Rio Ferdinand Challenges Michael Carrick to Revitalize Manchester United's Attack
Rio Ferdinand has challenged Michael Carrick to make one bold attacking change he believes could jolt Manchester United’s season back to life.
United limp into the international break with just five points from their first five Premier League games, marooned in 12th after a laboured draw at Fulham and already out of the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle for a second straight year. The reset comes early, but it is badly needed.
A flat start, by any measure
Carrick’s side have looked strangely lifeless without the ball. The numbers are brutal. In the league this season, United rank 20th for distance covered at high intensity, 20th for time spent at high intensity, 20th for sprints, 20th for time spent sprinting, and 17th for percentage of time walking out of possession.
For a club built on relentless energy and front-foot football, that is a damning snapshot.
They now face a three-week wait before returning to action at Old Trafford against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, October 10. Spurs arrive without a win since the campaign began, but United’s form offers little comfort of its own.
This is the stretch of the season when managers earn their money. Carrick will spend the break dissecting what has gone wrong. Ferdinand has already offered his solution.
Ferdinand’s message: move Rashford, free Cunha
Speaking about United’s attacking set-up, Ferdinand pinpointed one specific tweak he feels could unsettle defences and give the team a different edge. His view is simple: play Marcus Rashford through the middle as the centre-forward and shift Matheus Cunha out to the left.
Defenders, he argued, would “have something to think about” if Rashford operated as the central threat rather than hugging the flank.
Carrick has so far resisted that idea. He has consistently used Cunha as the No.9, even though the Brazilian’s natural game leans more towards operating from wider areas or dropping off the front. Rashford, meanwhile, has been used predominantly from the left since his reintegration into the squad over the summer.
The outcome? Rashford is still waiting for his first goal or assist of the season. Cunha, at least, broke his Premier League duck at the weekend with a late equaliser at Craven Cottage, but United’s attack as a whole has looked disjointed and short of conviction.
The Sesko question
All of this unfolds with a pure No.9 watching on. Benjamin Sesko, the out-and-out striker in the squad, is yet to start a league game this season despite posting an impressive record under Carrick across all competitions.
His absence from the Premier League XI only sharpens the focus on how United are using their forwards. If Carrick does not want to start Sesko, Ferdinand’s argument is that the manager should at least lean into Rashford’s pace and direct running through the middle and allow Cunha to attack from the left, where his instincts are more natural.
With United stuck in a rut, the international break hands Carrick time but also pressure. Does he double down on his current structure, or does he take the advice of a former teammate and redraw his front line before Tottenham walk out at Old Trafford?
