Carrick told to grow a pair by two pundits after Man Utd decision vs Leeds
Michael Carrick has been told to “get your house in order” by two former Premier League players after handing Lisandro Martinez a start for Manchester United vs Leeds.
Martinez made headline news this week after calling out technical director Jason Wilcox for failing to build a squad capable of battling on multiple fronts.
As if to reinforce that claim, Martinez didn’t reappear for the second half after picking up an injury, and his replacement Noussair Mazraoui was forced to play out of position and cost the Red Devils all three points at Elland Road.
Martinez has now apologised for his comments and has been fined by the club for breaking ranks, but former Everton midfielder Tim Cahill insists Carrick should have “made an example” of him.
Cahill told beIN Sports: “We played against Michael Carrick, he was a really nice player and a great guy.
“He’s been put in a situation and he even said that he’d never say no to Manchester United.
“But once he’s taken on that responsibility, he has to be accountable for the role and he also has to step out of that comfort zone and make an example of Martinez.
“What he’s saying is clear: Martinez has done it so the next one, if you do it, you’ll play and you can do it.
“Players now, they’re not silly, they have the power. But there’s not enough strong characters within that changing room to say, ‘Hey, you’re marking against Dominic Solanke so focus on that!’
“Analysis goes back a long, long way so when a player points fingers at the management, points fingers at the signings, you’ve got to make sure that your house is in order.
“There are issues throughout the whole club but collectively, that’s an in-house meeting where they say, ‘Martinez, I’m sorry, you’re fined two weeks wages and we’ll play with the kids if we have to because this is Manchester United and you’re not bigger than the club.'”
What “options”?
Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer echoed Cahill’s comments, claiming Carrick had “options” that he didn’t actually have.
“If I was Michael Carrick, for me, that is a great opportunity to say to world, to say to the fans: ‘I’m in charge of this football club, I’m the manager, I’m going to take him out of the team and disciple him’,” McAteer said.
“He’s got options. He can play [Leny] Yoro at centre-half, [Matthijs] de Ligt is just coming back, he can throw him in if he wants to, he’s on the bench today.
“So he’s got options, it’s not like he’s down to the bare bones and can’t take him out.
“Make that statement. Make that statement: this does not happen at this football club.
“Tim [Cahill] mentioned Sir Alex Ferguson before… no way would you do that with him.”
