Why Man Utd are taking their time over manager decision

Michael Carrick has made an impressive start to his second stint as Manchester United head coach.

Three games, three wins, with Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and Marco Silva the managers beaten. A place in the top four – enough to secure a return to the Champions League next season – beckons, barely a month after many feared a second consecutive campaign with no European football.

Little wonder there are some observers who already think United should give Carrick the job permanently.

Most still caution against – for now.

United themselves are staying silent.

When they dismissed Ruben Amorim on 5 January, club insiders vowed to run a ‘proper process’ during which they would assess all suitable candidates. Speaking to people with an understanding of the situation, that has not changed.

When United sacked Jose Mourinho in December 2018, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was given the job until the end of the season.

It was hoped the club legend’s general positivity could raise spirits.

The results were spectacular. United won the first eight games of Solskjaer’s tenure, including a Premier League match at Tottenham and an FA Cup tie at Arsenal.

The only defeat in his first 17 games was at home to Paris St-Germain in the Champions League – a result United overturned three weeks later as a Marcus Rashford penalty completed a victory that ranks alongside any in the club’s illustrious history.

Three weeks later, Solskjaer was given a three-year contract.

By that point, the fatigue many around the Norwegian felt was bound to affect his players – given the extra work demanded of them – had kicked in.

United won two and lost eight of their final 12 games.

That loss of form fuels the argument United blundered in moving too early and that Solskjaer would not have got the job had they waited until the summer.

The other major reason to delay a decision is because a number of potential candidates who are currently in jobs will become available.

In the Premier League alone that includes Oliver Glasner, who has already said he will be leaving Crystal Palace, Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola and Fulham’s Silva.

Yet Glasner is an example of how short-term results can affect long-term thinking.

A Europa League winner at Eintracht Frankfurt, he won Palace the first silverware in their history when they beat Manchester City in last season’s FA Cup final. They also won the Community Shield against Liverpool.

But things have unravelled this season.

Glasner left key players out of Palace’s final Conference League game in December. A home draw with Finland’s KuPS meant Palace missed out on direct entry to the last 16 and must play Bosnian outfit Zrinjski in the play-offs later this month.

The KuPS game was in the early part of an ongoing run of 12 games without a win.

The eight defeats in that sequence include an embarrassing FA Cup loss at National League North outfit Macclesfield. Palace are 15th in the Premier League – nine points above third-bottom West Ham – and it is not certain Glasner will see out the season.

Then there are the international managers.

England boss Thomas Tuchel spoke to United before and after the 2024 FA Cup final as the club deliberated about Erik ten Hag’s future. United have also long been linked with Mauricio Pochettino, who is in charge of the US national side.

That duo, plus Carlo Ancelotti (Brazil) and Julian Nagelsmann (Germany), are other highly regarded coaches likely to be on United’s radar.

But hiring a national team boss around a major tournament is fraught with issues.

In 1990, England boss Bobby Robson was referred to by some as a “traitor” for agreeing a post-tournament contract with PSV Eindhoven, even though he had been pilloried for the previous two years.

Julen Lopetegui was sacked by Spain two days before the start of the 2018 World Cup after Real Madrid confirmed he would join them after the tournament.

Speaking to a source with first-hand knowledge of appointing managers and coaches at club and international level, it became clear signing a contract with the likes of Tuchel before the tournament is not advisable.

“Even if there are private conversations between senior club representatives and a coach at a major country, there is no way that can become a formal agreement pre-World Cup,” they said.

“If it came out, it would balloon in the face of whichever coach it was. It would be massively destabilising. It’s just not worth it.

“You can have discreet meetings – they happen all the time in football – but it would be much more beneficial to do groundwork.

“There are a few issues anyway. If they agreed privately with someone at the end of April, what would happen if Michael Carrick had a fantastic end to the season? Depending on how the World Cup went – good or bad – you must think of the impact it might have on reputation.

The counterargument is players want clarity.

Defender Harry Maguire is out of contract in the summer, and United have targets to pursue, with midfielders Elliott Anderson, Adam Wharton and Carlos Baleba high on their list.

It does not seem unreasonable for those players to ask who their manager would be.

The uncertainty did not help Ralf Rangnick, who presided over a 2021-22 campaign that unravelled spectacularly – winning just five of the last 19 games, including an FA Cup defeat at home to Championship outfit Middlesbrough.

Carrick does not see the same situation unfolding under him.

“I’ve got no concerns,” he said. “The lads have been better than you can imagine.

“We’re all aware of the bigger situation and what might happen but as a player, you focus on what’s ahead of you and try to achieve what you can.”

United clearly want to get the decision right, but as the demands on managers increase, the time they are given to succeed is reduced.