Comparing Michael Carrick’s Man Utd caretaker stats to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s in 2018-19

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·14 May 2026

Comparing Michael Carrick’s Man Utd caretaker stats to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s in 2018-19

History could be about to repeat itself as Manchester United consider giving their caretaker manager the job on a permanent basis.

Michael Carrick has done a more-than-decent job since taking charge of United in January, which has led to him being considered for the full-time job. Sound familiar? It could be Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all over again.

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Solskjaer stepped in on a caretaker basis in December 2018 to replace Jose Mourinho and inspired a sensational run of form; United couldn’t ignore it and put their faith in him for the long term.

But the good times didn’t exactly last under Solskjaer, whose side went on a slump after he was confirmed as their permanent manager in March 2019.

He was ultimately sacked in November 2021, by which time most people had long since agreed that United had rushed into their decision to stick with Solskjaer in the first place.

And so it’s understandable why some might be concerned at the prospect of United giving Carrick the manager’s job beyond this season just because of how he’s done as a caretaker.

But that’s exactly what the club are considering. And it’s absolutely fair enough for Carrick to be in with a shout, even if United should be covering all bases in their manager hunt.

Whatever happens from here, this sense of deja vu has got us wondering: how has Carrick’s caretaker spell gone compared to Solskjaer’s?

We’ve dug up the stats from each of their caretaker reigns and highlighted the better performer for each category.

The question is, if it turned out Solskjaer wasn’t good enough to be United’s long-term manager – although in fairness, he did achieve back-to-back top-four finishes with them – then how good would Carrick’s stats need to be to convince the sceptics?