Solhekol Questions Man Utd’s Treatment of Carrick After Pochettino Framework Deal

• Chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol says Manchester United’s handling of Michael Carrick looks bad for the club, per Sky Sports.
• United have a framework agreement with Mauricio Pochettino to become head coach if Carrick is sacked.
• Carrick has won one league game this season and United sit in the relegation zone after their worst league start in 40 years.

Who Is Pushing for Pochettino While Carrick Waits in Public?

Chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol did not soften his view on Wednesday. While Michael Carrick took training at Carrington, United agreed a deal in principle to replace him, and Solhekol called out the way it was being done.

“I don’t think this looks good for Manchester United at all. Most people in football will think this is a pretty shameful way to treat Michael Carrick, an incredible player for the club. Somebody who is Manchester United through and through.”

“Why are you letting Michael Carrick suffer in public? What’s the point of a chief executive and director of football flying to Monaco to rubber-stamp the sacking of Carrick when it is an open secret in football now that Carrick is leaving and he is going to be replaced by Pochettino?”

“I know this was a pre-arranged meeting about more than just Carrick, but it’s obvious this makes United look bad.”

A Framework Deal Before a Decision

The timing is what Solhekol objects to, and it sits against a long run of United’s managerial turnover. United have a framework agreement with Pochettino, the USA head coach, for him to take over if Carrick is sacked. Carrick, 45, is expected to be fired in line with the recommendation from director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada to Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who controls the club’s sporting policy. Wilcox and Berrada had a Monaco meeting with Ratcliffe set for Wednesday, and a United board meeting was scheduled for the same day with one or more of the six Glazer siblings, the majority owners, represented. The expectation inside the executive and in Carrick’s camp is that the sacking will be ratified there and an announcement will follow. No decision had been announced at the time of writing.

Pochettino signed a contract with the USA to 2030 in August. His release clause is about $10m (£7.5m), and United would pay more if he brought staff, including Jesús Pérez, his assistant of 16 years. Details are still being finalised with his camp, and talks with US Soccer over his release are set to accelerate.

Solhekol also put a price on the churn.

“Since Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United, if United were to fire Carrick and hire Mauricio Pochettino, they will have spent more than £100m hiring and firing managers.”

“And if they get Mauricio Pochettino, everyone’s reporting that they’ll have to pay $10m to get him. Couldn’t they have had him for nothing in the summer? In July, his contract with the USA ran out. He was available then.”

“United by then, I think, had already appointed Michael Carrick. But surely they would have known that he was going to become available?”

Who Is Running Manchester United?

Solhekol then turned to the people making the call. The Glazers, who own the majority of the club, are part of that, and the family’s distance from the club is a live issue: Joel Glazer’s absence from Old Trafford stretches back to April 2019.

“Well, who’s running the club? Who’s making these decisions? There’s a chief executive (Omar Berrada), there’s a director of football (Jason Wilcox).”

“A lot of United fans don’t want them to be at the club. They think the chief executive doesn’t have enough experience as a chief executive, no experience, before he got the Manchester United job. They think the director of football doesn’t have enough experience to be the director of football at a club as big as Manchester United.”

“Then you’ve got INEOS and Jim Ratcliffe, who own around 30 per cent of the club, who are in charge of football operations. But everything has to be signed off by the Glazer family as well.”

“Will it be a unanimous decision to part ways with Carrick if they finally do decide that he is going to be sacked? Will it be a unanimous decision that they get Mauricio Pochettino?”

“I’m just intrigued to know who at Manchester United is really pushing for Pochettino to get the job. Is it the Glazer family? Is it Ratcliffe and Ineos? Is it Berrada and Wilcox? Do the Glazers see Mauricio Pochettino as the man to turn around United’s fortunes?”

He went on to the ownership structure, and to Ratcliffe’s record.

“Despite the fact that Jim Ratcliffe is in charge of football operations, the Glazer family own more shares than he does.”

“So ultimately, if the club belongs to anybody, it still belongs to the Glazer family. And it’s only natural that they would want a say in who is going to be the manager.”

