Alan Shearer delivers verdict on Man Utd appointing Eddie Howe with Michael Carrick successor chosen
Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has given his verdict on Manchester United appointing Eddie Howe to replace Michael Carrick.
Howe has been out of work since leaving Newcastle in the summer, but he is being mooted as a potential replacement for Carrick at Man Utd.
Carrick could be sacked after this weekend if Man Utd lose to Bournemouth because they have only won two of their first eleven matches this season and were beaten 4-1 by Como on Wednesday night.
United’s current boss is the firm favourite to be the first Premier League manager sacked this season, and a report on Friday claimed that technical director Jason Wilcox has picked Howe to be his replacement.
However, Shearer has sympathy for Carrick, even though “you’d have to be concerned” about Man Utd’s run of form.
“I hope this isn’t the end for Michael Carrick at Man United, but obviously you’d have to be concerned because of the results,” Shearer told Betfair.
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“I mean, it can’t be a coincidence. Manchester United keep going through manager after manager after manager, looking for a solution. The club is awful in terms of the way it is.
“I’ve always said whatever’s happening at the top of the club always filters down onto the pitch, and what we’re seeing on the pitch is because of what’s happening all over the rest of the club.
“I know they achieved Champions League football last year and Michael Carrick did a great job, but then yes, Manchester United are a huge football club, but they’re not a huge football team anymore. They didn’t get number one and maybe not even number two targets in the summer, so their recruitment’s been a problem for a while now, and they needed more in the summer as well.
“I hope he doesn’t lose his job, but it wouldn’t surprise me because that’s what happens. When you look at how many have been in there, it’s just bonkers what keeps happening at that club, and they keep on thinking, ‘well, it’s the manager’s fault or the coach’s fault.’ Well, it isn’t.”
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Alan Shearer issues verdict on Eddie Howe replacing Michael Carrick
Shearer has also given his thoughts on Howe replacing Carrick, and he has sent a warning to the former Newcastle boss.
“I guess you don’t have to be on the inside to think and know what’s going on at Manchester United,” Shearer added.
“When you go through Rangnick and Eric Ten Hag, Rúben Amorim, then you talk about the Dan Ashworth situation, you had Dave Brailsford and the compensation they paid Newcastle, then sacked him, their recruitment, arguing with ticket prices. There’s so much going on there in terms of how it highlights the huge problems they’ve got.
“It’s there for everyone to see. Everyone’s looking at it. It’s being played out in the open. You don’t need an Eric Ten Hag interview to know that there are huge problems at Manchester United.
“Is Antonio Conte the answer? I don’t know. My only thing would be this: it’s not the coach’s fault. There are huge issues at the football club. I don’t know how desperate he is for a job.
“I guess looking at who’s been in and how many managers and coaches they’ve hired and fired, I just wonder whether other managers would look at that and think, well, I know how huge you are, but maybe that’s not the right job at the right time.
“Eddie Howe has also been linked, he wants control of things, and in a club that he sees that is his role and his issue. Whether he would get that at Manchester United or not, I don’t know.”
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