The Sports Buff ⚽️ ⚾️ 🏈

Thomas Tuchel, Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola and Unai Emery are just some of the elite managers to come up against interim Manchester United manager Michael Carrick and lose.

Man U fans, being Man U fans, they almost started to think the man can’t be beaten. Well, the United fan that is writing this was starting to, at least anyway. Fulham had been beaten narrowly, and a last-gasp goal helped The Red Devils avoid a defeat to relegation-threatened West Ham.

Carrick’s time at Old Trafford has divided opinion badly, the class of 92 and Roy Keane appearing not to be keen on appointing their former team-mate on a full-time basis.

The defeat to Newcastle in midweek has brought a bit of reality to the 20-time Premier League winners. They’re most certainly ‘not back’. But they’re not terrible either, despite what Paul Scholes seems to think.

In fact, if United have been playing terribly for the last four weeks and still being doing well as they have, that’s a good thing, no? They say that’s a key sign of a good team (to win without playing well).

The reality is this: neither are Man United terrible, nor are they world beaters. Michael Carrick’s time in charge has shown that cracks are there, but he’s been able to paper over them.

If the former midfielder gets top four, that will help progress to the Champions League. For a club the size of United’s, that’s a bare minimum. What that defeat against Newcastle did do is make Manchester United’s next game against Aston Villa even more important.

Keep calm United fans, let’s unite and support the team!