Beyond The Last Man

Retro world football writing and nostalgia. Part of The Guardian Sports Network. Sister account @Brut_Football

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

What Henry fails to add in his weepy obituary for Carrick is that if United had the sort of owners he floridly believes the club deserves, they would not have come within a country mile of appointing that same manager he believes is now being treated so heartlessly.

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

It is a sad reflection of modern football that the man who cares most about Manchester United, who will loyally, diligently again go into Carrington today to try and tackle the mess, is the one being eased out by those gathering in Monaco and via a link to Florida who don’t truly have United in their heart. Those who are primarily responsible for the mess.

Michael Carrick will leave the club sooner or later but the club will never leave him. United mean too much to him. He gave everything for the team in 464 games. His son plays for their academy. Being United head coach is not simply a job for Carrick, it's an honour he feels deeply proud of.

The manager who last season masterminded home wins over Manchester City, Aston Villa and Liverpool and away triumphs at Arsenal, Chelsea and Brighton has undoubtedly made mistakes this season. Diogo Dalot at left-back, not bringing Shea Lacey on earlier, etc. The poor run, and tumble into the relegation positions, inevitably means his job is on the line.

It is possible to understand why Carrick should lose his job but also why others should be held accountable, too. The decision on Carrick would be more palatable if it weren’t being formulated and then executed by Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the loathed Glazers. What good have they done to this great club? Debts and decline, holes in the roof and in the squad.

Carrick’s contribution to the history of Manchester United is substantial and his legacy secure – winning five titles and taking responsibility for a penalty in the 2008 shootout that helped win the Champions League.

At the very least, Carrick deserves to be treated with far more respect than is currently being shown to a dignified, hard-working individual as the clock ticks down on his departure. His exit is being handled appallingly by the club. Red man walking. At least United fans are showing all the class their board lacks. The Stretford End sings Carrick’s name because they know he is not the real problem.

It will be no surprise in weeks to come to spot Carrick standing, hood up, with United fans at an away game. They will welcome him warmly. He’s done it before, being a fan again. Carrick loves the club. He has ever since he was an apprentice at West Ham United, charged with keeping the away dressing-room tidy, and admiring how Alex Ferguson and his smartly-dressed collection of winners strode into the Boleyn Ground. They had an aura, and Carrick wanted to be part of that.

Carrick will leave the club physically, dismissed as much for the failings of underperforming players, those incompetents in charge of recruitment and the unpopular owners, as for his own undoubted mistakes. But Carrick will never leave United emotionally. It's sad that someone who cares so much will go, and those who don't care as much remain. #MUFC

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

I love stats like this.

[Scotland’s Coefficient @scotlandscoeff1]

Kilmarnock face Celtic tomorrow, with one of the worst ever away records against the Hoops.

Since winning 2-0 at Celtic Park in Dec 1955, Killie have won just 1 of 87 visits to Celtic (2-0 in 2012).

That’s the same number of wins as Third Lanark, who folded in 1967, and one fewer than Ayr United, who haven’t played in the top flight since 1978.

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

@Tommy_Oldham1 Then you are older like myself.

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

The differing priorities of young players today. Rather than dream of being an important member of teams that win major domestic and European honours, instead they aspire to win individualistic marketing awards.

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

🌕✨ JJ Gabriel: “My dream is to win the Ballon d’Or”, told @marca.

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

@ademir2z It's so insular. No acknowledgment that he is at one of the few clubs capable of winning the CL and any move back to the Pl would lessen that chance.

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

And yet this was massively more of a consistent level of achievement than historically much bigger clubs, let’s say Man City, achieved in our lifetime before their cheat code hoved into view.

[FPL MCFC @FPLMaineRoad]

Brighton, who’s last 6 PL finishes have been 8th, 8th, 11th, 6th, 9th & 16th, whilst winning 0 domestic trophies, have really cracked the code.

Worth noting that after they finished 6th, Caicedo, Mac Allister & Sanchez were all signed by Chelsea & Liverpool.

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

Nobody believes the club will 'buckle' because their autocratic owners are too proud to ever say sorry for anything, but nobody cares anyway.
The club looks devious & stupid, justice will be served & no-one believes this stopped in 2018 either. So bring on more charges.

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

I wish people would push back on the stupid and empty platitudes that football people routinely utter. What exactly about the institution of Man Urd is it that he understands? And surely if he 'knew what was required' then he would know that involved winning games occasionally?

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

🚨 Ole Gunnar Solskjær: “Michael Carrick has what it takes to take Man United forward, I think he’s the right man”.

