Michael Carrick had become an Old Trafford favourite after making made 464 appearances for the Reds becoming the only Englishman other than former teammate Wayne Rooney to have won the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, Community Shield Europa League and Club World Cup.
United fans took to him even more kindly after his short-lived spell as caretaker manager after the dismissal of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November 2021. In this time, he was on the touchline for three games winning two and drawing the other - a cameo that clearly signalled a managerial career was in his sights.
Having taken his time over his first move into the hot-seat, he was appointed as the new manager of then-struggling Championship club Middlesbrough last month, after they'd sacked Chris Wilder. This dismissal was arguably surprising because despite the fact Boro found themselves in the bottom three at this point, Wilder is still a massive asset for any second-tier club to have following his recent success with Sheffield United who he guided to promotion, and then subsequently a top half Premier League finish.
