Man Utd Legend Turns Screw on Michael Carrick After First Defeat

Michael Carrick’s honeymoon as Manchester United’s interim boss ended in the biting cold of St James’ Park, and the first arrows of criticism have already flown from an old dressing-room ally. Paul Scholes, Carrick’s teammate in 160 games and a lifelong guardian of United’s standards, posted—and then deleted—an Instagram story that read: “Michael has definitely got something special about him... cos Utd have been crap last 4 games... night 😘.”

The timing was unmistakable. United had just slipped to a 2-1 defeat against 10-man Newcastle, the first loss of Carrick’s temporary reign and a result that checked the buoyant mood generated by six wins from his opening seven Premier League fixtures. Jacob Ramsey’s red card on the stroke of half-time should have cleared a path for the visitors, yet they could not find a second way past Aaron Ramsdale and were ultimately undone by a spectacular William Osula strike.

Scholes’ swipe is not an isolated incident. The former midfielder has already gone on record opposing the idea of Carrick receiving the manager’s job on a permanent basis, no matter how the 2025-26 campaign concludes. He is joined in that stance by Roy Keane, another keystone of Sir Alex Ferguson’s trophy-laden era, who argues that only a proven, high-calibre coach—hardened to modern-day pressures such as fan-channel scrutiny, social-media pile-ons and technology-driven controversies—can haul the club back to the summit.

Those pressures have devoured a succession of high-profile names. Ruben Amorim, Erik ten Hag, Ole Gunnar Solskjær and every other post-Ferguson incumbent have discovered that the role extends far beyond team selection, and Wednesday’s loss offered a fresh reminder of how narrow the margins have become. United still sit third, level on points with Aston Villa and three clear of both Chelsea and Liverpool after a midweek slate that saw Villa and Liverpool also falter. Yet the optics of defeat to a depleted Newcastle side have emboldened detractors.

Speaking immediately after the match, Carrick wore the grimace of a man who knows the bar his former teammate demands. “Yeah, disappointed obviously, bitterly disappointed,” he admitted. “We definitely came here in good shape, looking to get something from the game, if not win the game, and the way it panned out is obviously very disappointing. There’s no two ways about that.”

The numbers offer context as well as comfort. Under Carrick, United have claimed 18 from a possible 21 league points, including back-to-back triumphs over title-chasing Manchester City and Arsenal. Old Trafford has become a fortress again: four home fixtures, four victories. By comparison, Amorim secured only five home wins in ten attempts. Even the much-maligned “last four games” include hard-fought successes over Everton and Crystal Palace, undercutting Scholes’ sweeping assertion.

Still, the legend’s voice carries weight inside the United ecosystem, and his public scepticism frames every future stumble as potential evidence that the club is repeating past mistakes. Carrick, ever the realist, acknowledged the duality of footballing life. “Football’s football and there’s things that happen in the game, sometimes go with you, sometimes go away from you,” he said. “We can be better, we can be an awful lot better.”

For now, the defeat registers as a solitary blot on an otherwise encouraging report card. Whether Scholes’ criticism proves a fair warning or an unnecessary kick at a caretaker doing commendable work will depend on how Carrick’s side responds when the next whistle blows. One thing is certain: in the goldfish bowl of modern Manchester United, even a single loss invites the ghosts of glory past to render judgment.