Having come through Manchester United’s academy, Darren Fletcher understands the impact of seeing the man responsible for picking the senior side in the stands at youth games.
“Players love it when the first-team manager is there,” says Fletcher. “It gives you an extra incentive. It shows that he cares, he’s got eyes on it. It’s easy to say these things but you have to live it and that’s what Michael’s doing.”
The Michael in question is, of course, Carrick. He has shown commitment to United’s youth sides throughout his spell as interim head coach, attending matches at Old Trafford, Leigh Sports Village, and even making a midweek trip to Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium, a three-hour drive away.
Last Friday night, as his senior squad travelled up to Sunderland for their Premier League game the following day, Carrick, assistant Steve Holland and coach Travis Binnion took their seats at Joie Stadium for the under-21s’ 4-3 win in their Premier League 2 play-off against Manchester City. Carrick is expected to be back at the ground for United’s FA Youth Cup final against City on Thursday night.
For Fletcher, who has led United’s under-18s to this stage, that connection is significant and meaningful.
He says: “Fundamentally, it’s getting out there and when people see that — when they see Travis and Michael at the game — it inspires the players. It shows them that this is a club thinking about young players, not just saying it. That’s throughout the history of the club: when you see that in action, it brings it to life. I think the parents like it. It’s so powerful and Michael realises that.
“They’re so invested in every part of the club because they know it and they want it all to be successful. Of course, the first team is the most important, but everyone likes to see players thriving, staff thriving. We’re all trying to push and help each other and make the club a better place.”
Darren Fletcher took charge of Manchester United’s first team for two matches in January (Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
It may sound rather simple but since Sir Alex Ferguson’s template, United’s managers have sometimes struggled to find time to make their presence felt, certainly as much as Carrick has. Ruben Amorim watched one half of an academy match at Carrington but was, perhaps understandably, focused on fighting fires at senior level.
Meanwhile, City’s decision to host the Youth Cup final at their 7,000-capacity academy stadium — rather than their first-team stadium, in a break from competition custom — has provoked anger and upset within United, and even some disgruntlement from the blue half. City decided they could not make the Etihad Stadium work and rejected United’s offer to use Old Trafford. The match will be shown on TNT Sports 1 in the United Kingdom and ESPN Select in the United States.
“We tried, because we really wanted a big stadium,” says Fletcher. “Old Trafford would have been an amazing occasion for the players, for everyone. We’re disappointed, because part of this competition is about playing in these big venues. It’s got special history. Players who have won it still talk about it to this day, even if they’ve gone on and won Premier Leagues. They talk about how amazing it was to win with their youth team and their friends.
“We’re disappointed for everyone — disappointed for the Man City players, for our players, for the fans, for the coaches on both sides — but we move on from it and we take on the challenge of playing in the academy stadium.”
While the final traditionally gives the players a taste of grandeur, Fletcher is regularly at pains to ground these teenagers, who could have gilded futures.
“It’s the other things that people don’t see,” he explains. “They’ve all got jobs to do every day. Keeping on top of that is like constantly nagging your kids at home to tidy their room. That’s part of their education as well, and good fundamentals.” Fletcher is speaking from experience as the father of 19-year-old twins Jack and Tyler, who have been around the United first team this season. He also has twin girls born in 2022.
He tries to instil a sense of old-school guidance at work, even if times have changed from when youth players cleaned the boots of their seniors.
“They still have jobs,” Fletcher says. “Like bringing out the balls and then the equipment back in. They are all on a rota.
“Everyone brings something off the bus, even the coaches. It’s not a job to punish them. It’s just that we’re all in it together as a team and we make sure everything’s tidy. The best way to do that is to have them in groups where they’re responsible for each part. Make sure the meeting room chairs are out, filling up water bottles. It’s small, mundane things but they add up. All the jobs they do are for their group, so that’s why it works.”
Fletcher’s methods seem to be having an effect. Last summer, he took the bold step of leaving Amorim’s first-team staff to begin his own managerial career by taking charge of United’s under-18s. His sons had progressed beyond that age group, so he could avoid any conflicts of interest, and he has since harnessed a talented group with the same vigour and determination he applied to his playing career.
Hunting for a treble of trophies this season, his team lost the Premier League Under-18 Cup final to Crystal Palace on penalties, then missed out on the North division league title by four points to City, finishing second. The FA Youth Cup is the jewel in the crown, however, and leading United to lift that for the 12th time in the club’s history — extending a record — would be remembered whatever Fletcher goes on to achieve.
“I’ve really enjoyed the season,” he says. “I’ve loved getting to know the players personally. I’ve loved developing them. I’ve loved the way we’ve played all season, and we’ve got better as the season has gone on.
“I’m amazed at how well we started in terms of buying into our ideas. To play an extreme way in terms of possession, out of possession, because that’s the best way to develop. Some of the best learning comes from losing as well. We’ve tried to approach it with real intensity every day. I’ve got a great staff.”
Fletcher elaborates on his sessions, which feature technology that established stars are used to.
“It’s first-team lite,” he explains. “We have sessions filmed on drones so you can feed it back to them. Processes for the games and training are very, very similar.
“The biggest thing with training intensity is it’s how you get better, really. If you’re talking about staying in possession of the ball and nobody is pressing you, or the intensity is not high, it’s easy. But when the intensity is high, that gets you better at pressing, it gets you better on the ball.
“So, for us to get our players quicker, stronger, more dynamic, faster, to train at the intensity of a match is imperative.
“We’re not just blasting them every day, but when the exercise is on, the timings, the pitch size will be of the condition where they can go to their maximum and get what they need for their physical development, and for their tactical and technical development.”
United have been to extra time in several matches.
