United and Carrick hope to keep the momentum

Michael Carrick starts his first full season in charge as manager of Manchester United. At the outset the pressure to deliver is enourmous due to the massive size and trophy laden history of the club. Perfect antidote to pressure is the assured calmness in the persona of Carrick. He was an understated presence yet technically outstanding on the pitch as a player. Addition of Steve Holland as his deputy has proven to be an inspired appointment from Jason Wilcox. United were able to take advantage over their rivals who capitulated and finished the season in 3rd place to qualify for the lucrative Champions' League this season. Direct consequence is the increase in number of matches to be played this season and transfer activity will be crucial to achieve adequate squad depth.

After having one of the best transfer windows last summer where they added Cunha, Mbeumo, Sesko and Lammens the anticipation of this summer transfer was quite high. It did not start well. Barcelona did not follow-through on the optional clause to sign Marcus Rashford despite his significant contribution of 13 goals and 10 assists that helped them win La Liga. Jadon Sancho will go down as probably United's worst ever signing - arriving at fee of £73 million pounds - his expensive contract now expired has brought the wage bill down. Injury to Manuel Ugarte in the World Cup means he will not return to action until the new year and thus cannot be moved on despite not  being in the plans of Carrick. 

At the end of last season, Napoli qualified for Champions' League that automatically triggered the €44 million buy option for Rasmus Hojlund. Fenerbahce's acquisition of Mason Greenwood earned United around €10 million due to massive 40% sell-on clause. United could not offload Altay Bayindir whom Celta Vigo agreed a loan with buy clause. Highly rated academy goalkeeper Radek Vitek was sold for initial fee of £7million raising to £14million. Toby Collyer was sold to West Brom. Fees raised from transfers so far is around €64-70 million. 

United did not bid for Elliot Anderson as City secured him for £117 million. Did agree terms with Atalanta for Ederson before the World Cup and later were not satisfied with the medical and backed-off. Instead the club signed two value for money deals in Youri Tielemans (£35 million) from Aston Villa and Andrey Santos(£50 million) from Chelsea. Karl Darlow signed on a free transfer from Leeds as a back-up keeper. Club waited for resolution of their long-term target Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid and as anticipated he got a new deal; United then moved for Carlos Baleba of Brighton with whom they had agreed personal terms last summer as per reports. United are still short of a left-back and a striker.

Pre-season consisted of tour to Scandinavian countries then Ireland and Poland. Academy graduates JJ Gabriel, Shea Lacey, both Jack and Tyler Fletcher, Harry Amass played a huge part as many first players were on holiday following the World Cup in the summer. Mason Mount had a decent run of games before getting kicked in the match against PSG. Other absentees for the opening fixture against Hull City are Matthijs de Ligt, Ugarte, Sesko, Darlow. United face Hull, Ipswich, Everton before the derby against City. Trip to Anfield on 21st Nov and to Emirates on 19th Dec. End the campaign with last three games against Leeds, Spurs, Fulham. There is a home game on 6th February to remember the people associated with the Munich Air Disaster, against Chelsea.

United add Rashford to the attack led by assist king - Bruno Fernandes; rebuild the midfield with Tielemans, Santos, probably Baleba; defence remains injury prone in Shaw, Maguire, de Ligt, Martinez. It is not a championship challenging team yet but a certain progression towards it in couple of years time. Can United maintain the results from last season? Post-Pep Guardiola era begins in Premier League and United should be the ones to stake a claim.

Spotlight on Carrick as United have Champions' League spot in their sights

It was never in doubt that Manchester United would improve their performances by playing to the team's strength following the appointment of Micheal Carrick as interim manager. Yet, nobody would have predicted that they beat both City at Old Trafford 2-0 and next beat Arsenal away 2-3 in their first two games. Then go on an unbeaten run of seven games while their direct opponents Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs have one of their worst seasons; these two factors combined to push Manchester United into top three in English Premier League table, which is in Champions' League places for next season.

