Whilst some are getting teary-eyed at Michael Carrick’s monologue on Friday, one reporter has outlined why it’s symptomatic of the wider problem at Man Utd, and why Carrick is not fit for purpose.

Carrick opened his press conference on Friday with a lengthy monologue, the contents of which can be found here.

Within it, Carrick repeatedly referenced the past, with Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Matt Busby all mentioned.

The speech has split opinion amongst the fanbase, though went down well with the vast majority of journalists, many of which primarily cover Man Utd.

The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell termed it a “stirring monologue”, talkSPORT’s Alex Crook declared it a “powerful opening address”, while Samuel Luckhurst – usually never shy in bashing United – stated he “sympathised with Carrick before today and genuinely felt for him during his monologue.”

However, one reporter has railed against the narrative, The Athletic’s Tim Spiers.

In a report published in the early hours of Saturday morning, Spiers claimed Carrick and Man Utd’s obsession with their illustrious past and glory days is precisely what is holding the club down.

Spiers explained: ‘If United are to transform their fortunes as much as they can merely via a head coach, rather than fixing what’s wrong above that pay grade (a lot), it’ll need an imposing, authoritative, headstrong personality with the man-management skills to command the respect of an unruly dressing room and the experience and proven managerial record to dictate some terms to those above them, should they be allowed to have that power.

‘You cannot imagine some of the top managers in the game ever feeling the need to defend their position or prove their passion for United in the way Carrick did on Friday. Outlining what the club used to be good at two decades ago doesn’t mean much after a 4-1 defeat by Como.

‘It was heartfelt, but it did nothing to show that he’s the guy in charge, especially coming on the back of the team’s captain, Bruno Fernandes, undermining Carrick’s authority on Wednesday when questioning his tactics.’

Spiers then referenced captain Fernandes’ comments after the Como humbling in which he noted “there’s too much focus on what’s been done in the past.” The irony of Carrick then waxing lyrical about the past a few days later won’t have been overlooked by the skipper.

Spiers continued: ‘It seems Fernandes and Carrick are on very different wavelengths and, on this point, it’s hard to disagree with the Portuguese midfielder because, seriously, when exactly are United going to stop looking back before they look forward?’

He added: ‘The club-legends act — the ‘back in our day we knew how to run a dressing room’ schtick on The Overlap — has to stop. They’re two points below Hull City. Ask Amorim or Ralf Rangnick or Erik ten Hag or Jose Mourinho what the real problems are. It’s a mess.

‘When they face Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday, they should just be taking on a half-decent Premier League side in a very winnable home game. Instead, it’ll feel like they’re also competing against ghosts in the never-ending match they play out against their own history.

‘In appointing Carrick, a man who — with the greatest of respect — would never have got close to landing the head coach role at Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool or even Bournemouth, on a permanent basis, United have merely extended the post-Ferguson doom loop for another year.

‘It feels abundantly clear from the outside that they need a clean break with the past in order to build a new future, because at this point nostalgia feels like a weapon of self-sabotage.

‘Carrick isn’t the problem and, in theory, neither is the past, but United need to move on from both.’