Rio Ferdinand raises questions around Man Utd’s counterattacking football — and the lack of control the Red Devils have

Just like the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era at Old Trafford, Michael Carrick has shown the hallmarks of Sir Alex Ferguson’s past Red Devils sides when it comes to counterattacking football. However, Rio Ferdinand has felt that Carrick’s tactics have exposed United’s counterattacking as both the Premier League team’s biggest asset and their Achilles’ heel as well.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents, he said: “Man United’s counterattacking is probably our best and greatest strength, as we saw in the first half against Chelsea, right?”

“But also, it’s our biggest weakness because it leaves us open and susceptible to counterattacks ourselves. When you go that far ahead, the ball’s going to come back as quick, right?

“So, I look at it and it’s almost like a conundrum when you go, ‘Well, how do we make this work?’”

Man Utd’s rebuild has been a work in progress, as Ineos have been focusing on certain ‘blocks’ of the first-team squad. The 2025 summer window under former Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim placed a heavy emphasis on the forward line, while last summer was about a midfield overhaul under Carrick.

Carrick has been left to work out how the two-man midfield pivot will work at its best under him after the arrivals of Youri Tielemans, Carlos Baleba and Andrey Santos. The 45-year-old United manager might be lacking control of matches due to the continued alternation of his midfield options.

Kobbie Mainoo enjoyed a resurgence of form under Carrick last season, but the 21-year-old England international has faced setbacks with injuries. Carlos Baleba also made a late debut for United after arriving from Brighton with a pre-season injury. Unlike last season, when Carrick could consistently rely on Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo together, the Red Devils are lacking physicality in the midfield and a player to control the tempo of the match.

Casemiro, who left Old Trafford at the end of last season, lacked the pace that United desired in the midfield area. But the 34-year-old Brazilian midfielder made up for the physicality that other players lacked in the squad, including increasing his goalscoring tally from headers during his link-up with Bruno Fernandes in the 2025-26 campaign.

United legend Ferdinand feels that United had tried to use a “mid-block” under Carrick’s tactics earlier this season due to the “different profiles” of players in the squad, including the lack of physicality that would be brought to matches.

“And that’s why the mid-block was what we saw earlier in the season because he’s [Carrick] trying to protect the different profiles within our squad,” he explained.

“But we aren’t a team that are [sic] going to go to Old Trafford or go to away games and pin teams back and just recycle the ball and keep that team [pinned] back.

“And so, you’re in big massive control of the game and spaces. We aren’t that. So, again, there’s got to be a massive overhaul, which they’re doing at the moment, but it’s going to take a lot longer than I think any of us believe it or imagine it can be.”

There are now big question marks for Carrick to explore the different midfield profiles of his players and find the best matching combinations. If Mainoo is starting, then Carrick’s option could be to rely on Baleba to partner alongside him and add a more physical dimension to the player’s performances.

While more of the responsibility could be placed on Mainoo to control the tempo of the match when United are looking to launch counterattacks, Baleba could take a different role. Baleba could be there to do a Casemiro-esque approach in tightening up the Red Devils’ pockets of space and adding physicality when United are left exposed if the counterattack fails.

However, Baleba does not have to be an exact mirror replicate of what Casemiro was producing for the Red Devils last season. The 22-year-old Cameroonian talent has pace on his side that Casemiro did not and can drop into certain spots to cover where the Red Devils would be more exposed than others. While Baleba’s pace doesn’t ensure that United will always have a ‘winning formula’ when they are hit on a counterattack, it does mean the Red Devils summer signing is better equipped for defensive positioning or transitional defending.