Alan Shearer Exclusive: Michael Carrick is not to blame for Man Utd mess

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• Man Utd's problems bigger than Carrick
• Bruno Fernandes needs to take responsibility
• United's problems are there for all to see
• Liverpool must improve defensively
• Rio Ngumoha is a phenomenal talent
• Newcastle have to get a result at Palace
• Harry Kane deserve to win Ballon d'Or

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Man Utd have bigger problems than Carrick

Manchester United keep going through manager after manager after manager, looking for a solution to their problems. The club is awful in terms of the way it is run. Whatever's happening at the top of the club always filters down onto the pitch. 

Carrick did a great job last season, leading United to third place in the Premier League and returning them to the Champions League. Manchester United are a huge football club, but they're not a huge football team anymore. They didn't sign their number one, and maybe not even number two, transfer targets in the summer. Their recruitment's been a problem for a while and they needed more in the summer as well. 

I hope Carrick doesn't lose his job, but it wouldn't surprise me because that's what happens. When you look at how many managers have been in there, it's just bonkers what keeps happening at that club, and they keep on thinking: 'Well, it's the manager's fault or the coach's fault.' Well, it isn't.

Bruno Fernandes should take responsibility before criticising Carrick 

Bruno Fernandes criticised Carrick after the defeat to Como, a week after Lisandro Martinez slammed Manchester United's directors following defeat to Atletico Madrid. Any chance of you doing your job, lads, as players? Because I didn't see too much effort, commitment or running from Bruno at Como. 

Wherever you go, at all clubs, there's player power. That's the game that we're in now, whether you like it or not, but players have to take responsibility. When a captain comes out and criticises the manager, it puts more pressure on the football club. You can't be coming out and saying that against your manager, dropping him and his staff in it when you've have had a really poor game and season. 

Bruno was player of the year last year. We haven't seen any of that quality from him this season. It's all right him coming out and criticising the manager but is there any chance of him playing well this season? Same goes for Martínez. 

It would have been far better for Bruno to come out and say, "We're hopeless as a team, and I, as captain, accept responsibility for that," rather than trying to blame everything on his manager, especially when he's been that poor himself. I mean, the manager took him off and he probably had the hump for that.

Man United's problems are there for all to see 

I guess you don't have to be on the inside to think and know what's going on at Manchester United. In recent years, they've been through Ralf Rangnick, Erik Ten Hag and Rúben Amorim as managers. 

Behind the scenes, there was the Dan Ashworth situation, which saw them pay Newcastle compensation for recruiting him, before Ashworth left after only a few months in the job. Then there is the poor recruitment, the arguing over ticket prices and general discord between ownership and fans. There's so much going on there that highlights the problems at the club.  

Is Antonio Conte the answer for Manchester United? I don't know but I must emphasise - United's problems are not their coach's fault. There are huge issues at the club. I've no idea how much Conte wants a job and I wonder if prospective managers would look at the state United are in, the many managers they've hired and fired, and decide it's not the right job at the right time. 

Eddie Howe has also been linked. He wants control of things but, whether he would get that at Manchester United, I don't know.

Liverpool must improve defensively 

I did the game on Tuesday at Anfield, and for 35 minutes Liverpool were as bad as I've seen them. Mistake after mistake after mistake. They found themselves 2-0 down to Villarreal, they couldn't find a pass and they were far too open. They were really, really poor. 

In every department, they improved in the second half. They were quicker to the ball, they closed people down. There were still one or two concerns defensively and it was an uncomfortable last three or four minutes because of Villarreal getting a late goal. 

They're going to have to improve defensively. They conceded three in consecutive Champions League matches. Yet they've won three out of three in the competition. So they're going all right in the league phase, but they've got a big test coming up and a few tough fixtures. 

It's Brighton next in the league for Liverpool. The way Fabian Hurzeler's team are playing, the form they're in, they will exploit Liverpool's weaknesses if the Reds play as open as they have been.

Rio Ngumoha is a phenomenal talent 

In the first half an hour against Villarreal, Rio Ngumoha was the only player in a red shirt who was performing well. He was positive. He ran with his defender on toast. Everything he did was exciting. I could hear the crowd. Every time he got the ball, there was anticipation and a demand for him to get at the full-back. He was even better in the second half. 

Some of his runs and his assist for Alexis Mac Allister was superb. It would be a shame if Andoni Iraola didn't play Ngumoha after that performance. I'd leave him in there. I think he deserves to start. 

Liverpool have got a phenomenal talent there, and I know he's only 18, but there's just something special about giving a youngster the freedom to go and play and do what he wants. I know the pressures, and I know what comes next, and the demand is that you've got to be on the pitch on a regular basis, which then becomes tough.

Newcastle have to get a result at Palace 

Newcastle need to turn their form around quick, especially with no European football. I will say this so many times this season, about many managers and clubs: Sunday's a big game for Matthias Jaissle and Newcastle. They're away to Crystal Palace, who were playing in Turkey on Thursday evening, and have been awful. Palace got battered last weekend at Brighton. So Newcastle need a result at Palace. 

At Newcastle, I'm troubled by the lack of creativity, the lack of a player who's going to get 15 goals, who's going to open the defence up, who's going to put a brilliant cross in, who's going to play that killer pass. I didn't see any of that at the weekend, and that's been a concern all season, the lack of chances we actually create. It was certainly evident on Saturday. 

Something has to change in their performance. They've had a week to prepare, so I would imagine they're working extremely hard to rectify those issues.

Harry Kane deserves to win the Ballon d'Or 

I'm presenting the top goalscorer of the year award on Monday. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm hoping for an English win as well in the big one in terms of Harry Kane who's up for the Ballon d'Or. I know the two favourites are Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane, but there's also Kylian Mbappé and maybe Rodri as well, in the running. It should be a good night. 

My only concern about Kane's chance is that, in the year of a major international tournament, traditionally the Ballon d'Or has gone to either a World Cup winner or a European Championship winner. Harry hasn't done that, whereas Yamal has.  

With the number of goals that Harry's scored this year, what he's done for Bayern and for England, he should win it. 

If Harry did win it, it would be great for English football. The last one was Michael Owen, wasn't it? So it's been such a long time, in part because of the standards of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. So many times they were going head to head and spurring each other on. It would be brilliant for the England national team if their captain won it and it'd be amazing for Harry to have that as another accolade. 

In 1996, I finished third in the Ballon d'Or and I finished top scorer in the Euros. We got to the semi-finals. Then I moved from Blackburn to Newcastle for a world record fee. 

Genuinely, no one had a clue that night who was going to win. I was really, really disappointed. I didn't go to any after party. I refused to go to the ceremony afterwards because I had that much of the hump. I was just so disappointed. So I left.

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Now read Alan Shearer's predicitons for every Premier League match this weekend

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