Van Gaal tipped Giggs to be his successor, Neville landed the Lionesses job and Carrick has shown promise in the Championship… so what awaits Phil Jones as he begins his coaching badges at Man United?
- Phil Jones has started taking his coaching badges at Manchester United
- Giggs, Carrick and Butt all began their coaching careers at Old Trafford
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Phil Jones has joined a list of illustrious former Manchester United players by taking his coaches badges at Old Trafford.
The former England international revealed earlier this week he’d enrolled on a PFA global football sport directorship course and confirmed he was currently doing his coaching badges – including work with his former club.
Jones left United upon the expiry of his contract earlier this summer after 12 years with the club and has since been back at Carrington to watch training sessions involving United youth teams.
The 31-year-old follows in the footsteps of a long list of ex-United players, including Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick, who began their coaching careers at Old Trafford.
Here, Mail Sport looks at how they have fared.
Phil Jones is currently doing his coaches badges at Manchester United after leaving the club
Jones was spotted watching United youth teams in action over the summer
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Ryan Giggs
One of the several players to take his coaching badges while still playing for United, Giggs joined David Moyes’ staff as a player-coach in the summer of 2013 after the Scot succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson.
When Moyes’ ill-fated spell at Old Trafford ended nine months later, the former Welsh captain took over as interim manager for the remaining four matches of the season and was subsequently named Louis van Gaal’s assistant following his appointment.
Van Gaal suggested that Giggs, who made a record 963 appearances over 23 years at United, could even replace him as permanent manager.
Ed Woodward, however, had other ideas and unceremoniously defenestrated the Dutchman to appoint Jose Mourinho in the summer of 2016.
Giggs left United a month later and eventually took the Wales job in 2018, before being replaced by Rob Page in an interim capacity following his assault charges two years later.
The charges were eventually dropped but Giggs is yet to return to coaching.
Ryan Giggs (left) served as Louis van Gaal’s assistant and was tipped by the Dutchman (right) to eventually succeed him in the dugout at Old Trafford
Phil Neville
Neville completed his coaching badges shortly after retiring and was part of Stuart Pearce’s staff at the Euro Under-21s in 2013, before joining Moyes at Old Trafford.
Unlike his former manager, Neville saw out the season at United and in July 2015 he joined Valencia as assistant to Nuno Espirito Santo.
He was joined at the Mestalla by his brother Gary three months later, but left soon after the latter was dismissed following a dismal run of three wins in 16 LaLiga games.
The former United left-back landed on his feet and was named England women’s coach in January 2018, despite concerns over his lack of experience at the top level.
Neville led the Lionesses to the 2019 World Cup semi-finals, before stepping down two years later to take over at Inter Miami, owned by fellow Class of ’92 member David Beckham.
But after winning just 39 per cent of his 90 games in charge, Neville was dismissed in June with the club bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference and just missed out on Lionel Messi’s arrival.
Just over a week later, Neville returned to management as he took over as Canada coach.
Phil Neville (right) joined David Moyes’s coaching staff at Old Trafford after the Scot (left) replaced Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2013
Nicky Butt
Like his former teammates Giggs and Neville, Butt took his first coaching steps at United after completing his coaching badges.
The former England midfielder, who made 386 appearances for United, returned to Old Trafford in 2012 as assistant to reserve boss Warren Joyce.
He was put in charge of the academy four years later, when he also took charge of the reserve side on an interim basis after Joyce took over as Wigan manager.
Butt served as Giggs’ assistant during the latter’s four-game stint at interim manager and was named head of first-team development under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2019, but left the club two years later.
Nicky Butt spent nine seasons with United’s academy in various coaching roles
Quinton Fortune
Having left United after seven seasons in 2006, Fortune returned to Old Trafford to start his coaching badges six years later while training with the reserves team.
After a spell as assistant at Cardiff City’s Under-21 side, Fortune joined the coaching staff of United’s Under-23 team and then took up a post as first team coach at Reading in 2020.
A year later, he completed his UEFA pro-licence course and subsequently joined the England Elite Coach Programme to support England’s youth teams.
Quinton Fortune (right) joined the coaching staff with United’s Under-23 team in 2019
Michael Carrick
Carrick swapped the pitch for the dugout at the end of the 2017-18 season, hanging up his boots to join Jose Mourinho’s backroom staff as he began to take his coaching badges.
He retained his role after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed as interim manager following the Portuguese’s dismissal in December 2018 and then replaced Solskjaer himself when his former teammate was sacked two years later.
United won seven points in three games under Carrick, before he stepped down following Ralf Rangnick’s arrival at Old Trafford.
Appointed by Middlesbrough in October last year, the five-time Premier League winner had an immediate impact as he took Boro from 21st in the Championship to the play-off semi-final.
But Carrick’s second season on Teesside has proved much more difficult, with promotion favourites Boro third from bottom with just five points in eight matches.
Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick began his coaching career at Old Trafford
Darren Fletcher
Fletcher played 342 matches for United and returned to Old Trafford in 2020 to begin his coaching badges.
The former Scotland international started off by helping to coach the Under-16s and was then promoted to first team coach a year later, before being named United’s technical director.
Despite swapping the training pitch for an executive role, the 39-year-old is still regularly spotted in training sessions.
Darren Fletcher (right) coached United’s Under-16 side before being named technical director
Patrice Evra
The former United left-back returned to Old Trafford in 2019 to gain his coaching badges and helped coach the Under-18 side.
The experience paid off as the Frenchman, who won 10 major trophies during his spell in Manchester, earned his UEFA B and A licences two years later after working with the Danish FA.
Unlike some of his former teammates, however, Evra is yet to take the plunge at managerial level.
Patrice Evra spent eight years at United and returned to the club in 2019 to gain his coaching badges and helped coaching the Under-18 side
Nemanja Matic
Matic began taking his coaching badges while still at United and completed his UEFA B licence – the first step on the ladder of professional football management – in the summer of 2021.
‘I’ve decided, after football, to be a coach, so I’ve finished my first step, which is my B licence. I’m looking forward to my A licence next year,’ he told United’s website at the time.
‘The next step is the A licence. I want to finish that while I still play football. Then the Pro Licence, you need to finish your career.’
The Serb has temporarily put off any ambitions of entering the world of management, as he signed for Rennes in the summer after a season with Roma.
Nemanja Matic began taking his coaching badges while still at United in the summer of 2021
Juan Mata
Like Matic, Mata started his coaching badges while still at Old Trafford in the summer of 2021 along with a management course.
‘It’s nice to do things in your time off, when you become over 30 it’s important for football players to start thinking about what to do next,’ he told United’s website.
‘Of course, I want to play for as long as I can because there’s nothing better than playing football but you have to start to be ready and do something.’
In March of last year, The Sun reported the Spaniard could have been offered a coaching role at Old Trafford if he had decided to call time on his playing career at the end of that season.
But Mata left United for Galatasaray a few months later and signed for Vissel Kobe this summer, suggesting a managerial debut may have to wait a while longer yet.
Like Matic, Juan Mata also started his coaching badges while still at Old Trafford
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