Dropping 'mate' Cristiano Ronaldo proved Michael Carrick is right fit for Manchester United job, says Joe Cole

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Manchester United interim head coach Michael Carrick has made a strong start to life at Old Trafford, with Joe Cole and Owen Hargreaves both impressed. Cole picked out his first caretaker spell in 2022, when he dropped his former team-mate and Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, as an indicator that he was able to handle the high-pressure stakes at the Premier League giants.

‘He dropped his mate Ronaldo’ – Cole on why Carrick should land permanent Man Utd job

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Joe Cole and Owen Hargreaves both backed Michael Carrick to succeed at Manchester United, with Cole pointing to his decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo.

Carrick has been appointed as the interim head coach at Old Trafford after Ruben Amorim was sacked in January amid reported differences between him and director Jason Wilcox.

The former England midfielder has seen United move into the UEFA Champions League spots and remain undefeated, with their next match away to Everton on Monday, February 23.

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Carrick left Middlesbrough in the summer after a largely positive experience in the North East, and now finds himself in the frame for the permanent appointment if he continues to impress.

Speaking on The Breakdown, Carrick’s erstwhile international team-mate Cole suggested that his steeliness in dropping Ronaldo back in 2022 demonstrated the necessary self-belief to succeed.

He said: "I'll tell you what he did that makes me think he can handle it. When he took the job as an interim for two games, and they played Chelsea away, and he dropped his mate, Ronaldo, because he couldn’t press.

Hargreaves: It was ‘mind-blowing’ Mainoo didn’t play for a year under Amorim

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"I think as his first job, he's dropping Ronaldo, and he's a mate! He's got the minerals to make big decisions. We know him personally, and I've never seen him fazed by anything."

Hargreaves, who won the Champions League alongside Carrick with United in 2008, said the only thing that he lacked was experience in a top role compared to the other mooted runners and riders.

"The only argument you could have to not give it to him is experience," Hargreaves noted. "He doesn’t have the experience at the top, he’s not a Tuchel or a Luis Enrique.

"But what comes with that, comes demands and expectations, saying ‘I want this player, I want that player’. Carrick is never going to do that.

"Carrick has been around these boys, he knows what it’s like for the fans, he knows what it’s like for the players, he’s not going to get too up or too down.

"He’ll work with the club and say, ‘This is what we need, we’re going to build’. He’s been around the best players Man Utd have ever had in decades.

"He knows what a No. 10 looks like, he knows what a defensive midfield player looks like, he knows what a centre-back looks like. He can help in terms of that recruitment.

"So I think, in a way, if he finishes in the top five, he’ll get it. He has to."

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‘It’s not rocket science’

Hargreaves praised Carrick’s tactical changes compared to the system employed by Amorim, a coach who attracted criticism for his rigid decision-making, particularly his 3-4-3 formation.

He explained: "You think under Ruben and that back three. Under Carrick every player is playing in a different position except the goalkeeper.

"The two centre-backs went from playing in a three to a two, the wing-backs are now playing as full-backs. We went from a midfield two to now playing in a three, went from having 10s to wingers, he’s changed the whole team.

"It’s not rocket science, everybody is in their natural position, and they’re performing. Put Bruno [Fernandes] in as a 10 and let him go create."

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Mainoo is ‘exactly what England need’

Cole was also delighted to see midfielder Kobbie Mainoo brought into the fold, with the 20-year-old dominating in huge matches against Manchester City and Arsenal.

The former Chelsea midfielder made a further contrast with Amorim’s approach, who had kept Mainoo largely on the sidelines, to such an extent that he had been expected to leave the club if Amorim remained. He even tipped Mainoo for a late call up to Tuchel’s 2026 World Cup squad.

"Kobbie Mainoo coming in, it's doubly bad for Amorim, because it makes him look so stubborn that he's not played this kid for a year," Cole observed.

"He can't play the system? Good players can play in any system. They find a way. Kobbie Mainoo has come in and been outstanding.

"He's run those two games, and he must look at it and think he's in a dream. I'm back playing for Manchester United.

"I've got arguably one of the best players in the club's history in that position, who can help me develop. All of a sudden, he could be a late call-up: he's exactly what England need."

Hargreaves echoed those thoughts, adding: "How Kobbie hasn’t played football in a year is mind-blowing.

"One of the best young talents in the world of football, and for a kid to not play for a year and come in and play against City and Arsenal and basically run the games is a testament [to him].

"Carrick right now has been flawless, he hasn’t got one thing wrong. I’m delighted for him because the fans have really suffered. It feels like Old Trafford is back and the fans are happy.

"But most importantly, they’re winning. And when you win it fixes a lot of things."

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