Historically, Roy Keane was outspoken in his criticism of MU managers, and Carrick, the newly appointed interim manager, is no different.
MU officially appointed Carrick as the head coach of the club. He was signed until the end of the 2025/26 season and immediately became the focus of discussion on Gary Neville, Ian Wright, Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, and Roy Keane’s podcast.
Carrick once played alongside Jamie Carragher for England and worked closely with Gary Neville both at MU and the national team. Both wished him well in his new role. However, Roy Keane was not so supportive.
Keane and Carrick never played together at Manchester United but had a dispute in 2014. After MU’s 0-2 loss to Olympiacos in the Champions League, Keane criticized both Carrick’s performance and his post-match interview, calling them both “lackluster.”
At that time, Carrick’s wife Lisa posted on Twitter (now X): “Roy Keane is such a ****, saying things just to get attention.”. Although Lisa later deleted the tweet and apologized, it seemed Keane was not ready to let it go.
Eleven years later, Keane still “holds a grudge” against Carrick’s wife. When discussing the impact the former Middlesbrough coach could have at MU now, Keane sarcastically said: “His wife could always step in if Carrick doesn’t do well because she has quite a big mouth. Maybe she’s the one giving the pre-match talks to the team.”
That’s not all; Keane also criticized Carrick’s coaching staff decisions after Jonathan Woodgate was appointed assistant, alongside Steve Holland, Jonny Evans, and Travis Binnion..
“What has Jonny Evans done to become a first-team coach at MU? Four weeks ago, he was managing loaned players, and now he’s back with the first team. That’s a huge leap, isn’t it?”
“Evans has coached two games, Fletcher left, and Carrick gave him a new role. Wonderful. Maybe we should all take a week off in Barbados. He talks about building the coaching staff, praises their experience, then announces Jonathan Woodgate and Jonny Evans,” Keane added.
Roy Keane is well-known as a player who holds grudges. Fans still remember his infamous tackle on Alf-Inge Haaland (Erling Haaland’s father). After being fouled aggressively by Haaland’s father in 1997, Keane remembered the grudge. In 2001, when they met again, Keane retaliated with a harsh tackle. In his autobiography, Keane said he “waited a long time to get his revenge.”
Because of this, it’s no surprise to English football fans that Keane still “holds a grudge” against Carrick’s wife for comments made 11 years ago. Also, his criticism of every MU manager is not unexpected.