Carrick reverted to 4-2-3-1. Reinstated Kobbie Mainoo into the starting XI to play alongside Casemiro. Most 20-year-old's would have capitulated when asked to play after being frozen out for half the season and then face Rodri, Silva, Foden, Rice, Zubimendi. That's the character of Mainoo. Brought back the experience of Harry Maguire in defence thus relieving the pressure on young duo Lenny Yorro and Ayden Heaven. Effective use of Benjamin Sesko has produced 9 goals mainly as a substitute. Captain Bruno Fernandes has 18 assists this season already breaking the club record of 16 held by David Beckham in 1999-2000 season and chasing the English Premier League record of 20 held by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne. Fernandes also crossed 100 assists for the club which is 4th behind Beckham (115), Wayne Rooney (127) and Ryan Giggs (247). Did suffer injuries to in-form Patrick Dorgu and Lisandro Martinez.

Defeats to Newcastle and Leeds exposed underlying truths. Limited options in midfield, no wide players to play through the wings having sold Garnacho and loaning Rashford, lack of physicality to withstand sustained pressure, no backup in fullback positions. In late January it was announced that Casemiro will leave United at the end of season, and this month the club announced extension of Harry Maguire by another two years. Although Maguire could not become the best defender in Premier League his experience over the next two years will be crucial from squad depth perspective.

United are also evaluating candidates to be their next full-time manager from next season. Carrick will enhance his chances by securing Champions' League spot by finishing in top five at the end of this season. It's the year of summer World Cup that has impacted the availability of candidates. Favourites like Carlo Ancelotti and Thomas Tuchel have extended their contracts with national teams thus ruling them out. Luis Enrique looks set to extend his contract with PSG. That's top three options gone. Julian Nagelsmann, Unai Emery, Andoni Iraola, Oliver Glasner are the others. Director of recruitment Christopher Vivell is thought to favour fellow-German Nagelsmann, who at 38 has 10 years' experience of managment already.

This period has also put focus on failings of Carrick at Boro. Critics point out that performances tailed-off after promising start that made Boro reach the play-offs and then never scale such heights again. Boro finished 4th, 8th and 10th in his final season which was summarized by Boro supporter Dana Malt as "Injuries struck again and, from January, Boro became a chore to watch. Ineffective, boring and one-dimensional. Carrick did not have the answers." Can Carrick develop new techniques and adapt as he has arguably the best number two in Premier League in Steve Holland under him and Technical Director Jason Wilcox above. Will he heed, adapt and continue to evolve as a manager?

Carrick is very good communicator and his press conferences are straight and simple, no over-explanation, not over-emotional like Amorim. He must have analysed Solskjaer's failings in final season and his own at Boro as he is methodical by nature. United need this summer transfer market to be a success just like last summer of Cunha, Mbeumo, Sesko, Lammens. That will provide the manager with options which they lack presently. United's next matches are against Chelsea, Brentford, Liverpool, Sunderland, Nottingham Forest, Brighton. United may need 10-11 points from these to ensure a spot in top five. Have clubs figured United out? Won't be easy.

Manchester United reached another FA Youth Cup final and will face City on 9th May. It's a record 16th time for United and the likes of JJ Gabriel, Chido Obi may become first team regulars in the future.

Manchester United return back to its roots

Ruben Amorim's stubborn stance to play 3-4-3 despite not having players suitable to match the system made the club finish 15th last season their worst in Premier League history and bow out of League Cup 2nd round to Grimsby Town this season. Since that defeat he has brought in ideas to tweak the system tactically, player performances improved, United beat Chelsea and Liverpool, did lose to City, Brentford, Everton, and did drew 3 games before playing Newcastle. But still team was setup as 3-4-3. Both Amorim and club maintained that no player transfer would be possible in January. Then Antoine Semenyo became available. Club pursued this as a market opportunity as he was considered as a long-term target.

