Manchester United’s sudden rise under interim coach Michael Carrick has become very real. Saturday’s 2-0 aggregate win over Tottenham made it four wins in a row, a run that quietly changed the mood at Old Trafford and restored belief in their pursuit of a top-four finish.
But the foundations for that revival were laid last weekend when Carrick gathered his players before the Fulham game and told them it would be a real test of everything they had trained for during the week.
United were fired up for big nights against Manchester City and Arsenal, where counter-attacking space suited their strongest players. Fulham, Carrick warned, would be a different kind of challenge. The Cottagers would sit deep, crowding the penalty area and making it almost impossible to play through the middle of the pitch or find space for forwards.
Carrick’s solution was to work tirelessly on the plays that would allow the ball to penetrate a packed defence. A perfectly placed free-kick from Bruno Fernandes found Casemiro at the back post and United went up. United ended up beating Fulham 3-2 and showed they could win, even if the game required more patience than chaos.
Carrick managed to assemble the perfect trio of Casemiro, Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo, something Ruben Amorim never dreamed of. Casemiro is fighting hard as he has throughout his career and can dominate in the air around the penalty area. Fernandes creates passes and sprays them in all the right places and Mainoo links all three giving an extra presence in midfield.
Kobbie is part of United’s new spirit
With the arrival of Michael Carrick as interim manager of Manchester United, the position has completely changed whether midfielder Kobbie Mainoo will leave or not.
There has been considerable discussion between United’s contract team and CAA Steller, who represent Kobbie, with a view to renegotiating his contract and offering better terms.
However, at the request of some influential insiders at the club, including former striker Louis Saha, negotiations are likely to be put on hold to allow the player himself to focus on rebuilding his career and reputation following the reign of Ruben Amorim, who told Kobbie he should find another club.
Kobbie is still only 20 and won’t turn 21 until April, and his calm demeanor and dribbling skills are greatly appreciated by Carrick, who has admired him since his United academy days.
United players have been very impressed with Carrick’s training sessions, in which he is actively involved. When the team went through a passing drill, Michael made two passes that Harry Maguire describes as the two best of the 300 made during the training session.
19-year-old Ayden Heaven also praised Carrick’s assistant coaches and highlighted the help Jonny Evans gave him. He said:
“It’s really good, especially Jonny, he helps me a lot. Me and Leny Yoro, after some sessions are over, we go to do extras and just work on the basics. Even between exercises during our sessions, Jonny and Jonathan (Woodgate) always pull us aside and help me with placement. I enjoyed it a lot.”
With wins over Manchester City, Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham, Carrick has a team that has fully, to a man, embraced the interim manager, his tactics and methods, and are moving forward with the kind of spirit that could secure their Big Four a place at the top of the table.
The key to Arsenal’s success is the depth of the squad
Even Mikel Arteta has said privately that he believes the Gunners can lift the title this season. He usually refuses to speculate on their chances until the last matches in April. The main reason for his confidence stems from the depth of their playing staff. Arsenal’s squad has been dramatically improved by sporting director Andrea Berta.
Bukayo Saka’s injury in the warm-up against Leeds would normally have been a problem for Arteta, but Noni Madueke replaced him and showed that training will keep any player on top for just such an emergency.
He provided the passes that allowed Arsenal to take a 2-0 lead and eventually leave Elland Road 4-0 winners.
Arteta said. “So in the warm-up, Bukayo was a bit stuck, he was not comfortable to start the game, so I immediately decided to make this change and bring Noni.
“It’s unbelievable what opportunities we have, but that’s only possible if these players are in the right mindset. We talked in the dressing room before the game that it was going to be a long game. We’re going to have to go through tough times and we needed everyone to play their role on the day and I think the players did that incredibly well,” he added.
Villa’s title challenge is unlikely as Emery predicted
Defeat at home to Brentford on Sunday likely ended Aston Villa’s title challenge. It’s exactly what manager Unai Emery has been saying for months, much to the dismay of fans:
“We are not title contenders this season.
Villa also have top four Champions League rivals looming and ready to push them down the table.
Emery has managed to bring Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey back to the club, along with Tammy Abraham, but I understand Liverpool’s deal to buy Harvey Elliott if he plays three games during his loan spell will be changed.
The midfielder would cost Villa £35m, but they want to avoid that so Elliott gets more game time without having to buy him.
Glasner attacks the palace recruitment
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has vented his anger and frustration at what he says is a “step backwards” for the club.
During the January transfer window, Palace sold Marco Guehi to Manchester City and Eberechi Eze already left for Arsenal in the summer.
Glasner said it made a big difference for his team as it continued its nine-game winless streak dating back to early December.
Although he is leaving in the summer, Glasner wants to progress quickly with a virtually new team.
He said: “With two, maybe three other players coming back from injury and five or six new players, it’s like starting the season all over again.
It’s like two years ago, teaching them how we want to play and attack. You can see a lot of misunderstanding on the pitch and this is a step backwards.”
– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
February 8, 2026
