Roy Keane said in January that even if Carrick won every remaining game, he still wouldn't give him the job. Manchester United just gave him the job.
The former midfielder has been handed a permanent contract after turning United's season on its head. Eleven wins from 16 games, 36 points from a possible 48, just two defeats — it's the best record in the division over that stretch. Champions League football is secured. Third place is confirmed. Twelve months after what the article describes as a worst-ever Premier League season under Ruben Amorim, the contrast could not be starker.
But not every story here ends well. Some careers just got a significant boost. Others may have just hit a wall.
The players who needed this most
Kobbie Mainoo didn't start a single Premier League game under Amorim before January. Under Carrick, he's started 15 of 16 — missing only one through injury, a game United lost. That statistic alone tells you everything about what the managerial change meant for him. Carrick, a deep-lying playmaker himself for most of his career, clearly sees exactly what Mainoo offers and has built around it. At 21, the homegrown midfielder now has a manager who actually wants him. That matters more than any contract clause.
Bruno Fernandes is the other obvious winner. He'd had chances to leave and stayed each time. Under Carrick's system — more direct, less mechanically rigid — his chance creation numbers have climbed back to where they belong. He was never the problem. Now that's been proven in the table.
Then there's the longer-term picture. Carrick has already spoken about developing young players, specifically referencing 15-year-old prodigy JJ Gabriel as someone who could feature from next season. United's academy pipeline, long neglected under managers who preferred expensive imports, might actually matter again.
The casualties
Manuel Ugarte's United career looks effectively over. The Uruguay international has started once in 16 games under Carrick — and that was one of the two defeats. A permanent appointment locks in those preferences. There's no new manager reset coming, no fresh eyes who might see something different in him. He joined from PSG with considerable fanfare. It hasn't worked, and now there's no obvious route back.
Andoni Iraola won't be moving to Carrington either. The Bournemouth manager had been identified as the main alternative candidate, having taken a club of that size to the edge of Champions League qualification. His high-tempo pressing style had genuine appeal at Old Trafford. He'll stay at the Vitality Stadium — where European football is already guaranteed next season — but the United door has closed.
And Amorim? His reputation takes the heaviest hit of anyone. The same squad that looked disjointed and tactically confused under his watch has just put together the Premier League's best four-month run. That's not a coincidence. That's a verdict.
- Carrick: 11 wins, 2 defeats, 36 points from 48 in 16 games
- Mainoo: 0 starts under Amorim, 15 starts under Carrick
- United finish: guaranteed third, Champions League secured
- Ugarte: 1 start under Carrick, future at the club uncertain
Keane's exact words from January: "If United win every game until the end of the season, I still wouldn't be giving him the job. They need a bigger and better manager." United have now given him the job anyway.