“Because from the US, they’re watching this all unfold. They’re seeing somebody who they sold 30 per cent of the club to, who basically said I want to take control of football operations. I can do a better job than the Glazers.”

“They are watching him do a worse job than they were doing on the pitch. Because if they do fire Carrick and appoint Mauricio Pochettino, Pochettino will be the fourth manager they have had in three seasons. And that is under Jim Ratcliffe.”

“And when Jim Ratcliffe came in, he said, one of the big problems at United has been that we’ve been hiring and firing too many managers. And it’s not the manager’s fault. It is something to do with the structure at the club.”

“And that is something that he was going to sort out. Obviously, looking from the outside in, he hasn’t done that so far.”

Would a Top Club Hire Pochettino Now?

Solhekol rates Pochettino as a coach and doubts that United are choosing from strength.

“I think he’s a very good manager, but would he be in the frame to get the Liverpool job if that was available?”

“Would he be in the frame to get the Arsenal job if that was available? Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid, would they be looking at Mauricio Pochettino?”

“This is somebody who I don’t think got the Spurs job the last time it was available.”

“I think short term, it would be a good appointment. The players will definitely respond to having somebody like Pochettino in charge and having him calling the shots. But long term, I hope Mauricio knows what he’s letting himself in for if he does become the next United manager.”

“Look, if you’re looking for somebody with a proven track record in English football who’s available, Eddie Howe’s got a better CV. Howe’s won a domestic trophy in English football, with Newcastle United. Antonio Conte has won the title in his first season at Chelsea.”

“So there are people out there who have a better track record than Pochettino.”

“Mauricio is a very good manager. He did a good job at Southampton. I think they finished eighth. He did a good job at Spurs. They came close to winning the title. They got to the Champions League final. But in five seasons at Spurs, he didn’t win anything.”

“He went to PSG. He had Neymar, Mbappe and Messi. I think he was appointed in January. They finished second. It’s the only time in the last nine years that they haven’t won the title. The following season, they did win the title. I think they won the French Cup under him as well. But he was sacked by PSG.”

“He went to Chelsea, another very political club. How long did he last at Chelsea? He lasted one season. They finished sixth. They won their last five games of the season. Some of the fans wanted him to stay. I think one of the owners wanted him to stay. Another owner didn’t want him to stay. He lasted one season.”

“Then he went to the USA. And he’s done a pretty good job. He hasn’t set the world on fire. I’ve watched some of the USA games at the World Cup. They were the home nation. There was a feel-good factor around the side. But they were comprehensively outplayed by Belgium in the Round of 16.”

“So if you look at his CV, you would say Mauricio Pochettino is a very, very good manager. But I think under normal circumstances, he would not now be getting one of the top jobs at the other biggest clubs in the world.”

Former Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld makes the case for the move.

“He wants to work as the underdog. He is very good with players that are just underneath and want to improve and show how good they are.”

“This is the perfect moment for him to be at Man Utd. Not many people expect a lot which means he can work. He is probably going to change a lot of things at the training ground. Change the mentality.”

“Then, I think people will be shocked by how good he will do.”

The Season That Brought Carrick to This Point

The pressure on Carrick comes from results. United are in the relegation zone, and he has won one league game, against Ipswich in August, and three in all competitions. United went out of the Carabao Cup to Brighton in September. He was handed a stay of execution after a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth in October, and momentum has gathered behind a change. There is a growing sense among players that he will go and that Pochettino will replace him. Carrick himself answered questions about his future with questions of his own after the 4-4 draw with Aston Villa on 8 November.

What Happens Next

If the board ratifies the decision, an announcement is expected to follow. Pochettino is scheduled to lead the USA against Haiti in the Concacaf Nations League on Saturday 14 November in Miami and on Wednesday 18 November in Cincinnati, and how that fits with a move to Old Trafford is still to be settled. If United do appoint him in time, his first match after the international break would be at Liverpool on Sunday 22 November. For Carrick, the wait is the part Solhekol wants ended.