Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
There’s a feeling that Michael Carrick needs to win against Fulham to avoid a long international break, because an emergency replacement basically guarantees a league title.
It is peak Man Utd that a season that promised the most since Sir Alex Ferguson retired has reached a “Will the manager stay?” question within six games.
Michael Carrick is failing to deliver on last season’s third-place finish, and with each loss, the noise gets louder and louder.
At this point, even an emergency Carrick replacement looks enticing because he basically guarantees a league title.
Man Utd can’t reject Antonio Conte anymore
Antonio Conte is a name that has been linked to the Man Utd job ever since Erik ten Hag was hired to succeed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The Italian is eager for the challenge at Old Trafford, his pedigree is as elite as any in modern football, and he has experience managing in the Premier League to go with it.
However, United and Conte have always felt like an uneasy fit together due to a number of reasons, philosophical, emotional, as well as tactical.
His back-three formation is a point of contention, and so is his stubbornness to never deviate from it. However, since that fear, United have already hired and fired Ruben Amorim, whose back three didn’t even give results in England. Conte’s back three has a Premier League title to its name.
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Second was his temperament, as a Man Utd manager is often seen as an ambassador of his great institution rather than just a training-ground coach. They didn’t need an inflammable personality after Jose Mourinho burned bridges, but Ralf Rangnick and Amorim have since crossed that barrier.
Third was that Conte is a short-term coach who can’t handle projects, which is ironic, because, since Ineos took over, Man Utd have been managed by five people in two years (including interims). So can they really afford to reject a “short-term” coach while being in this situation?
The reality is that Conte promises one thing United are desperate for, while bringing the baggage United have already been dealing with, without the success that makes it worth it. Conte does.
One Premier League title is worth it for Man Utd
United need to get it out of their head that one manager is out there who will become the next Sir Alex or Sir Matt Busby, and bring about the next wave of a golden period at the club.
They are already churning through “project” managers without letting them see through the project. Why not end this facade and accept modern football’s reality that they will have to hire and fire managers?
Conte took over a battered Chelsea side and won the title in his debut season. He broke the title droughts at Juventus, Inter Milan, and won the title at Napoli as well.
This is a league-winner at his very best, who makes the baggage he comes with worth it. If United are going to be blowing up in every few years, why not get a league title in return for that inconvenience?
Conte suddenly looks like an extremely intriguing option United must explore because their situation demands someone like him. They need a reminder of who they are, and Conte does it better than anybody else.