Initial talks revealed Semenyo's fear of being asked to play defensively as wing-back and not as an attacking winger. To show tactical flexibility to adapt in case Semenyo joins United, in their next game against Newcastle they played 4-4-2 and won 1-0 with great first half performance. Semenyo chose to join City and not United. In the next two matches United reverted to 3-4-3 and drew both with underwhelming performances due to missing key players like Mbeumo, Amad, Mazzraoui who were playing in AFCON. In the press conference before the Leeds game Amorim took aim at Director of Football Jason Wilcox "I just want to say that I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach. Every department - the scouting department, the sport director - needs to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months, and then we move on."

After the draw to Leeds he reasserted his stance of being Manager and not Head Coach which was completely inaccurate based on official press release of his appointment on 1st November, 2024. On 5th January, Amorim was relieved of his duties. Board had not lined up a replacement so asked Darren Fletcher to manage games against Burnley (drew 2-2) and Brighton (lost 1-2 in FA Cup 3rd round). Out of both Cup competitions in the first hurdle means United will only play 40 games this season! Fewest games since 1981-82 when they finished 3rd in the league under Ron Atkinson. It was then decided to appoint an interim manager till the end of the season as most big names like Ancelotti, Tuchel, Nagelsmann were occupied with respective National teams for the summer World Cup. United asked three ex-players Solskjaer, van Nistelrooy and Carrick to meet. Club chose to appoint Michael Carrick.

Club statement reads "Manchester United is delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Carrick as head coach of the men’s first team until the end of the 2025/26 season." It does not mention the word 'interim' anywhere. Wilcox can be credited for securing the services of experienced deputy to Gareth Southgate with England and eight successful years at Chelsea, in Steve Holland. Carrick and Holland's first game was the local Manchester derby. They balanced the inherent flaw of a weak midfield by switching to 4-2-3-1. Started Harry Maguire and Kobbie Mainoo, both coming back from injury. Academy graduate Mainoo who was ignored by Amorim, partnered Casemiro in midfield and provided good cover to the veteran. In form Dorgu played as a winger and scored, while Cunha came off the bench to provide an assist. United beat City 2-0 at Old Trafford and majority of 76,000 fans were ecstatic.

Michael Carrick replaced Roy Keane in the heart of United midfield and it can be argued he was considered more technical. United fans rate 2008 Champions' League team higher than 1999 team. Nothing will ever surpass the 1968 triumphant team that defines what the club stands for. 1968 then 2008 then 1999. 464 games played and 11 major trophies. Carrick started his journey as a coach under Jose Mourinho and continued under Solskjaer then became caretaker for 3 games. He then managed Middlesbrough and took them to play-offs. Formed a strong bond with his deputy there in Jonathan Woodgate. Carrick's grounded nature shone through as he directly spoke of "my focus is now on helping the players to reach the standards that we expect at this incredible club, which we know that this group is more than capable of producing."

Fans compare Carrick to Arteta, both gifted midfielders and about the same age. Carrick has played under Sir Alex Ferguson while Arteta has played under Arsene Wenger. Carrick got his initiation into coaching under Jose Mourinho albeit for a short time, while Arteta under Pep Guardiola. For the next game against Arsenal, Arteta clearly has had more time to create a formidable XI to challenge for league title and start as favourites. Carrick is methodical by nature, was a legendary player, cut his teeth in the tough Championship, got the backing of Wilcox who has created a strong backroom staff to help him succeed at Manchester United. For sure there will be tough times but the managerial position is Carrick's to lose. Fans happy to see the club return to its roots.

Club could have done more to help Amorim

Ruben Amorim becomes the first Manchester United manager to win his 50th game in charge since Sir Alex Ferguson after they beat Sunderland 2-0 at Old Trafford. Stats of Amorim on number of wins is the lowest since 1945 reflecting the relegation form that team has endured 11 months into his reign. Much of the talk centred around the 3-4-3 'system' favoured by the Portuguese which required box-to-box midfielders with wing-backs being able to deliver quality assists alongside defensive duties and centre-half's able to play a high-line. Despite having a decent summer transfer window in which they acquired Cunha, Mbeumo, Sesko, Lammens; it's not enough given the change of system from Erik ten Hag to Amorim.

