Carrick paid the price for choosing ‘unpopular’ coach who clashed with Man Utd players
Manchester United players reportedly struggled to deal with Michael Carrick’s now-former assistant, Steve Holland.
Both men were sacked on Thursday, alongside the rest of the first team’s coaching staff, with the exception of assistant goalkeeping coach Conor King.
Man Utd directors’ hands were forced, as the team couldn’t carry on with this catastrophic form. With only one win in 10 Premier League fixtures, the Red Devils shockingly sit in the relegation zone.
On Friday, United confirmed the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino, who will leave his post at the USMNT next week.
Steve Holland grew widely unpopular among Man Utd players
When Carrick was handed the reins in January, he brought in Jonathan Woodgate, his assistant at Middlesbrough, as well as his former MUFC teammate Jonny Evans. Moreover, Travis Binnion made the transition from Man Utd’s under-21 side.
Nevertheless, this relatively young group needed a more experienced profile, so Carrick was paired with 56-year-old Holland.
The Stockport native has more than 30 years of coaching on his resume, and served as the No.2 for former England boss Sir Gareth Southgate, in addition to a string of former Chelsea managers, including Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, and Roberto Di Matteo.
But according to Carrington insider ‘Sully Talkz’ (via Round Table), Holland became increasingly ‘unpopular’ among Man Utd players, with whom he’d constantly clashed.
Holland’s Career
1992–1998
Crewe Alexandra U18
Youth Team Manager
—
1998–2007
Crewe Alexandra
Academy Manager
Dario Gradi
2007–2008
Crewe Alexandra
First-Team Manager / Coach
—
2009
Stoke City
Academy Manager
Tony Pulis
2009–2011
Chelsea Reserves
Reserve Team Manager
—
2011–2017
Chelsea
Assistant First-Team Coach / Assistant Manager
Villas-Boas, Di Matteo, Benítez, Mourinho, Hiddink, Conte
2013–2016
England U21
Assistant Manager
Gareth Southgate
2016–2024
England
Assistant Manager
Gareth Southgate
2025
Yokohama F. Marinos
Head Coach
—
2026
Manchester United
Assistant Manager
Michael Carrick
While he is renowned for his tactical knowledge, Holland tends to become a difficult character to deal with. Sources at the club have also described him as ‘extremely arrogant’.
Moreover, Sully believes the 56-year-old was the main target of Bruno Fernandes’ famous post-Como rant, when the captain publicly questioned the team’s tactics. This detail was also reported by The Athletic journalist Laurie Whitwell.
Holland reportedly returned the favour by convincing Carrick to drop the Portuguese playmaker for the game against Bournemouth, which United ultimately lost by three unanswered goals.
Was choosing Holland Carrick’s undoing?
At the moment, it remains impossible to tell whether or not Holland was such a toxic presence in the locker room. The Amazon documentary will eventually shed some light on this particular front.
However, the poor counsel around Carrick became increasingly evident as the weeks rolled on with the team failing to change approach or results, not to mention some of the perplexing in-game substitutions.
All in all, Carrick was probably too green for the role, while Holland’s addition may have caused more harm than good.
