Paul Merson believes Manchester United’s transfer strategy, not head coach Michael Carrick, is to blame for the club’s worst start to a top-flight season.
Carrick’s position is increasingly in doubt, with United sitting in the Premier League relegation zone after taking only eight points from their first 10 games. Mauricio Pochettino would be open to a discussion if the club approached him.
United have won one of their 11 games and conceded 30 goals in all competitions, the worst record of any team in the top five European leagues. Their club-worst start to a league season has added to the pressure on Carrick, but Merson feels he is not at fault.
Merson defends Carrick
“I just can’t blame the manager. They change managers left, right and centre all the time and it’s the same results,” said Merson.
“It doesn’t matter if you have Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola or Jose Mourinho sitting on the bench. The mistakes they are making are down to the players.
“If they weren’t running around for the manager, they’d have been ripped to shreds by Roma and Aston Villa and they didn’t. They came back in both of those games. I’d be quite surprised if they let Carrick go at the moment.”
Transfer policy under fire
Merson argues the club has got its recruitment in the wrong order.
“They got it the wrong way around with their transfer policy. The first window they went for buying forwards. The next window, they started bringing in midfield players and now at the end of the season, they’re probably going to go and buy defenders.
“They should have gone with defenders first. You can’t build a house on a puddle. You’ve got to have a strong defence and they haven’t done that.
“They’ve done it completely the wrong way around and it’s come back to bite them. They’ve got to look at themselves upstairs and think that they got this horribly wrong, not Michael Carrick.”
Pochettino link
Pochettino, currently the United States head coach, could be set to return to the Premier League for the first time since leaving Chelsea in May 2024.
“He’s got experience, major experience. He’s worked in the Premier League a lot of times,” said Merson. “If they get rid of Michael Carrick, they’re not bringing someone in who’s going to take six months to get used to the Premier League. This man’s a top, top manager.
“I don’t think Carrick could go, but if they could get Pochettino for £7m, that’s a cheap deal. He’s a good manager, but I think Michael Carrick can be a very good manager. They’ve just done it the wrong way round in all the transfer windows.”
Expectations at the club
Merson believes the club’s standing has changed and that its expectations no longer match its current level.
“Man Utd are not one of the biggest teams anymore, but they’ve still got one of the biggest expectations in football and that is the problem. I think Man United are, and this is no disrespect, a mid-table team.
“We keep on talking about Man United of 15 years ago. When they had Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and top draw players. It’s not the case anymore.
“They’re into buying players in the market who are a flip of a coin. They might be good, or they might not, and that’s not how you do it at Man United. With the financial rules now, it’s going to be difficult for them to get anywhere near back to where they were 15, 20, and 25 years ago.
“It’s a great club and a massive club, but the expectations of managing that type of club, and where you’ve got to finish in the league, are very, very high, and I think that’s what sometimes puts managers off.”