United missed an easy and obvious possibility to sign captain Bruno Fernandes's companion in Portuguese National team Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich. Agreed he is 30 but would have fulfilled the main criteria of summer window i.e., Premier League proven player. United did not exercise "loan with an option to buy" type of transfer. Tottenham were clever to see the need for Bayern to offload the player. Amorim's preference is thought to have been his old club Sporting's Danish international Morten Hjulmand. Amorim preferred playing Manuel Ugarte for the Lion's over Palhinha might have raised an obvious alarm to not press ahead with this option.

Fans are still waiting for United to sign one of hottest prospects as outlined by the Athletic's Thom Harris in his piece 'Under-the-radar transfers'. No surprise in guessing which two Premier League clubs made the list: Brighton's Olivier Boscagli and Bournemouth's Adrien Truffert. The two B's have an excellent data-driven scouting and recruitment team. United did sign 18-year old left-back Diego Leon from Paraguay in January but is not ready made like Chido Obi and Heaven though neither of them have played in the Premier League this season. Could Hayden Hackney acquisition put United in the list? Probably.

As outlined previously Sir Alex Ferguson concentrated on the spine of the team first rather than just one area. United missed capitalizing on selling Harry Maguire as he and Matthijs de Ligt are of the same profile while the Dutchman is 6-years younger with experience of playing for big clubs like Juventus and Bayern. Once Bruno Fernandes confirmed his intention to stay, Maguire became expendable. United acquired Maguire for world record fee of £80million but could not recoup that in terms of Maguire becoming the best centre-back in the Premier League given Virgil van Dijk went for similar fee and is seen as an contemporary. Transfer fee would have been less but the wage-bill would have come down significantly.

Too many number #10's. Bruno Fernandes's most favoured position is behind the striker. Mason Mount, Joshua Zirkzee also like to play there naturally and are both gifted with awareness of what's around them. Amad has played there but likes to cut-in from right so often deployed as a winger or wing-back. That's four of existing XI then United add Cunha and Mbeumo! For the 3-4-3 system Zirkzee is clearly expendable. Andre Onana was in poor form at United and a new, experienced keeper was needed. With no midfield and poor defence all focus shifts to the goalkeeper unfortunately. Argentine World Cup winner Emi Martinez was sought for season-long loan which Aston Villa rejected.

United were wise to confirm the 'bomb squad' who wanted to move out: Rashford, Sancho, Garnacho, Anthony; isolate them by not being part of first team setup and ultimately achieved the objective. In addition, they needed to identify players who did not fit Amorim's system, try to move them out thereby helping the team get more balance. Communication should have been clear around Maguire, Zirkzee, Onana and they have been thorough professionals who just could not be accommodated. £60 million raised could have been used to bid for Adam Wharton or Elliot Anderson, as next year their value will surely double. Without a strong midfield, United squad is still heavily imbalanced despite the summer incomings and disposal of 'bomb squad'.

10 points from 7 games but with negative goal difference of 2 puts United in 10th place. Games against Man City and Brentford were devastating morale-wise coming after that horrific loss to Grimsby in League Cup rightly putting Ruben Amorim under immense pressure. Victory against promoted teams Burnley and Sunderland, and against Chelsea has given Amorim another opportunity till the next break to earn back-to-back victory which has been elusive in his reign. Liverpool, Brighton, Forest and Spurs await United next. Anfield visit has always been the litmus test and the most unlikely destination for back-to-back wins. Amorim's tenure needs results to keep going. Senne Lammens debuted with a clean-sheet was a welcome reprieve for fans wanting to desperately cheer for something and it was made even more memorable by singing "Are you Schmeichel in disguise?" in Old Trafford. Can Lammens thwart Liverpool at Anfield? Believe.