Peter Schmeichel has accused Manchester United of treating Michael Carrick “very disrespectfully” as the club prepares to sack the head coach and appoint Mauricio Pochettino in his place. The United legend, who made 292 appearances for the club between 1991 and 1999, said Carrick has done nothing wrong and urged the board to stick with him instead of making a change.
Carrick is expected to be told he has lost his job on Thursday, talkSPORT understands, after chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox flew to Monaco to meet co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe. He still took training at Carrington on Wednesday, for a second day running, while his future was decided elsewhere — the image that infuriated Schmeichel.
Peter Schmeichel: ‘I don’t think he’s doing anything wrong’
Schmeichel, speaking on The Overlap Daily, as reported by The Sun, did not hold back. “I absolutely do feel sympathy for him. I think the way this is playing out is very disrespectful to him. If I’m honest, I don’t think he’s doing anything wrong. I know the team that he’s in charge of is where they are in the table, but I don’t put all of that on him.”
Schmeichel said the problems at Old Trafford run far deeper than the dugout. “There are so many things that have been going on at Manchester United literally since [Sir] Alex [Ferguson] and David Gill left the club. And it’s never been corrected. It’s not been the correct people, not the right people in charge, and slowly it’s just gone worse.”
He was scathing about the way Carrick has been left in limbo. “Don’t let him come into training yesterday. He took training yesterday. How disrespectful is that? He’s a very, very good human being. He’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet in your life. So, treat the guy with respect.”
Peter Schmeichel: United needed defenders — and signed none
Schmeichel also turned his fire on the club’s summer transfer business, arguing Carrick was never given the tools to succeed. “It’s abundantly clear to everyone — everyone who knows just a little bit about football — that Manchester United needed defenders. They got through a whole transfer window without signing a single defender… they bought three midfield players.”
Schmeichel claimed United have conceded 30 goals in 10 games — a problem he says was never addressed. “Now, was Michael Carrick in on those decisions? Well, it took them forever, forever, to give him the job. So, I suspect he wasn’t in any of those discussions about who to sign up until the point he got named as manager.”
His prescription was simple: keep Carrick. “I think we should stick with Michael. I think we should just try and steady the ship a little bit and then get into January and then sign the players that he feels he needs to bring the team forward and then be realistic about what this season is all about.”
What happens next for Carrick and Pochettino
Schmeichel’s plea is unlikely to change the board’s mind. United have reached an agreement in principle with Pochettino, the Press Association understands a framework is in place, and the club have made formal contact with US Soccer about triggering his $10 million release clause. Pochettino is expected to take charge of the United States against Haiti on Saturday and Tuesday before flying to England.
United sit 18th with eight points from 10 games, having won just once all season, and their next match is away to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, 22 November. United’s last outing was the 4-4 draw with Aston Villa. Carrick, who made 464 appearances for United as a player across 12 years, learns his fate on Thursday — and if Schmeichel had his way, the answer would already be clear.
For more on United’s run-in, check today’s predictions.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0, Carlsberg) — collage by SportsBuddy
