Michael Carrick has done wonders as Manchester United‘s interim manager, totally changing the results and culture at the club, so it is a surprise to hear Ben Jacobs tell The United Stand that the Red Devils are eyeing Portugal national team manager Roberto Martinez.
Manchester United were employing two of the worst managers in world football in Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim. The former got fired in mere days at his next job with Bayer Leverkusen, while Amorim’s incompetence is best displayed by how much better Man United got when they brought in Carrick instead.
A former Manchester United center midfielder himself, Carrick has done so well that many fans would like him to stay on permanently, and when you look at people like Martinez being linked to an Old Trafford move, you have to imagine the fan resolve is only strengthening.
While Martinez did have a decent tenure in the Premier League, that was a while back, and he’s been a disaster pretty much everywhere else he has coached, mostly getting jobs on charisma and reputation.
He greatly underperformed with the Belgian national team, and now that he is at Portugal, he’s been even worse, playing stars out of position and failing to get the most out of a very talented Portuguese national team.
In a World Cup year, it is hard to envision Martinez bolting from Portugal just yet, but after the World Cup, he could be on the table for the Red Devils, which would be a shame since Carrick is so much better.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.