It's no secret at this point that interim coach and ex-legend Michael Carrick is the best manager in the world.
If anyone says otherwise, they don't know ball.
Thought I'd start off with a bit of a joke 🤣.
You can tell I'm in a good mood. This is exactly what a great win like that can do 🙌.
However, after beating the two best managers in the division in Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta and two best teams in the Premier League, City and Arsenal (back-to-back), after having already beaten Unai Emery and drawing to Thomas Tuchel in his first stint, it's hard to argue against the fact that Carrick might actually be the best in the business.
Of course, he's not, nor is he at the level of those coaches (yet 🤞) but to have defeated such managers so early on in his managerial career, it will do the ex-midfielder no harm in his career on the touchline.
And it's because of this that we ask the question of is he a realistic candidate for the permanent United manager position?
Before we get into it, I did a post discussing who would be my top 3 picks for the next boss as well as who I believe would be perfect for United. Interesting read 👀.
I also want to look at what boxes Carrick will need to tick in order for me and others (ahem, Roy Keane 😅) to consider him as the man we should go for.
It's not as simple as just beating Pep and Arteta.
Style of Play
The results were impressive. They were both warranted. United absolutely deserved to beat City and Arsenal and in the case of the Derby, were unlucky to not have scored more than 2.
However, when you dial it down, it really was all defend-and-counter. United averaged 38% possession in those two matches which is much too less for a side that wants to be winning titles in the next couple of years.
Carrick's side were defensively solid while also holding their own against seemingly superior midfields. The likes of the out-of-sorts under Ruben Amorim Kobbie Mainoo (who covered the most ground out of any player in both these games) and the soon-to-be departing Casemiro, put on stellar displays showcasing that they might be able to do a job for the remainder of the season.
*Side note. According to reports, United are unlikely to do any business in the last few days of the window. Casemiro and Mainoo (and everyone else) will need to be on top of their game for the last four months of the campaign if we are to achieve our goal of Champions League qualification.
Going forward, United were already improved under Amorim as we topped the charts for expected goals, shots, hitting the woodwork and several other aspects in terms of attacking play. We even improved at set-pieces as after Arsenal, United are one of the league's best.
Of course it was great to see some goals - a couple crackers at the too - and beat both City and Arsenal, but that style of play won't cut the mustard for too long at Old Trafford. It can do a job in these more difficult games or ones where we won't have much of the ball but when we play say Fulham at home (like we do on Sunday), we will need to see something more.
This is considered the true test of Carrick and this team's metal as United have the tendency to perform against the bigger sides while stumbling against the lesser teams. Everton, West Ham, Wolves, Bournemouth, Burnley saw United falter as they picked up just 4 points out of a possible 15.
Some say that had we had won those matches, paired with the low quality of the league, there was a chance of United being in a title race 😳!
And a part of me agrees with that.
Unfortunately, that isn't the reality as we too, can be shite.
Should Carrick set his team up in a more positive manner and look to play some front-foot attacking football with a lot of possession in Sunday's game against Marco Silva's side, then perhaps we might actually be turning a corner? Yet even still, we've been down this road before. Many times.
However, this will still give us a chance to see whether United have turned the tide or if it's more of the same.
Consistency in terms of performances and results will determine whether he can stay here on a permanent basis as well. Should he achieve UCL qualification too, that will help Carrick even more.
Understanding of the Culture
Whether it be the 'United way' or just giving youngsters a chance, understanding who Manchester United are as a football club is a key aspect any manager needs to have regardless of whether they be an interim or manager who's won the lot.
Ruben Amorim didn't get the memo when it came to United's motto: Youth. Courage. Success.
He gave the academy very little opportunities in the first team and was one of the major issues with him as manager. Playing the youth is exactly what United is all about.
Apparently he hardly went to any academy matches either. Reports suggest that in almost two weeks, Carrick has attended more academy games in the flesh than Amorim did in 14 months. The interim was spotted at another U21s fixture yesterday despite the first team having the day off after beating Arsenal at The Emirates.
This is so important and something I couldn't understand as to why Amorim neglected as the academy is the most vital part of our football club. It is prominent in our history. It's what makes Manchester United, Manchester United.
There were times when the former manager could've used the youth to help him out as well. When we had injuries and absentees, there were ample chances to give them a run. Even then, he was reluctant to do so.
