Why Darren Fletcher was proper to snub Michael Carrick over Man United function

Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher go way back to playing together in midfield under Sir Alex Ferguson.

So, when it was Carrick who got the nod to lead the first team for the remainder of this season, there was no hesitation in offering Fletcher the chance to form part of his staff.

Carrick was indebted to Fletcher the last time he took temporary charge in 2021 and he was more than happy to have his former team-mate in his corner this time around, not least given Fletcher had picked up the pieces in the immediate aftermath of Ruben Amorim‘s sacking.

If he wanted it, the job was there. But Fletcher, politely, declined.

There were those at United relieved to see him return to his post as lead coach of the Under-18s, even if some felt his do-good nature meant he could well be swept up by the need to surround Carrick with support staff.

Fletcher made the right call to fall down the age groups and remain steadfast in prioritising his own burgeoning managerial career. He’s spent years in the background to assist others as a technical director or first team coach – now here he was putting his own dreams centre stage.

‘It’s nice to lead, to be in charge of your own team,’ he said back in August, soon after being hand-picked for the Under-18s job by director of football Jason Wilcox.

‘I was always in a support role before, so I felt that for the next stage of my development as a coach, it was important that I led a group, and with Adam Lawrence leaving, the opportunity became available and it made sense from a number of reasons.’

Fletcher wants to be a manager, specifically Manchester United manager in his future. There’s a long way to go between now and then, he knows that, but he is acutely aware that leading in academy football is a well trodden path for so many bosses. There is only so long you can operate in the shadows.

Kieran McKenna and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer both enjoyed success coaching in United’s academy before leveraging those achievements for premium jobs elsewhere.

Outside of United we have seen Jack Wilshere emerge from Arsenal’s academy and is now in charge at League One Luton Town.

Liam Manning (Huddersfield Town) and Michael Skubala (Lincoln City) are two other prime examples of EFL coaches who were rewarded after cutting their teeth in the academy sector.

What Fletcher has shown in his role leading the Under-18s is a young coach able to hone his ideas and his managerial ethos away from prying eyes.

While there was a crowd of more than 3,000 to see his young side progress to the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals after a 4-1 win over Oxford United, many of his games are at Carrington and therefore locked away from the prying public.

Even coaching at Old Trafford – Youth Cup games against Peterborough United and Derby County have been held there – games draw a modest crowd of a few hundred.

Mistakes aren’t as scrutinised and Fletcher’s primary focus is player development, which is on full display with the improving performances of players such as JJ Gabriel, Jim Thwaites, Godwill Kukonki and Rafe McCormack.

‘I’m really excited to be on the grass every day, working with the team, implementing Manchester United’s style, club ideas alongside some of my own ideas and it’s been really enjoyable,’ he said soon after leading the group for the first time at adidas global headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

‘And the most pleasing thing has been the players’ application and buy-in into it and I’m really enjoying seeing them play the United way.’

Fletcher has pieced together a side that is second in the U18 Premier League North table having conceded just 14 goals from 18 games – for context, Liverpool are third having shipped 48 – and also still in the running for two trophies with the semi-finals of the Premier League Cup and quarter-finals of the Youth Cup still to play.

What was particularly striking observing Fletcher in Oxford was his stoicism on the touchline.

He is similar to Carrick in that sense, not reacting too demonstratively to mistakes, while his instructions to players regarding their runs or their positioning are noticeably concise in delivery.

Fletcher is aiming to win a 12th FA Youth Cup for United – the record winners – and the club’s first since a team led by Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho lifted it in 2022.

There is talent aplenty at Fletcher’s disposal, not least JJ Gabriel who was once again the standout player on the pitch at Oxford.

But there is an identity to Fletcher’s 4-3-3, an attacking intent, a structure, and a coach at the top who is showing his natural man management abilities.

When the 4-1 win over Oxford United was sealed, Fletcher strode onto the pitch and put his arm around striker Chido Obi, offering some words of encouragement on a night where the 18-year-old scored the third goal but left wanting more.

‘We have to recognise their age as well,’ Fletcher said of his players previously.

‘We don’t want them to grow up too quickly. Let them just develop. It’s difficult when they’re on TV, but that’s part of the game and the modern world.

‘We don’t want to hold anybody back. If you’re performing, you’re going to get rewards for it.’

That same sentiment applies to Fletcher, too. In the management world he’s a young buck still earning his stripes but with trophies on the horizon and players under his watch showing superstar potential, it won’t take long for clubs to start circling.

Carrick, along with Travis Binnion and Jonny Evans, made the 167-mile trip after first team training to be in attendance at Oxford, just as they were at Old Trafford for the previous round against Derby County.

Had things shaken out differently, Fletcher could well have found himself in that carpool.

But Carrick will know as well as anyone that Fletcher’s decision to snub his offer to return to the Under-18s post was far and away the right one.