Our senior Manchester United writer Tyrone Marshall answers your questions on the club and what is going on at Old Trafford, including what to expect from Michael Carrick and the club's plans for the future.
There are plenty of questions to answer at Manchester United
There are plenty of questions to answer at Manchester United(Image: )
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A lot can change in a week and the last time we answered your Manchester United questions it looked like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would be the man in the Old Trafford dugout for this weekend's Manchester derby. Instead, Michael Carrick is the man who will aim to oversee a win against United's city rivals.
The former Middlesbrough boss impressed Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox during the interview process and has been handed the reins until the end of the season. Everyone wants to know what we can expect to see from the new man in charge and who the winners and losers will be from his appointment, and we'll look to answer some of those questions in this week's Q&A.
We run weekly question and answer sessions so click here to submit your questions and we'll answer them next week. Here are the answers to some of this week's questions:
What is the plan of the board of directors to bring the glory days back to United?
A nice, easy one to start with. The board of directors have essentially given control of football matters to Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox. So their plan is for Berrada and Wilcox to get things right. As for the plan of Berrada and Wilcox, well, who knows?
This isn't hindsight; I have consistently said that the appointment of Amorim was a strange one for a club looking to move away from a dominant head coach/manager. Amorim has one of the most distinctive playing systems in Europe and the only way that can work is by signing him specialists.
The one positive recently has been recruitment, which was better in the summer. But the decision on who to appoint next is vital and could make or break this Ineos regime. Berrada has championed Project 150, which is a desire to win the league in the club's 150th anniversary season in 2027/28. Right now those look like hollow words and bland executive speak.
The plan right now has to be get the right head coach. Do that and things might fall into place, but there is no escaping the fact that the structure of ownership and the combination of the Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe make success a challenge for this club at the moment.
What is Carrick's formation?
He was a 4-2-3-1 man at Middlesbrough and I would imagine we will see that again. That was the system Ole Gunnar Solskjaer played at United and Carrick kept it during his three games in charge.
That kind of shape can easily become a 4-3-3 if one of the two sitting midfielders moves forward, but I imagine it will be more of a cautious set-up for now, given the first two games are against Manchester City and Arsenal.
Give Lacey a chance - Cunha and Dalot are not worth United shirts.
Lacey has started to get a chance of late and I think he will stay in and around the first-team set-up. His problem now is Amad and Bryan Mbeumo are back and after this weekend (when Lacey is suspended) there are only 16 games left of the season. As talented as Lacey is, I don't think anyone can suggest he should be starting games ahead of Amad or Mbeumo right now.
Cunha has had a slow start to his Old Trafford career. I thought there were positive signs in mid-December but he's gone off the boil again. With Amad and Mbeumo away, he should have grabbed this team by the scruff of the neck, but he's gone back to playing with the handbrake on. I wouldn't be giving up on him any time soon, though. We have seen there is a very good Premier League player in there.
Let's get Xabi Alonso - he's a man with vision and a winning mentality.
Alonso feels like a difficult appointment, given his Liverpool connections, but I do think he would be a very good one. I wouldn't hold what happened at Real Madrid against him; that place chews up and spits out coaches and Alonso's desire to actually try and change the culture should be seen as a positive, if anything.
But there is a good chance Alonso is next in line at Anfield and he would have to ask himself if he was willing to blow up the chance of ever coaching Liverpool by moving to United. I'm not sure I can see it.
Why is Harry Maguire not starting as well as Shea Lacey and Kobbie Mainoo?
Maguire has just returned from injury and needs to get back to full fitness. I would have him in central defence alongside Martinez at the moment, but he had two months out and needs to make sure he is fully recovered.
I don't think there has been an obvious time to start Lacey and with all the attacking players now back, I don't think he gets a start anytime soon. His development is going along just fine if he stays around the first-team squad.
As for Mainoo, I think we all know why he wasn't starting under Amorim. He just didn't trust the 20-year-old in his midfield. I'd be amazed if Carrick didn't hand him more opportunities.
Why don't the club send Diogo Dalot out on loan?
Not sure I see any merit in this, to be honest. Dalot is 26, there is no point sending him on loan to develop and he is the first-choice right-back and a member of the leadership group.
He's had a difficult season and the criticism of him from supporters has been noticeably louder this year. I'm not sure he's the long-term answer at right-back but there is no replacement ready to go either. Even if Noussair Mazraoui takes that place next week, Dalot would be needed as back-up.
There is probably an argument to sign a right-back in the summer, although midfield has to be the priority. It feels inevitable that Dalot will face more competition at some point.
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