Man United: Three things going wrong as Michael Carrick’s revival threatens to be a false dawn

When Michael Carrick guided Manchester United from 15th place to third in the space of 17 Premier League games last season, the question was not whether he deserved the permanent job. It was whether the extraordinary circumstances that produced that remarkable turnaround could ever be replicated and whether it was merely a false dawn.

United had nothing else to play for when Carrick took charge in January. No European football, no cup runs, no fixture congestion - just the league, week after week, with the time and clarity to build something.

He took 39 points from those 17 games. Nobody in England took more over the same period. Old Trafford dared to dream again.

Four games into the new season, the dream feels considerably less certain. One win - a home victory over newly-promoted Ipswich. Defeats to Hull City and, more damagingly, a 1-0 home loss to 10-man Manchester City in the derby, despite having a man advantage for 67 minutes.

A 2-2 draw at Everton in which United led twice and conceded a late equaliser. Four points from four games and a ProRef apology for a controversial Erling Haaland goal that should have been disallowed for offside.

“There is no getting away from it,” Carrick admitted after the derby. “Four points from four games is below expectations.”

Here, Sports Mole looks at three things going wrong as the pressure builds at Old Trafford.

1. Man United's tactical identity without the ball

Jamie Carragher put it bluntly in his Telegraph column last week. “Maresca, Alonso and Iraola have established identities making them easier to categorise. As yet, it is difficult to define Carrick’s football beyond the hope that it will restore the traditional attacking values of Sir Alex Ferguson’s brilliant teams.”

That lack of definition has been painfully visible in the opening weeks. Against City, United failed to impose themselves on a match they should have dominated from the moment Phil Foden was sent off in the 23rd minute. Carrick’s side managed just three shots in 67 minutes with a numerical advantage - a statistic so damning it requires no further elaboration.

There was no clear plan for breaking down a deep, compact defensive block with 10 men: no width, no movement in behind, no urgency.

The problem is not new. Carrick’s United are a counter-attacking team, - brilliantly effective when opponents come at them, but tactically exposed when required to do the attacking themselves. Against a City side happy to absorb pressure and hit on the break, it was the worst possible tactical match-up. And Carrick had no answer.

2. Man United's inability to hold a lead

United have now failed to win from a winning position twice in four league games - a pattern that raises questions about in-game management and defensive organisation when protecting a result.

At Everton, Carrick’s side led through Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, only to concede a late equaliser that felt entirely preventable. The manner of the goal - United sitting too deep, inviting pressure, losing their defensive shape - was a direct consequence of a team that does not yet know how to manage a game in the closing stages. Substitutions were slow, the shape passive, the instructions unclear.

This is not a new problem either. It stretches back to last season, where Carrick’s United were at their best in open, high-tempo games but showed vulnerability whenever they needed to see out a result. In the Premier League, points dropped from winning positions are often the difference between a title challenge and a top-four scramble. United can ill afford to keep making the same mistake.

3. Last season’s Man United revival built on borrowed time

There was an important factor behind United’s impressive run last season. By the time Carrick took charge, the club had already exited the FA Cup, EFL Cup and European competition. That meant United could concentrate almost entirely on the Premier League, with a relatively clear schedule allowing Carrick more time to prepare his team and maintain consistency.

That advantage disappears in 2026-27. Champions League football has returned to Old Trafford - United beat Sabah 4-0 in midweek, a result that temporarily lifted the mood before the derby undid it again. But the additional 20 or more fixtures this season represent a completely different challenge to anything Carrick managed last season.

Rotation, squad depth and workload management are now as important as tactical decisions, and there are already question marks about whether United’s squad is deep enough to sustain performances across multiple fronts.

The arrivals of Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos were designed to address the midfield depth issue, and both have shown promise in flashes. But with Bruno Fernandes still the central creative force around whom everything flows - and still occasionally the source of the structural weaknesses - Carrick has not yet solved the structural problems that existed before he arrived. He has simply managed around them.

Room for optimism for Man United, but questions must be answered

None of this means Carrick is the wrong man for the job. The talent in the United squad is genuine, and four games is a small sample size from which to draw sweeping conclusions.

But the warning signs are real, and the questions building around Old Trafford are the same ones that have haunted United for most of the past decade - tactical identity, game management, over-reliance on one player, and a squad that looks thin when the fixtures pile up.

Carrick’s revival last season was real. Whether it was sustainable was always the question. Right now, the answer is far from clear.