“We’ve got stronger as the game goes on,” Fletcher says. “That’s a combination of things: the work the staff do to make the players fit, and there’s the game model — when you keep the ball, it’s easier to last. If you dominate possession, the other team have to run around a bit more.”
Having special players helps too, and focus has been cast, inevitably, on JJ Gabriel, who has scored 28 goals in 33 games for Fletcher’s side. On Tuesday, he was named the Under-18 Premier League’s player of the season. Gabriel became the youngest scorer in United’s FA Youth Cup history when hitting the only goal against Peterborough United in the third round at Old Trafford in December. He had turned 15 two months previously. He has trained with the first team on several occasions, under Amorim and Carrick, earning praise from team-mates for his technique, and is set to feature for United in pre-season this summer.
Fletcher, who, as a player, began attracting first-team attention aged 16, is well-placed to map a path for Gabriel, who is yet to grow into his body.
“JJ’s an amazing talent and has an enthusiasm for football that he brings to the pitch every day: to learn, to want to play and be on the ball,” says Fletcher. “He’s been a pleasure to work with. He’s a fantastic kid.
“We have to remember he’s a kid and also, he’s been part of a really good team. JJ has recognised the amount of help he’s had from team-mates to get on the ball into those positions to score goals. We’ve got a lot of good players. JJ has scored the goals, and goals always get the limelight.
“He’s bought into — as all the attacking players have — the out-of-possession stuff, the real team ethos. JJ takes constructive criticism fantastically and I’ve got a great relationship with him. He has a major future.”
Fletcher says Gabriel’s progression at the club is “something that people above me will decide,” but adds, “All our players are capable of going on pre-season, not just JJ. It’ll depend on who else is selected and what he needs for his next step.
“Getting variation in your development is really important. We want him to go up there and thrive. We need to get him in the position to do that, and even if he doesn’t, that’s not the end of the world. We always need to be careful. They need to experience that, but it’s making sure it’s at the right time, and understanding why and what the needs are.
“Once you get thrown in there, you’re judged very, very quickly, rightly or wrongly. It’s important that we do right by his development.
“JJ’s more than capable to go in, as are a lot of our young players. They all get experiences with the first team. It goes under the radar how many of our young players get tastes of the first team.”
JJ Gabriel, 15, has starred for Manchester United’s under-18s this season (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Chido Obi even made his senior debut for United’s first team under Amorim during an injury crisis. He featured eight times last season as a 17-year-old, becoming the youngest United player to start a Premier League game when he was selected in a 4-3 loss at Brentford.
Now 18, his development this campaign has continued at youth level. The striker has scored 20 goals in 36 games, mainly for the under-21s, now coached by Adam Lawrence after he took over once Binnion was promoted to the first team. He got a brace in the 4-3 win at City that was watched by Carrick last week.
Obi has also left his mark in the FA Youth Cup, scoring four goals in four games, having made himself eligible by playing for Fletcher’s side in the Under-18 Premier League in February, when he scored in a 3-1 win at City.
“The most pleasing thing about that one with Chido was (that) the under-21s game got cancelled the day before and he messaged me wanting to play (for the under-18s),” says Fletcher. “I thought it was amazing for Chido to want to play in the game, to not think the under-18s is beneath him. That shows how mature he is, which comes with age.
“His development has been great. You see him in the under-18s — off-the-ball movement, tactical understanding, improvement in all parts of the game as a striker. We know he can score but developing the other areas — his hold-up play, his linking — has been fantastic. He’s been supplying assists for his other team-mates. That shows leadership in that role. He can bring all the experiences he’s had, in the first team and under-21s, into the under-18s. He’s improved massively.”
Striker Chido Obi, centre, has continued his development with United’s youth teams after making his first-team debut last season (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Fletcher has felt undulations himself, after taking charge of United in the immediate wake of Amorim’s sacking, drawing at Burnley and losing against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup. His choices in that brief period fed into Carrick’s tenure, with Bruno Fernandes restored at No 10, linking well with Benjamin Sesko, and Patrick Dorgu positioned on the left wing.
Fletcher is in regular dialogue with the hierarchy about the young players under his stewardship.
“It’s constant communications throughout the levels. We will feed back,” he says. “Everyone can give their opinion. It depends on managers as well. Managers have different preferences and ideas.
“Sometimes there might be a focus on one area from a manager, which is fine, but we’re constantly trying to develop the players. Maybe that player goes up with the first team and they’ll notice something they think will really help them.
“We have our development plans that we change regularly. It’s important we’re not flip-flopping but when it comes to adding something, we can really target it. So they’ll have a block where they’re working on certain target areas to improve. Once we get the feedback (from the first-team coaching staff), we might add something different for the next part. It’s consistently evolving.”
The road to United’s first team can be winding. Kobbie Mainoo’s experience has shown that unexpected turns can occur, even once established. Fletcher is positive about the chances of his players, with midfielder Jim Thwaites, winger Noah Ajayi, full-back Yuel Helafu, and centre-back Albert Mills, who was also nominated for the Under-18 Premier League player of the season, among those to have caught the eye.
“Jimmy’s had a great season, moving around different positions,” Fletcher says. “We started him as a No 6 a little bit deeper, getting him on the ball. We encouraged him to improve his passing range and then he’s had a taste of going higher up the pitch to play.
“I could speak about so many of them. We’ve given people lots of games. It’s not just been putting the strongest XI out every week. It’s been about making sure people get opportunities, within the right context. Everyone’s not going to be happy with that but the players have all contributed a lot of minutes to this season.”
Mainoo, who won the FA Youth Cup in 2022, is the example.
“Kobbie’s gone in there and done it,” says Fletcher. “He’s so inspiring for our young players because he was in their position only a few years ago.”
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