Tony Pulis says Manchester United must back Michael Carrick rather than change manager again
Former manager Tony Pulis has urged Manchester United to follow Arsenal's Mikel Arteta blueprint and give interim boss Michael Carrick time, insisting their problems are not simply down to who the manager is following the chastening Champions League defeat by Como.
- Speaker: Tony Pulis, writing a BBC Sport column on Manchester United's struggles under Michael Carrick
- Context: United were "humbled" by Como in the Champions League on Wednesday
- Carrick's tenure: Appointed interim manager in January; led United to third and Champions League qualification
- Pulis's verdict: United should back Carrick, not change manager, echoing how Arsenal stuck with Mikel Arteta
- Recruitment: More than £1bn spent on 27 major signings since 2021, plus another £150m this year
What was said
"Walking into an under-achieving football club is never easy. I know, because I spent my career taking on such challenges."
"Supporters talk about seeing a bounce when new managers take over and, from my own experiences, I do believe that to be the case."
"Yet, with every bounce, there almost always comes a return to normality. You see players who raised the level of their performance return to the level they are used to, and everything often slips back to the way it was before."
"While Carrick appears to be under increasing pressure, the club's problems are definitely not just down to who their manager is."
"Criticising them in the media can't happen, because of your loyalty to the club, so you are left hoping the people who watch your games week in, week out, understand and recognise your dilemma around your squad."
"Watching Michael in his post-match press conference in Italy was really difficult for me."
"Michael's tactics are there to be followed, yet to do that away to Como on a very wet and windy miserable night, you need men and not boys."
"Proper captains, and I was lucky to work with some top guys, come to the fore when the team and club needs them most."
"I believe they should follow the blueprint of one of their great rivals, and realise that continuously changing direction is just not working."
"For a couple of years after that early success, however, Arteta was taking pelters from fans and across the spectrum of media outlets because the upturn in results did not last. Despite that, the club never flinched."
Pulis's central argument is that Carrick has already shown he can lift a drifting squad, and that the collapse in standards since is the predictable regressing of players to their previous level. He frames the manager as a man managing a flawed inheritance, not the cause of it.
His sharpest words are reserved for leadership. Pulis ties United's tame showing in Italy to captain Bruno Fernandes' example and to the tone of Carrick's own post-match press conference — painting a picture of a dressing room where the captain's standards set the temperature, and where a wet, windy away night exposed who was willing to compete.
The numbers
- £1bn+: Spent on 27 major signings since 2021 across three permanent managers — Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim — many of whom remain at the club.
- £150m: Invested this year under Carrick, the bulk on three midfielders.
- Third: The league finish Carrick achieved, securing Champions League places.
- 27: Major signings made across the previous three permanent managerial spells.
Why Pulis points to Arteta and the Arsenal model
The comparison is not about style of play — it is about institutional patience. Pulis recalls that Mikel Arteta arrived at Arsenal in December 2019 with instant impact in the shape of the 2020 FA Cup, then endured a couple of years of heavy criticism from supporters and media when results plateaued.
Arsenal never flinched. They let Arteta install a clear identity through the club and gave it time to take shape. Pulis's point for United is that the alternative — another change of direction — is the one strategy they have already tested repeatedly and which has produced the current mess.
Applied to the squad, the argument runs like this: Carrick has now seen enough of his group — good and bad — to know whom he can take with him. The problem is that many of those players are also assets the club needs to protect in the transfer market, which means a manager cannot always be fully candid publicly. Pulis says he was routinely asked by owners whether he could improve players and recover money on those he did not want, and that protecting value while demanding more from the same individuals is "sometimes unbelievably difficult."
That tension explains why Carrick's public messaging will sound more diplomatic than the reality. It also explains why Pulis backs him: the diagnosis is recruitment and identity, not the man picking the team.
Injury and availability
Pulis notes that when everyone is fit, Carrick has a group he believes can still compete for the Champions League places — but that they are never good enough for the prizes United really want. Beyond fitness, he says the squad needs ability, pace and character in pretty much every outfield position, and that reaching that level will not happen quickly.
Talking points
- Is Pulis right that the manager is the wrong lever, when United have cycled through Solskjaer, Ten Hag and Amorim while spending more than £1bn on 27 major signings?
- Does Lisandro Martinez's public questioning of the recruitment strategy show healthy accountability or hint at a player who thinks he is part of the solution?
- Can a captain whose own example slipped on a miserable night in Como credibly police standards in a dressing room that followed him?
- Would United's hierarchy really tolerate two more years of turbulence the way Arsenal did with Arteta, given the instant-success demands Pulis identifies?
What happens next
Carrick's immediate task is to stabilise United's results and reset the attitude Pulis questioned in Italy, with the manager's position under increasing pressure. The club's next recruitment decision — and whether it backs Carrick with the profile of player he would actually choose — will indicate whether the Arsenal blueprint is real or rhetoric.
Frequently asked questions
Does Tony Pulis think Manchester United should sack Michael Carrick?
No. Pulis says United "definitely don't need to change their manager again" and should back Carrick, following the patience Arsenal showed with Mikel Arteta.
Who did Manchester United lose to in the Champions League on Wednesday?
United were beaten by Como in Italy on Wednesday, a result Pulis described as United being "humbled."
How much have Manchester United spent on transfers recently?
Pulis says United spent more than £1bn on 27 major signings across Solskjaer, Ten Hag and Amorim since 2021, plus another £150m this year under Carrick.
Related Articles
Filed under: Manager News | LA Premier League Home
