United's Manager Choice: Upgrade or Trust Carrick?

Manchester United's next managerial call is framed as a choice between a proven elite name and backing a promising coach already doing a solid job in difficult circumstances.

The Manchester United manager situation is a tricky one, and it feels like it comes down to what sort of risk the club are willing to take. In my head, most managers sit in one of two buckets: top class proven managers, and potentially top class managers.

Proven winners versus promising projects

The first group is fairly straightforward: managers who have already managed at top clubs, been successful, won major trophies and implemented good football at that level.

The second group is the one United have to be careful with. These are managers who have shown promise at smaller clubs, put a good style in place, picked up eye catching results and maybe even won a cup, or lifted a title in a smaller league outside the top European competitions.

People like Enrique and Nagelsmann fit into the former, while managers like De Zerbi fall into the latter.

Where Carrick fits and what United are weighing up

Right now we have Michael Carrick, who also falls into that latter category. He is a young manager who has shown promise at another club, but has not proven himself at a top club.

That said, he is actually doing a really good job at United under the circumstances. That leaves the club with a clear choice: stick with him or replace him.

If they do replace him, it has to be with someone they are highly confident will do a better job, and that points you back towards the proven, top class manager bracket. If Carrick does a great job and is then replaced with an Enrique or a Nagelsmann, that makes total sense. The club have clearly upgraded the manager, and even if it ultimately fails, it is still the safer bet than sticking with Carrick.

The gamble of swapping one promise for another

The problem is replacing a young promising manager who is doing a good job with another unproven yet promising manager. You can argue De Zerbi has done more in his career than Carrick and might be a better candidate on that basis, but he has not managed to do that at a club like United, like what Carrick is doing right now.

If the club replace Carrick with someone in that same category, then it absolutely has to work out. Otherwise they look foolish for not trusting Carrick in the first place, and that is a massive gamble.

There are also practical complications around hiring some of the top candidates, whether they are employed and need to be negotiated out of a contract, or they are on international duty and not available until later in the summer. That just makes finding the right replacement even more challenging.

Expectations, rebuilds, and why the job breaks people

The reality is whoever gets the job is more likely to fail than succeed right now, because the rebuilding job is still massive and the expectations from fans and the media are unrealistic. Personally, I suspect the manager after our next permanent manager is more likely to be the one to bring the title back to Old Trafford. I can see our next manager lasting one to two years, maybe while the midfield is rebuilt and maybe while we rebuild the defence, before it ends due to those same expectations. By then, the attack, midfield and defence should be rebuilt, young players will have gained experience, and hopefully we only need a few tweaks to have a squad capable of challenging.

I also feel it is those unrealistic expectations that lead to most of our managers failing, more so than the manager's own limitations, alongside a club that has been very poorly run.

Carrick might not be the man to bring back the glory, but he might be the right man to carry us through this stage without getting overly involved, or without the ego of winning things their way. He knows the club, he can manage expectations, he will get more leeway from fans because of his connection, he is not caught up in ego, and he will not demand players purely to suit his own ideas. That allows the club to keep rebuilding the squad, reduces negative publicity, and gives a steadying influence while the work gets done behind the scenes.

Who knows, maybe he learns and develops as a coach and grows into the role.

United are unusual. The usual pathways to success do not work the same here, because the manager has expectations that others do not. You have to play good football, it has to be the "United way" even though that is not a clear tangible style, you have to win trophies, promote youth, and every word and action gets over analysed. You have to tread a tightrope in every interview, build a stronger squad, and create that togetherness and us against the world mentality.

Being successful elsewhere is no guarantee you can repeat it at Old Trafford. Even Jose Mourinho failed. Some will argue Jose was let down by the club, and I do not think anyone can argue against that, but he was not blameless either. The football was a tough watch for many, he did not endear himself to the Old Trafford faithful, he did not trust youth, and his media interactions were questionable at times. It felt like the pressure and attention were on another level, and even personal things were scrutinised in a way he had not faced elsewhere.

Maybe Carrick is best suited to take the job right now. He is settled, he is doing a good job, and he fits what the club wants and needs. The biggest argument against him is what happened with Ole, but that is a weak argument. They are different managers with a different set up. And if we are honest, the most "Manchester United" the club has felt since SAF left was under Ole: the attitude was right, the football was exciting, there were late winners and equalisers, we got UCL football, young players got chances, and we did challenge for a title even if there was not much real chance of winning it.

The biggest issues under Ole were almost certainly linked to how the club above him was being run, the huge contracts, and the players we signed. Even with the right support I think Ole would have ultimately failed, because he seemed to lack the ability to control games from the bench. That is why, despite making it to cup finals, we lost them. He lacked the killer instinct to get a team over the line, but even so he was far from the worst manager we have had post SAF.

Ultimately, if none of the top level proven managers want the job, then we are choosing between young promising managers, and they will all be a gamble in one way or another. So do we go with Carrick, probably the smallest gamble, or roll the dice on a bigger one with a slightly bigger upside?

Smart business is about reducing risk. That is why, if we cannot get a proven top level manager, then in my opinion the club should stick with Carrick.

Written by Shappy March 31 2026 12:59:28