“He understands the club, understands the fans, and knows what’s required. You don’t see that ‘devil’ in him. But it’s there, and I have it too. We are so incredibly alike”, told @ForzaFootball.

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

Like any player ever has seen Brighton as their ultimate career destination club regardless of broader League rules.

[The City Ramble @TheCityRamble]

Good Brighton team that. Properly challenging the elite.

Shame none of their good players/ manager will be here in 18 months time.

If only there wasn’t something preventing them…

[Revd. BlueCat @BlueCat67515313]

@BigDaveWHUFC There were only 2 games in Britain in season 04-05 than finished 7-1.
Rangers V Dundee United and Man City V Barnsley.
The same two goalkeepers played in both games - Ronald Waterreus for Rangers and City, Nick Colgan for Dundee Utd and Barnsley.

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

Kaka is the best preserved 44-year-old man I think I have ever seen.

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

“How dare anyone have a different perception of the totally nebulous concept of club ‘bigness’ to mine!”
I have a lifelong dislike of Man United but saying they are a bigger club than Aston Villa should be about as contentious as saying Mao Zedong was a dictator.

[Dr Gary James @GaryJamesWriter]

Carragher's comments demonstrate exactly what many people have seen for years. Football favours certain clubs and one of our nation's greatest clubs, who achieved major success decades before Carragher's 'favoured' clubs, should not be viewed by anyone in the way he spoke.

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

This is profoundly embarrassing for Aston Villa.

[BBC News (UK) @BBCNews]

Villa to sue Carragher over 'unacceptable insults' https://t.co/SN1EJ4G9qC

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

It's just another layer of Man City fan delusion that they think the owners spending money locally is some sort of act of philanthropy, rather than a widescale land acquisition & development that could yield huge future profits.

[Andrew Slater @SlatsAndy]

Apparently if you pump money into a football club, the city and the surrounding area then you are 'despicable' 🤷‍♂️

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

English football needs more positive stories beyond the mega-club dominance, so I've always had the impression that most neutrals greatly admire Bournemouth, Brighton & Brentford for their smart management & resourcefulness. I certainly do.

[Sam @SamAS_91]

People seem upset at Bournemouth doing well in Europe. Suddenly PL money is ruining football and dominating.

AC Milan spent €74m on Ramos and €50m on Moreira this year, both above #AFCB's record fee. Spanish clubs have won 8 of the last 15 UELs.

Where was this outrage then?

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

To suggest 20 years ago that Man Utd would start a game second favourites against Como and lose it 4-1 would have been absurd to the point of comical. There is no bigger evidence of how football has transformed than this astonishing scoreline.

[Dominic King @DKingTelegraph]

To suggest 20 years ago that AC Milan would start a game second favourites against Bournemouth and lose it 3-0 would have been absurd to the point of comical. There is no bigger evidence of how football has transformed than this astonishing scoreline.

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

Utterly historically illiterate

[JoeAce @thecitydefender]

Remember when Serie A relegated their biggest club, Juventus? The league fell off so badly that nobody watches it again. Even when Juventus returned, the league has continued struggling till today.

That's the same thing that will happen if they relegate City. They need to look at the bigger picture before destroying the very league they're trying to protect.

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

@Jim__Douglas You don't think that's a bit of convenient hindsight going on? I think McTominay had gone as far as he could there anyway and Ugarte has been injured most of the time which could not have been foreseen.

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

There's little more tedious (outside the many Man C apologists) than ex-coaches who try to shift blame by implying that they failed only because they weren't backed because they could not get every world class player they wanted - but did get plenty of others.
Solskjaer was same.

[The Athletic | Football @TheAthleticFC]

Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong was Erik ten Hag's first choice for midfield. United were in negotiations for several weeks, but the player declined to join.

Ten Hag pressed for England midfielder Declan Rice instead.

Rice, then 24, ended up moving to Arsenal in the summer of 2023 for a package worth £105m.

He was instrumental in Mikel Arteta’s side winning the Premier League for the first time in 22 years last season, often wearing the captain’s armband, and has made the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d’Or.

During that same window three years ago, Ten Hag had one name on his lips at centre-forward.

Instead, Harry Kane moved from Tottenham Hotspur to Bayern Munich in a €110m deal.

The England captain has since scored 157 goals in 155 games for Bayern, twice lifting the Bundesliga, and is also nominated for this year’s Ballon d’Or.

📝 @lauriewhitwell

🔗 https://t.co/U7pnK2AjIM

[Beyond The Last Man @BeyondTLM]

@lemmacantor11 Well they still spent £150m in the summer. Their issue is that they sell so much more poorly than the other major clubs.