really ? LOL, didn't hear that !We've found Gary Linekar's online username, that's verbatim what he said
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Carrick Out?
- Thread starter Mekrel
- Start date
I watched that and didn't agree much at all with it honestly. Usually I do broadly agree with him but for a guy that goes on about how much the manager dictates and elevates teams, he didn't really talk much about Carricks role in all this or the fact last season was a fluke and that Carrick hasn't at any point added value or tactical value to this side.
I don't disagree that we have issues with the squad and injuries are making it worse but Carrick isn't doing anything to help.
Creating a system that gets the best out of what he does have. Motivating the players. Something? I'm not sure quite what you think I am going to say here. Do you genuinely believe that Carrick is a good manager? If you don't then surely you think that a better manager would be doing a better job.
Which is why we need to change manager now before its 15 points off a European spot and we're in the relegation zone which will probably be the case if hes here until Christmas or even earlier honestly.
Yes, its a misfit group of players and there is a Casemiro shaped hole. Theres a Casemiro shaped hole that has 3 players to fill it.
Do Villa not have a Rogers, Konsa, Watkins, Tielemans, Malen, Digne, Emi Martinez, Bailey shaped hole to fill? Is Emery languishing near the bottom of the table churning out awful performances week after week. Did he struggle at the start of the season but has worked out how to get his new players flourishing and has he adapted to half his team leaving last season? Of course he has because hes a good manager.
The point is that it is literally a managers job to find solutions to squad issues, injuries, tactical weaknesses. Do genuinely think that a better manager wouldn't be doing better with these players?
I honestly don't know if he's a "good" manager or not. Like you I wasn't for him getting the job but ultimately you have to agree that he did a good job as interim. Does that make him a "good" manager? Was his performance at Middlesborough "good"? Arguably is was good enough to get him 2.5 seasons, narrowly missing out on promotion. His win rate was 47^ which is above the average for the Championship where its closer to 41%. In the Premier League His Premier League win rate is Upper Tier according to AI.
I guess the point I'm making is that objectively I just don't know if he's good or not. I'm pretty confident he's not elite but is he better than 16th? If he was that bad then we don't finish 3rd last season. I think his system is unconvincing but I can sort of see the idea and we have seen the odd moment of intricate passing interplay but its inconsistent and seems directly correlated with the inconsistency in the line up. Implementing a new play style always takes time. Its a cultural as well as tactical reset and that can't happen quickly. Arsenal helped Arteta get rid of Ozil, Aubameyang, Sanchez etc as they couldnt facilitate his vision. United have half arsed support for successive coaches and have no clear gamestyle set from above.
The natural reaction is for us to pin it all on the coach but I think it takes the pressure off the ownership and its them that are mostly to blame.
What could Carrick do differently?
As an armchair observer I'd be inclined to switch to a 3 in midfield and not have a free role for Fernandes. I think it makes you more solid and disciplined defensively and allows a midfielder to more easily join the attack. Our midfield does not score goals. It does not get into goalscoring positions. That to me better suits his game idea. Other than that I'd probably be making subs eaelier in games, giving Lacey more minutes and stop playing Cunha as a striker. He's short on options though due to the squad and injuries.
Every coach makes mistakes and asking Mason Mount to mark Nico Paz seems an obvious one but look at the individual errors that we are seeing. Is that all down to Carrick.
I don't warm to him, I didn't as a player as I thought he was a bit timid but I don't know if hes a good coach or not on the body of work I've seen.
Be nice if he drew a line on a tactics board occasionally.
Id argue if you’re not sure, then there’s your answer. He’s not.
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How long has he been at Villa for now though? He knows the players and has surely shaped the squad to his style? He also probably sanctioned sales? Will they do as well by the end of the season? Is the club stable?
Point being, I don't think it's that simple. I don't think Carrick is long term though, we can all agree on that.
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Hes been there since 2021. Its hard to say that he knows the players and has shaped the squad to his style when Villa sold at least 7 of his first team last Summer. I doubt he sanctioned many of those sales either. Villa are just a club that is in the selling group of clubs. And I would wager that by the end of the season they will be doing similarly well to last season.
Its not that simple but its also not that complicated. Hes a good manager. Good managers add value to their team.
The players need a disciplinarian who the owners back. It no coincidence the last time they had reasonable success was after Jose had beaten them into shape and then ole took over to put some fun back. Effectively ole rode the coat tails of what Jose had instilled into them until the do what you want and have fun attitude became too much and they forgot what was drilled into the team/players.
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This is quite an interesting point that I hadn't considered. Basically hes saying that Martinez's comments have put a lot of heat and shone a light on the failures of Wilcox far more than perhaps simply being the guy who was having to sack another manager he hired would have done. That makes his position really hard going forwards when he is doing interviews with prospective players/managers who will basically think "this in the clown whose own players are calling him out publicly and who has made an absolute mess of things and who will be the guy I am working under".
That being said, this is United, abject failure is not a reason for getting rid of anyone it seems.