Rooney Urges Carrick to Drop Underperforming Stars for Ipswich Clash
Wayne Rooney has urged Michael Carrick to be ruthless with his team selection after Manchester United’s limp 2-0 defeat at Hull City, insisting some big names should be dropped for Sunday’s clash with Ipswich at Old Trafford.
United had 71 per cent of the ball at Hull but did almost nothing with it. Control without conviction. Possession without threat. For Rooney, that comes down to players as much as tactics.
Speaking on The Overlap, the club’s record goalscorer pushed back on the idea that the system is the main problem. He said the decisions made in the heat of the game are what really decide results.
"I think players need to take responsibility on the pitch because when you play against a Hull City or Ipswich, the next game, you can set up however you want to set up and a lot of the time it’s decisions," Rooney said, underlining that on‑field choices, not whiteboard diagrams, are defining United’s performances.
Rooney targets Shaw and Santos
Rooney didn’t stop at general criticism. He named names.
He believes Luke Shaw and Santos should be sacrificed when Ipswich visit Old Trafford, arguing that Carrick has to shake up a side that looked stale and predictable at Hull.
His biggest call came at left-back. Rooney wants Patrick Dorgu drafted into the defence and Shaw taken out of the firing line.
"I’d change Luke Shaw and I’d play Dorgu at left-back, be a bit more aggressive," he explained. "I don’t think we can rely on him [Shaw] to play all the games so when you’re playing against a newly promoted team at home, I’d play Dorgu at left-back."
That’s not just a fitness concern; it’s a demand for more intensity down United’s left in a game they simply have to dominate.
Rooney also turned to the middle of the pitch. Asked about reshaping the midfield pairing, he backed Mainoo to come in at Santos’ expense.
"Mainoo probably, yeah. I’d bring Mainoo in for Santos," he added, making it clear he wants more control and personality in central areas after United failed to turn their territorial dominance at Hull into real chances.
Carrick’s selection puzzle deepens
Carrick’s job is complicated by the absence of Carlos Baleba. The £70 million summer signing, brought in to add steel and dynamism, is out with ankle ligament damage and will not be available as the manager searches for a new formula.
The United boss cut a composed figure in front of the cameras after the defeat at Hull, but he admitted the performance hurt deeply.
"The result’s the result. We got beat, we’re hurt and it’s not a nice feeling," Carrick said. He insisted, though, that the setback would not derail the wider project. "It doesn’t mean it’s going to change the whole direction of how we’re going as a team or as a football club."
That calm message now meets a harsh reality. United’s season is already under scrutiny, the pressure is growing, and Old Trafford expects a response.
Ipswich, newly promoted and with nothing to lose, arrive on Sunday sensing vulnerability. United, bruised and questioned, need a statement.
Carrick must decide whether to stand by his senior players or act on Rooney’s blunt assessment and rotate his underperforming stars. The margin for error is shrinking fast. A convincing win will buy time and belief; anything less will only sharpen the questions about where this campaign is really heading.
