Michael Carrick’s INSANE 3-2-5 Turns Man United Into Title Winners (FM26 Tactic)

15/01/2026 Edit this post

Carrick’s 3-2-5 positional play and counter-pressing system recreated for Football Manager 2026

Michael Carrick’s INSANE 3-2-5 Turns Man United Into Title Winners (FM26 Tactic)

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The will-it-be-won’t-it-be saga has come to an end, and it is Michael Carrick who takes the reins at Manchester United until the end of the season on an interim basis, replacing the recently dismissed Rúben Amorim, and his temporary predecessor, Darren Fletcher, at the helm.

The United job isn’t Michael Carrick’s first rodeo, having previously took over on a temporary interim basis in 2021, winning two of the three games he was in charge for having stepped in for the dismissed Ole Gunnar Solskjær;

Following his United success, Carrick joined Middlesbrough during the 22/23 season, with the club languishing down in the relegation zone, and turned the club’s fortunes around, overseeing an immaculate run of form which culminated in an unlikely push for the Championship Play-Offs.

Despite being relieved of his duties in the summer just gone, Michael Carrick built himself a managerial reputation as one of the best, young coaches in the game.

Manchester United will be hoping he can emulate such short-term success as both his first stint and his first few months at Middlesbrough, with the club gunning for a return to the UEFA Champions League.

But what brought him so much success at Middlesbrough, and how could he replicate that at United? Let’s break it down…

3-2-5 and an Emphasis on Positional Play

Michael Carrick, in his playing days, was a metronomic midfielder who would often look to dictate the tempo of his team’s game - of course, it comes as no surprise that his in-possession philosophy is centred around this very idea.

To enact the control he desires, Michael Carrick instructs his side to form a familiar 3-2-5 shape; from here, at Middlesbrough, the left-back would move higher and wider on the left-side, allowing the left-winger to invert into a ‘left 10’ position, akin to that of a classic 3-4-3 formation.

In accordance, the right-back would sit narrower and deeper to form the side’s back-three in-possession, whilst the side’s right-winger would hold the team’s width on that side.

In the end, his team would often look like this:

From here, Carrick’s side were often flexible in their rotations - however, no matter the rotation, the 3-2-5 in-possession shape largely remained, although, remnants of a 3-4-3/3-3-4 shape could be found at times.

The 3-2 created a reliable base for Middlesbrough to build upon, along with a solid rest defence structure, whilst the front five could overload an opposition back-four.

Freedom to Attack

Whilst Carrick desired more control in his in-possession exploits, he wasn’t against his team being more direct and scintillating to attack and punish the opposition.

In his time at the club, Carrick’s Middlesbrough were always in the top 7 for statistics such as ‘xG (Expected Goals)’, ‘Shots from Fast-Breaks (counter-attacks)’, and ‘Big Chances’ - often being the best team in the league for these metrics.

This flexibility made his Boro side one of the most exciting and dangerous sides in all of England.

Let’s Break Down the Tactic - Boro Recreation

In Possession:

From build-up, Carrick’s Boro were largely adaptable to the situation, and could situationally choose whether to go long and fight for the second ball or adopt a more controlled, choreographed build-up strategy.

Once they had progressed from build-up, Boro would move into their 3-2-5 in-possession structure and would begin working to force the opposition deeper, as Carrick wanted his team to dominate territory - a facet of their game, as a result, was frequent balls in-behind the opposition defence to ask questions of the often-flat-footed backline;

Another factor of their game was working angles to release the left-back in-behind on the overlap.

Once they reached the final third, Carrick’s side were very patient in their attacking exploits, opting against long-distance efforts in favour of working the ball into the box and/or into prime ‘cut-back’ situations.

Out of Possession:

When Carrick’s Boro would lose possession, they would instantly counter-press in an attempt to quickly regain the ball.

If unsuccessful, Carrick instructed his side to drop into a compact, aggressive mid-block, wherefrom they would try and force the opposition into wide areas.

Player Roles

Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper:

The ‘keeper’s role, in this system, was rather situational; if the opposition were reluctant pressers, he could become more involved in build-up.

However, conversely, if the opposition were more aggressive, he’d regularly go long.

In any case, the ‘keeper was largely a secondary passing option in-possession.

When Boro didn’t have the ball, the ‘keeper would be called upon to sweep loose balls in-behind Boro’s defence and claim squandered crosses into the box.

Inside Full-Back | Full-Back:

As previously mentioned, when Boro had the ball for sustained periods, the right-back would move inside and would sit deeper to form the side’s back-three in-possession.

From here, however, the right-back could move slightly wider and, situationally, get further forward to overlap the right-winger and reach the byline themselves.

Centre-Back | Centre-Back:

The role of the right-sided centre-back, in this system, was very simple: Retain and recycle possession, whilst primarily focusing on their defensive duties.

Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Centre-Back:

On the other side, the left-sided centre-back was a lot more adventurous in-possession, often breaking the lines to find an advanced team-mate or sourcing the overlapping left-back’s run in-behind.

Wing-Back | Full-Back:

Whilst on paper the left-back’s role was relatively simple to grasp, there were slight intricacies in their role that would determine their positioning at different times.

At times, the left-back would remain in a classic ‘full-back’ position, before moving slightly higher into a ‘wing-back’ position, just ahead of the backline and just below the frontline, before finally moving into a ‘winger’ position and providing constant overlapping runs.

When he would receive the ball, the left-back had the responsibility in taking his man on 1v1, before aggressively trying to reach the byline.

Defensive Midfielder | Defensive Midfielder:

Of the two midfielders in Boro’s double-pivot, the right-sided double pivot was almost always the more reserved midfielder - simply focusing on retaining and recycling possession form an omnipresent, deep position.

Deep-Lying Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder:

On the other hand, Hayden Hackney is a marvellous metronome of a midfielder - comfortable in receiving under pressure, before progressing play though incisive, line-breaking passes or marauding, dominating carries: Hackney was at the heart of everything good Boro conjured up under Carrick.

Attacking Midfielder | Centre Forward:

Fin Azaz was exceptional for Boro under Michael Carrick, quickly becoming, undoubtedly, the side’s greatest attacking threat.

From this position, due to the left winger’s inverting, Azaz would naturally drift towards the right-side, linking up wonderfully with Ben Gannon Doak.

From here, he could often drift from his position and, upon receiving the ball, he could allow the situation to dictate his next move - in any case, he had the fantastic quality to perform most advanced creativity in the final third.

When Boro didn’t have the ball, Azaz would move higher, alongside the striker, to form the front two in the side’s 4-4-2 out-of-possession set-up.

img 9 Attacking Midfielder Centre Forward

Winger | Wide Midfielder:

As the team’s right-back would primarily sit narrower, the responsibility of hugging the touchline on the right-side was delegated to the right-winger.

From here, the right-winger, Doak in 24/25, would always look to take on his man 1v1, before either cutting inside or reaching the byline to supply a cut-back for team-mates in the box.

Inside Winger | Wide Midfielder:

On the left-side, as the left-back moves higher and wider to hold the width, the left-winger was instructed to invert into a ‘left 10’ position, helping to form the side’s front five that would occupy all five vertical corridors.

From here, like Azaz in the classic ‘10’ position, the left-winger was given licence to drift and roam from his position, with the aim of eventually feeding teammates, either directly or indirectly.

Centre Forward | Centre Forward:

The striker, in this system, was very autonomous, as he could, situationally, choose between dropping off from the front line or pinning the opposition’s backline deeper.

As such, he was also allowed to roam and drift.