Michael Carrick spent the first five months of the 2025\/2026 season waiting for a Championship club to take a punt on him after being sacked by Middlesbrough last summer. He could end it as the Premier League manager of the season having signed a permanent contract at Manchester United.<\/p>\n
As the reprobate proprietors of Paddy\u2019s Pub might ask: \u2018What is happening?!\u2019<\/p>\n
Carrick looks set to be offered a new deal at Old Trafford<\/a><\/strong> after winning ten of his 15 games in interim charge having replaced Ruben Amorim at the helm in January. He\u2019s lifted United from seventh to third, comfortably securing Champions League qualification and has dramatically lifted the mood at the club. No one can deny he\u2019s done a good job.<\/p>\n But what we can and absolutely do contend with is this widely-held assertion that he\u2019s given Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS no option but to hand him a new long-term deal.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a huge job that\u2019s never been easier as he a) had no European or cup football to play, b) was following the worst Man Utd manager in living memory, and c) had no European or cup football to play.<\/p>\n He\u2019s put generational talent Kobbie Mainoo back into the team, played the best No.10 in the Premier League as his No.10 and reminded other very good footballers that they\u2019re good at football.<\/p>\n Alarm bells that should have been ringing throughout a run that has seen United routinely fail to dominate games under his stewardship and rely on an entirely unsustainable xG over-performance of +6.94 \u2013 the highest in the Premier League \u2013 should be blaring upon Casemiro revealing that the \u201cbest thing\u201d about Carrick is that he \u201cknows about the club\u201d<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Not his tactics or even his character, but the fact that he played for Manchester United. They might as well put Patrice Evra in charge.<\/p>\n Carrick is essentially about to be given the Manchester United job having not done it before, such is the scant resemblance between his task next term and what he\u2019s done in the second half of this season.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve played 15 games in 121 days. Arsenal have played 29 games in that time. No Premier League side has played fewer. He\u2019s the easy choice, but only a fool would insist he\u2019s the right one.<\/p>\n