The calls for Michael Carrick to be given the permanent Man Utd manager job have quietened a bit after the loss to Newcastle, but Ineos’ latest stance is even smarter.
One win (or six for Michael Carrick!) didn’t make him the best manager in the world, and one loss in his eighth game doesn’t make him the worst.
Nuance is often lost when discussing Man Utd, so somebody needs to be the adult in the room when the outside noise is deafening.
In chaos like that, Ineos‘ latest stance might come as a blow to Carrick, but it’s not. In fact, it saves him from a big trap.
Michael Carrick, Manager of Manchester United and Senne Lammens goalkeeper of Manchester United celebrate after the Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on January 17, 2026
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Michael Carrick celebrates after the Premier League match between Everton and Manchester United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in 2026 in Liverpool, England.
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Man Utd’s latest stance on the permanent manager job
It’s fair to say that nobody expected Carrick to be this good, this quickly at Old Trafford, a position that Ruben Amorim made it look like a poisoned chalice.
Granted, the last few games have been somewhat below-par, but that’s largely said because Carrick himself set the standards so high right away.
That nuance won’t be lost on Ineos, who appointed him with the sole objective of steering the club back into the Champions League.
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That is something that will only be finalised at the end of the season, either way, so these little bumps on the road need to be taken as just that.
It’s why The Athletic report that regardless of the latest loss, or the seven unbeaten games before that, the decision on Carrick’s future for the permanent job will only be made at the end of the season.
On the surface, it can come across as a blow to Carrick because of the transformation he’s engineered at the club.
However, in reality, Ineos’ stance is saving Carrick from the same trap that eventually chewed up and spat out another former Man Utd manager.
Ineos’ stance is saving Carrick from a brutal trap
Carrick is not just fighting the likes of Julian Nagelsmann or Luis Enrique in the race to be the permanent manager.
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He’s also fighting the ghost of the Glazers and how they went about appointing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in similar circumstances.
The Norwegian had a similar start to life as an interim, and the Glazers appointed him in a full-time role based on that run before the season ended.
United ended the season poorly, and while Solskjaer’s failure at United is up for debate, the “got carried away” narrative stuck with him.
He became an unintentional symptom of the Glazers’ lack of long-term planning, and Ineos are being extremely smart by preventing Carrick from being painted with the same brush.
Even if they intend to give him the job eventually, the best way to go about it is to stick to the process and carry it diligently, regardless of the short-term gains or losses.
This way, if and when Carrick gets the job, he won’t be another “got carried away” hire. It will be the result of a proper plan that just happened to land on the person already in the job.
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