Man Utd: Michael Carrick's early success against Man City and Arsenal has created a managerial dilemma at Old Trafford
Michael Carrick has got off to the dream start as head coach of Man Utd until the end of the season; But are wins against Man City and Premier League leaders Arsenal enough to justify a premature permanent appointment?
Monday 26 January 2026 14:25, UK
Manchester United fans shouldn't get carried away with Michael Carrick. But why not?
So far, Carrick has shown you don't need to "suffer" to win football matches; instead, he's proved football is a simple game.
But the dilemma now is whether he merits the permanent role, or, despite an apparent turnaround at Old Trafford, United should still bite the bullet and stick to their original plan to appoint a different permanent Ruben Amorim successor.
Some fans have made up their minds and the players are rejuvenated but Roy Keane and Gary Neville remain cautious.
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Keane says United need a manager "who you feel can get them winning league titles", while before the derby day win and the victory at league leaders Arsenal, Neville said there "cannot be any consideration" that Carrick takes the job.
However, the football United fans have been exposed to against Man City and Arsenal, the two sides at the top of the Premier League, cannot be taken for granted.
As Carrick celebrated Patrick Dorgu's zinger to make it 2-1 at Arsenal, Neville said the stand-in United boss had put his hands up like the "messiah". What United have been exposed to in just two games is what they have been waiting for and prophesied about for over a decade.
The football taught by Carrick works because, rather than treating the game like an exact science, he has allowed it to become an art of self-expression.
Players playing to their strengths with the added pinch of nostalgia has been the recipe for Carrick's early success, with the squad no longer demanded to follow an elaborate instruction manual that never really makes clear what the final product would be.
Carrick's United are direct, front-foot and have thus far been the perfect advert of "United DNA", averaging more fast breaks than any other team in the league.
Bryan Mbeumo leads the line because he's made the most runs in behind per 90 in the Premier League this season. Bruno Fernandes is back in his favoured No 10 position as he remains one of the league's most potent chance creators. Dorgu has remained as a wide player because of his consistent displays high up the pitch.
With very little time on the training pitch after taking on his team mid-season, there have been very few complaints from Carrick about his current situation. Why would there be? He's been given a free hit at Old Trafford, just as he was given one in 2021, following the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. As he did then, reinstalling fundamentals has become a stroke of genius.
In truth, it's all the makings of what United would hope to see in the first two games of any new permanent manager. Perhaps if it wasn't Carrick, perhaps if it was someone new in the dugout, there'd be a unanimous acceptance that he should be the next man in charge. Unfortunately, United have been here before.
In December 2018, a harrowing 3-1 defeat at Liverpool meant that Jose Mourinho's time at United was called to a close.
United was described as toxic as Old Trafford soured under Mourinho, who grew grumpy in the role and was losing favour amongst the playing squad. Solskjaer came in and had an opportunity to stamp his mark and did so in style.
A 5-1 victory at Cardiff set Solskjaer and United on a trail of 12 matches without defeat in the Premier League. With positivity flowing through the place, the change in style to something more akin to the glory days under Sir Alex Ferguson.
As we've seen under Carrick, there's something about a side fearless in transition that United fans love to watch.
After winning 14 of his 19 interim matches, including an incredible comeback win at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, Solskjaer was named United's permanent manager in March 2019. Solskjaer's interim efforts propelled United's top-four chances at the time.
However, after United appointed Solskjaer, everyone returned from the honeymoon and to a dose of realism that Solskjaer was an inexperienced manager whose positive energy outweighed his proficiency in the role. United quickly crashed and burned that season, winning just two of their last eight, missing out on the top four.
Throughout Solskjaer's three years in charge, a similar pattern sustained. United would go on to finish third and second under Solskjaer, but notoriously couldn't get over the line to achieve material success.
United fans look back at their time under Solskjaer, perhaps as fondly as any time since Ferguson's retirement in 2013, but there was ultimately nothing tangible gained under the manager who made United simply "feel good".
Under Solskjaer, United were a nearly team, reaching multiple semi-finals in all the cup competitions before a Europa League final in 2021 ended in a penalty shoot-out defeat to Villarreal.
David de Gea's missed penalty is viewed by many as the true sliding doors moment that led to Solskjaer's ultimate demise in the role but the reality was that United were serial losers when push came to shove.
There's an underlying resistance to repeat the same mistake with Carrick. When United opted to appoint Solskjaer permanently, the regime at the time, in the same breath, lost the chance to appoint Zinedine Zidane and Mauricio Pochettino, who at that time were the outstanding rumoured candidates.
Should United appoint Carrick permanently, they will miss out on tapping into the thriving economy of available managers to do what they have tried in the past.
There's no reason to suggest Carrick would be the same or worse than Solskjaer, but after years of experimenting, the next decision on United manager feels like the most significant one yet.
It could be the difference between returning to a side worthy of the name and reputation or remaining in a cycle of failure.
On current evidence, Carrick would be an astute appointment. But if United want to do something new, however well Carrick does, he shouldn't be among the future candidates. Fans will get carried away, as fans are allowed to. INEOS, though, have another era-defining decision to make.
