I tried to think of reasons NOT to give Michael Carrick the Manchester United job. This is what I came up with | OneFootball

Michael Carrick is expected to be offered the Manchester United job on a permanent basis after Sunday’s 3-2 win over Liverpool at Anfield ensured Champions League football will return to Old Trafford next season.

Key figures in the club’s hierarchy have been impressed by the way the former United midfielder has operated since stepping into the dugout following the sacking of Portuguese flop Ruben Amorim in January.

Yet some sections of United’s vast global fanbase, along with a few prominent voices in the media, still have reservations about handing the 44-year-old interim head coach the keys to the kingdom.

So, let’s break down the main arguments against Carrick’s appointment — and examine whether any of them really stand up to scrutiny.

He is not a ‘big-name’ manager

This is the criticism most frequently levelled at Carrick. It is also the easiest one to challenge.

Yes, he is not yet an established managerial heavyweight. But neither was Carlo Ancelotti when he began what became one of the most glittering coaching careers in football. Pep Guardiola had no senior managerial experience when Barcelona handed him the job in 2008. There are plenty of examples of clubs taking a calculated risk on a coach before the rest of the world had decided they were elite.

That is not to say Carrick is guaranteed to emulate either of them. But United do not need to appoint a manager based on reputation alone. They need to appoint the right manager for this team, at this moment.

And right now, Carrick is doing the job extremely well.

He has won 10 of his 14 games in charge, including victories over Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. He has taken a side that looked disjointed, demoralised and short of direction and propelled them into third place.

Michael Carrick’s 10 Manchester United wins in 2026 infographic, featuring victories over City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. (Does not include data from Carrick’s two draws and two defeats)

That is no small achievement. Last season, United finished 15th and were described by then boss Amorim as “the worst team, maybe, in the history of Manchester United.”

Carrick has not merely steadied the ship. He has changed the mood of the entire club.

Matheus Cunha even claimed the interim boss has restored a little of the Sir Alex Ferguson-era “magic” to Old Trafford. And if United are looking for a “big name”, there are few bigger than the man Carrick learned from.

‘We have been here before with Ole Gunnar Solskjær’

This argument is as predictable as it is flawed.

The idea that Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s time as United manager was an abject failure is a lazy rewriting of history. In his first full season, Solskjær guided United to third place behind Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. The following campaign, United went one better and finished second.

He remains the only Manchester United manager since Ferguson to secure consecutive top-four finishes.

He also came within a single penalty of delivering a European trophy. United drew 1–1 with Villarreal in the 2021 Europa League final before losing an 11–10 shootout when goalkeeper David de Gea missed the decisive kick.

Solskjær’s record is not perfection but it showed an upward trajectory. It is a record many of United’s post-Ferguson managers would gladly have taken.

The wheels only came off for Solskjær when the club’s questionable recruitment strategy began to undermine the balance of the team. The return of an ageing Cristiano Ronaldo and the near-$100M signing of Jadon Sancho disrupted a previously settled attack and dressing room.

If Carrick emulates the best of Solskjær’s tenure — Champions League qualification, attacking football, harmony in the squad and upward momentum — he will not be on the road to failure. He will be on the path to success.

Carrick does not have enough tactical know-how

This criticism depends largely on what you want football management to look like.

Do you want a coach whose tactical plan scripts every pass, movement and decision? Or do you want a manager who provides a clear framework, restores confidence and trusts players to make the right choices within it?

Carrick appears to belong to the latter school. And so far, it is working.

In his first game, he identified United’s most obvious problems and addressed them quickly. He moved away from Amorim’s wing-back system, restored a back four and selected his most experienced defenders to bring stability and know-how.

He also tackled United’s midfield issues. Kobbie Mainoo was restored to the side alongside Casemiro, giving the team greater protection in deeper areas. Bruno Fernandes, meanwhile, was pushed further forward into his preferred No 10 role.

The impact has been obvious.

The line-up for Michael Carrick’s first game in charge of Manchester United – a 2-0 win over Manchester City. Image: TransferMarkt

Mainoo, who was inexplicably marginalised under Amorim, is now playing some of the best football of his young career and has an outside chance of forcing his way into England’s World Cup squad despite effectively losing half a season.

Fernandes, meanwhile, is on the brink of Premier League history. Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne share the single-season assist record with 20. United’s captain has 19, with three games still to play.

Carrick has also shown he is not wedded to one idea. In April’s 2-1 win over Brentford, he shifted to a back five in the second half after United had been repeatedly carved open before the break. It was a risk, particularly given how unpopular that system became under Amorim. But it worked.

That is management. Identify the problem. Make the change. Win the game.

United will not attract star players with Carrick in charge

This one feels especially weak.

Carrick won the Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup, League Cup and five Premier League titles as a player. He is a disciple of Ferguson – the most successful manager in Premier League history – and understands the standards of Manchester United because he lived them.

He may still be inexperienced in the dugout, but he certainly has standing in the game.

And players talk. Any player linked with United this summer will ask around. They will speak to those already at Old Trafford. They will want to know what Carrick is like, how he works, how he treats players and whether he can restore United to where the cub wants to be.

The answers should encourage them….

Those thoughts matter

Modern players want more than a famous name. They want clarity; they want belief. They want a manager who improves them, protects them and convinces them they are part of something meaningful.

Carrick has done all of that in a matter of months.

So, after trying to find the reasons not to give him the job, this is where we end up: he may not be the most glamorous candidate but he has restored belief, improved players, beaten United’s biggest rivals and delivered Champions League football.

At some point, the answer becomes obvious.

Give Michael Carrick the job.