Michael Carrick’s United achievements should be celebrated already | OneFootball

And just like that it’s all over. Another Premier League season ended, Manchester United trophyless once more.

But the mood at Old Trafford could hardly be more different to the leaden depression of 2025, the crowd numbed into submission by the suffering inflicted by Ruben Amorim.

Last season could not end soon enough, the final whistle against Aston Villa received like a mercy killing despite the positive result bringing to an end an eight-game streak without a league win.

The picture now is a whole lot more pleasant.

Carrick leading Arteta

Buzzing off Michael Carrick’s new contract, there’s a sense that if the 2025/26 season was stretched out forever then United could chase down the big two. After all, Big Mike’s revitalised Red Devils battered Manchester City and beat champions Arsenal in his first two games in charge.

There’s some crust to this particular pie in the sky. Nobody is seriously claiming United are ready to mount a title charge, but a simple piece of mathematics indicates just how well Carrick has performed.

Since stepping in as interim head coach in January he has won 39 points from 17 games which, as The Athletic point out, is the most of any manager in that period and three more than Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

Don’t get carried away

The mitigating factors are substantial, the biggest being that in that time United have embarrassingly had nothing to do other than focus on the league. By contrast many of their competitors have been fighting on one, two or even three other fronts.

Lady Luck played her part too – how else can the wastefulness of Igor Thiago in United’s 2-1 win over Brentford be explained – and it’s hard to argue that United necessarily deserved every point they picked up.

But you can only do what you can do, and Carrick has done that magnificently. Topping a table arbitrarily started in the middle of January wins no medals and butters very few parsnips, but it is a tangible indicator of the progress made by United under their new head coach.

No shame in celebration

The fans have been put through the emotional mincer enough times lately to deserve some good news, and if there is a small victory to celebrate then it should certainly be celebrated.

With good results come high expectations. Next season should still be viewed as a campaign of consolidation rather than a realistic run at a Premier League title, but the goalposts have shifted slightly.

Another top-four finish and no silverware may once have been counted as a success, but now that seems underwhelming. And so the United wheel turns.

All eyes on next season

What happens over the summer will, of course, be pivotal. United’s squad is currently nowhere near good or deep enough to challenge for major honours, or even to deal with the busier fixture list.

How United strengthen is one thing, but what happens to their rivals will also be telling. Arsenal and City were streets ahead of everyone this year, but expecting the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea to fall flat on their faces two seasons running is unrealistic.

Whatever happens, the first half of 2026 has been a utopia compared to what came before. Now sit back and enjoy the World Cup, watch some cricket and scroll the summer away – Carrick-ball 2.0 will be with us before we know it, and it will be fascinating to see what it looks like.

Featured image Steve Bardens via Getty Images

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The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social