal. 'He should deal with it,' said Gary Neville on Sky Sports.
Martinez did, though, show great resilience to keep his chin up to help keep the likes of Saka, Trossard and Jesus quiet alongside a near-faultless Harry Maguire at the heart of Michael Carrick's defence.
Bryan Mbeumo the big-game competitor
Bryan Mbeumo further showed himself to be perhaps United's most shrewd piece of summer transfer business with just the latest in a long line of eye-catching performances for the club.
He more than deserved his first-half goal, helping force a rare misplaced pass from Zubimendi with some relentless pressing through the middle. The subsequent finish had all the coolness and confidence of a player well and truly at the peak of his powers.
It's no coincidence that United's resurgence under Michael Carrick has coincided with Mbeumo's welcome return from the Africa Cup of Nations.
The £71million spent on Mbeumo will prove to be a steal if the Cameroon international continues in the same vein over the coming weeks and months, adding to his already impressive scoring tally.
Carrick won't mind Mbeumo's animated reaction to being substituted for Matheus Cunha in the 68th minute. It's exactly that kind of character and personality that the club have badly lacked for so long in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Patrick Dorgu comes of age
Michael Carrick was full of praise for Patrick Dorgu's 'immense' performance after a dream derby day for United - and the Dane picked up where he left off this weekend.
It's fair to say Dorgu has had an up-down start to his United career since becoming the first signing of Ruben Amorim's turbulent reign. But his talent has always been undoubted - the difference is he's is now beginning to showcase that ability on a far more consistent basis.
His 50th-minute wonder strike - which Neville branded 'the goal of a lifetime' - was the standout moment of quality... that's until Cunha provided some serious competition with his stunning effort to win it in the closing stages.
Such a shame that a suspected hamstring injury cut short Dorgu's showing with ten minutes remaining in the capital. Carrick will be praying it's not as bad as it first appeared so the youngster is able to make a speedy return to the fold.
Man Utd player ratings: Lammens 7, Dalot 6, Maguire 8, Martinez 6, Shaw 6, Casemiro 6, Mainoo 6, Amad 5, Fernandes 7, Dorgu 8, Mbeumo 8. Subs: Cunha 8, Sesko 5, Mazraoui 5.
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