By sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer without a lasting replacement, Manchester United have plunged into a period of uncertainty as crucial matches such as the trip to Villareal on Tuesday in the Champions League loom.
Leader of Group F with 7 points, like his future opponent, and with 2 lengths ahead of Bergamo, before Matchday 5, Manchester United would qualify for the eighth in case of victory and will have its destiny in its hands anyway, otherwise.
On the bench, it will be the great debut for Michael Carrick, former central midfielder for 12 seasons at Old Trafford, during which he was a privileged witness to the decline of Mancun.
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Arrived in 2006 from Tottenham, he had the last seasons with Alex Ferguson, but also played under his successors David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and José Mourinho, before joining the Portuguese staff on his retirement. He has built up one of the finest achievements in English football - 5 league titles, a Champions League -, mainly under the orders of "
Sir Alex
», But he owes his temporary appointment on the bench above all to the fact that he is one of the few to have the required qualifications.
Sending him near Valencia for his baptism of fire barely 48 hours after his promotion is anything but a gift when the club had had a fortnight of international truce to organize a possible transition.
Especially since the confession of helplessness of David de Gea after the new humiliation at Watford (4-1), Saturday, gave a rather terrifying image of the task at hand: "
We do not know what to do with the ball , we do not know how to defend properly.
"
Carrick, yes, but for how long?
Can a member of staff who brought the team to this observation rectify the situation? The management of the club seems not to have really anticipated this question or seriously considered the "
after Solskjaer
": they intend to eventually replace Carrick only with an interim who would stay in post only until the end of the season, as if long-term directions could wait. In any case, the main interested party seems to know nothing about his future. “
It's an important game for us, to try to qualify. I only think of preparing for tomorrow, of giving the best of us (...) for as long as it lasts. Will it be one game, two games, more? I don't know, but it doesn't bother me
spirit "
As a former midfielder, Carrick will have at least an authorized opinion on one of the most saddened areas in the Red Devils, as yet again shown by the catastrophic performance of Scott McTominay, apparently not fully recovered from the injury which deprived him of Scottish selection and which conceded a penalty in the first period before going out at the break.
A start in Villarreal by Donny van de Beek, a player totally ignored by Solskjaer but rather good in the second half at Watford, would be a strong first gesture.
Villarreal, an encore of the Europa League
Not having had time to work much since Sunday anyway, we should not expect major tactical upheavals. A possible reaction will depend above all on the awareness and responsibility of the players. It is difficult to hope for either gifts from Villarreal, who can also qualify for the eighth if he erases the 2-1 defeat of the first leg, on a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo at the end of added time and that Atalanta does not win in Bern. Especially since the “
Yellow Submarine
” will certainly have in mind his victory against Manchester United at the end of the night in Gdansk (1-1 ate, 11-10 tab) in the Europa League final, last May, under the ordersUnai Emery who rejected recent appeals from the foot from Newcastle to honor his commitment. "
Villarreal CF is my home and I am 100% committed to the club.
Honestly, I'm grateful for the interest shown by a great club, but I'm even more grateful to be able to be here,
”he said in early November, to counter the rumors that sent him to England.