I suppose his treatment of the younger players in general was questionable as he side lined Mainoo almost all the time, regularly dropped Leny Yoro and had some harsh public words about Dorgu. These aren't things that you want to see from a manager when it comes to young players.
I didn't like that.
More than this, his style of play was boring and we didn't win much.
United is about playing entertaining, attacking football which he didn't do. Carrick, as mentioned, has played entertaining football (to an extent) although like with Amorim and so many previous managers, it will come down to how he performs against the lesser teams.
Keeping the Squad Happy
I think in the main, the previous boss did keep everyone relatively content. However, we knew from their limited game time that the likes of Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee weren't seeing eye-to-eye with the Portuguese.
With Carrick though, I think everyone is grinning from ear-to-ear. He does understand the club a lot better, he's a calming presence that a lot of people prefer over Amorim's more emotional and intense approach, he probably has more respect from everyone given all that he achieved at United as a player, and he's brought good vibes back with the results we've had in the last two matches.
Even training appears to be of benefit to the players as while it is said to be more intense, they are shortened sessions which is helping the squad.
Carrick knows some in the side as well considering he was interim for three games four years ago. Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot will all be familiar with his game, and he with theirs. They will also be able to tell him more about the rest of the squad which will help the interim.
The formation and style is one that these players prefer. Again, it isn't anything special but to get the best out of them, we know we need to play this counter-attacking game.
Carrick has kept things simple in terms of his formation, team selections, player positioning and even substitutions. Amorim had the knack of subbing off attackers for defenders when we were chasing games.
That didn't go down well. At all.
The interim does the opposite which definitely aided him on Sunday.
Keeping the Fan Onside
This goes hand-in-hand with the previous point.
The supporters can be the harshest but truest critic. The lifeblood of any football club, the fans will tell you all you need to know about whether things are heading in the right direction or not.
I want to see attacking, entertaining football. I want to know that these players will show up every week (although I don't think that this depends on the manager given what we've seen over the years), and more than anything, I want to win.
We've dropped too many points in games where we should've comfortably won only to be left thinking what might have been.
The same energy that we saw in the Derby and at Arsenal needs to be there every single game and while it's no guarantee with these players, there's more of a chance that they'll do so in a happier environment and for a manager who seems to get it more than the previous one.
Happy players = better football = more chances of winning = happier fans.
And for Carrick, a great chance of becoming the permanent boss.
Other things such as not having favourites, being authoritative when necessary, speaking well in press conferences (something Carrick's already done) and above all, and this is something I admired about Amorim, Carrick sticking to his principles.
Even as an interim, you need to have your own ideals and try to implement them, which is again, easier said than done with a group of players that you can't fully trust.
On the other hand, some of the biggest obstacles that Carrick will face is that United have been here before. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with Carrick at his side, began as an interim who brought good vibes back, implemented a style that everyone enjoyed, won a lot of matches, and gave us hope that maybe this was the turning point.
Once Ole signed da ting though, we all know what happened.
With that unsuccessful spell of a former legend-turned-interim, the club may think otherwise about handing Carrick the full-time job.
The manager market is also another factor to consider as the amount of top coaches available in the summer is insane. It is an opportunity that cannot be missed and will show that United are a serious club should they bag one of the bigger names.
With all this being said, I still wouldn't give Carrick the job regardless of what he does.
I think there's too many things that go against him: he's inexperienced, hasn't won anything, the manager market holds ridiculous amounts of quality, and as he isn't a high stature of manager, I do believe the players will take advantage of that, and perhaps so will the club.
We know nowadays that football hierarchies prefer Head Coaches rather than full-on managers as they can control them a lot more. This is what led to the dismissal of Amorim as it was his fallout with Director of Football Jason Wilcox which saw him given his marching orders.
Carrick has to be careful of that should he takeover full-time.
I also feel that the manager of United needs to have some aura about them. Since Jose Mourinho, none of Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag, Ruben Amorim and all the interims and caretakers in-between, really gave me the fizz whenever I saw them on the touchline. Carrick doesn't tickle my fancy either.
I think it's about time we had someone like that in the dugout.
But what do you think? Would you give Carrick the job if he continues to impress for the rest of the campaign? Or would you still be looking for someone else regardless of what he does as interim?
Michael Carrick is a potential candidate to become the next Man Utd manager | Michael Carrick: Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)