Premier League as befuddled by Carrick as Man Utd after half-season asterisk | OneFootball

Michael Carrick spent the first five months of the 2025/2026 season waiting for a Championship club to take a punt on him after being sacked by Middlesbrough last summer. He could end it as the Premier League manager of the season having signed a permanent contract at Manchester United.

As the reprobate proprietors of Paddy’s Pub might ask: ‘What is happening?!’

Carrick looks set to be offered a new deal at Old Trafford after winning ten of his 15 games in interim charge having replaced Ruben Amorim at the helm in January. He’s lifted United from seventh to third, comfortably securing Champions League qualification and has dramatically lifted the mood at the club. No one can deny he’s done a good job.

But what we can and absolutely do contend with is this widely-held assertion that he’s given Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS no option but to hand him a new long-term deal.

It’s a huge job that’s never been easier as he a) had no European or cup football to play, b) was following the worst Man Utd manager in living memory, and c) had no European or cup football to play.

He’s put generational talent Kobbie Mainoo back into the team, played the best No.10 in the Premier League as his No.10 and reminded other very good footballers that they’re good at football.

Alarm bells that should have been ringing throughout a run that has seen United routinely fail to dominate games under his stewardship and rely on an entirely unsustainable xG over-performance of +6.94 – the highest in the Premier League – should be blaring upon Casemiro revealing that the “best thing” about Carrick is that he “knows about the club”.

Not his tactics or even his character, but the fact that he played for Manchester United. They might as well put Patrice Evra in charge.

Carrick is essentially about to be given the Manchester United job having not done it before, such is the scant resemblance between his task next term and what he’s done in the second half of this season.

They’ve played 15 games in 121 days. Arsenal have played 29 games in that time. No Premier League side has played fewer. He’s the easy choice, but only a fool would insist he’s the right one.

To those people claiming he’s ‘proven he can do it at Man Utd’ we call bullsh*t, which also offers a neat summary of our thoughts on his nomination for Premier League Manager of the Season.

Of. The. Season. Not 15 games of it. That’s not even half. He could have won all of those games playing stunning football and still wouldn’t have deserved his nomination.

Leeds’ Daniel Farke has been overlooked after masterminding a tactical shift that’s seen the newly-promoted side cruise to Premier League safety. Unai Emery’s all-but secured Champions League qualification again for Aston Villa with a net spend of around £50m in his four-and-a-half years at Villa Park but isn’t up for the gong.

A case could be made for Fabien Hurzeler at Brighton, and while we’re on interim managers, why not Roberto De Zerbi after righting the sinking Tottenham ship?

We don’t like to don our tin foil hats but it stinks of big-club bias and it’s particularly infuriating when this Premier League Manager of the Season award is decided through a combination of a public vote and a panel of football experts, so votes for Carrick will dwarf those for the wholly more deserving Keith Andrews and Andoni Iraola thanks to the mighty Manchester United fanbase.

We’re absolutely fine with Manchester United appointing Michael Carrick; in fact we actively encourage it – the fallout will be spectacular. But it’s a shame to see the Premier League as befuddled by his asterisk of a half season as the infamously poor decision-makers at Old Trafford.