If Manchester United had a defence as reliable and immovable as the one their manager presents to the world, then they would be higher up the Premier League table.
Michael Carrick is proving himself spectacularly impossible to penetrate – whether his team win, lose or draw – and it’s exactly what his team and his club need at this stage of their evolution.
Carrick is not a dull man but he is making an art form of coming across as such. In doing so, he is making sure that he doesn’t add any of the unhelpful noise that always surrounds English football’s best-supported and most newsworthy football club.
One of the challenges facing anybody managing the modern United is that the club exists in an almost constant boom and bust cycle in terms of its publicity.
If United win, they are back for good. If they don’t, they are useless. A section of the fanbase buys into it, social media accelerates and inflames it while the mainstream Press also plays its part.
When you then throw in the host of ex-United players speaking on weekly podcasts and working on TV then the picture is clear. Other big clubs feel a bit of this too. But nobody feels it quite like United do.
So when a manager such as Ruben Amorim, Erik ten Hag or the never-to-be-forgotten Ralf Rangnick add their own soundbites to the cacophony then United are sure to occupy more media space than can ever be healthy at a time when the club is almost a decade and a half into its search for post-Sir Alex Ferguson stability.
There is a clear sense that Carrick knows and understands this. He has a 15-year connection with the club as player and manager after all. His policy to be as boring as is humanly possible feels deliberate.
One of the challenges facing anybody managing the modern United is that the club exists in a near constant boom and bust cycle in terms of publicity, and Carrick is searching for stability
After Carrick suggested his players had made some poor decisions in the game at Everton, he seemed to sense he had said – by his standards – far too much and quickly backed down
Indeed he is the first manager since Ferguson who appears to have a clear media strategy. With the likes of the three mentioned above and men such as Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and David Moyes, it sometimes felt possible to stare straight into their soul. Try that with Carrick and you only see cardboard staring back.
Listening to him speak to reporters and TV and radio crews after his team’s wobbly 2-2 draw at Everton was to sense only a little frustration at the result.
When it was put to him by the BBC that it must have been painful to concede such a late goal, Carrick’s reply lasted six words.
‘Yeah, yeah for sure it is,’ he said.
After he suggested his players had made some poor decisions in the game, he seemed to sense he had said – by his standards – far too much.
Asked to elaborate, he said: ‘I will keep that to myself.’
Everton need to bring the noise
One thing that Carrick did say on Sunday was that Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium is a ‘tough place to play’ and he was actually wrong about that.
On the whole Everton’s new home is proving far too hospitable to visiting teams. Since Everton moved down to the water from Goodison Park at the start of last season, David Moyes’ team have won just seven of their 21 home games in Premier League.
The Hill Dickinson is a fabulous stadium to visit. Now that the infrastructure around it is starting to develop, it will undoubtedly be one of the very best stadiums in the country by the time the European Championship is played here in the summer of 2028.
But whether it serves Everton on the field at the moment is another matter. It is not remotely intimidating and only sprang to life on Sunday when Everton finally got on the front foot in the final half an hour.
Should a team inspire a crowd or a crowd inspire a team? Where does the responsibility lie? It’s an old question.
Go to a place like Elland Road in Leeds or St James’ Park in Newcastle and that dilemma feels irrelevant. It’s just noisy. It’s just hostile.
Everton and their supporters need to find a way to get to that place and to that sweet spot. Otherwise, opposing teams are going to continue approaching a trip to HDS like a nice day out by the Mersey.
The stadium only sprang to life on Sunday when Everton finally got on the front foot in the final half an hour
De Zerbi’s stay could be short
Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi is cut from different cloth than someone like Carrick. His post-match criticism of his players after a third game without a goal against Nottingham Forest was totally in keeping with character.
Criticising players by name as De Zerbi did with Omar Marmoush and Mathys Tel after his team’s 0-0 draw on Saturday is always risky but this is the coach Tottenham have hired.
The Italian did what was asked of him by making sure Spurs stayed up last season and is a very talented manager. But this was always unlikely to be a quiet stewardship.
De Zerbi is ambitious, aggressive and combustible. He says what he feels – both privately and publicly – and this is also very much his style when it comes to managing up to chief executives and sporting directors.
The 47-year-old has been a coach for 13 years and Tottenham is his ninth club. He signed a five-year deal last April but it would be entirely out of character if he stays remotely that long.
They admired and appreciated De Zerbi during his two seasons at Brighton but at the same time were not exactly devastated when he left for Marseille.
De Zerbi signed a five-year deal at Tottenham last April but it would be entirely out of character if he stays remotely that long
Glasner must beware the sharp knives
Winless Forest have nevertheless shown some positive signs under new coach Oliver Glasner and Neco Williams’ goal on Saturday should have stood. There was no conclusive VAR evidence that he had handled the ball as he bundled it in.
Glasner must beware the perils of the job, however.
Not only can owner Evangelos Marinakis be hard to handle, one Forest manager of last season has recently been grumbling about being stitched up by two members of his own dressing room.
He believes two players approached Marinakis to complain about his coaching shortly before he was sacked. And one of them still plays for the club.
Serie A is a step down
Still with Forest, it was a shame to see the talented Omari Hutchinson leave the club on loan to AC Milan.
The former Chelsea player was a star for Ipswich in their last Premier League season two years ago and was expected to shine when he moved to the City Ground a year ago.
Sadly, the 22-year-old has now joined the growing band of Premier League players farmed out to Serie A. People can dress it up whichever way they like but if you move to Italy these days it’s either because you are getting old or haven’t quite made the grade in England.
Omari Hutchinson has now joined the growing band of Premier League players farmed out to Serie A
One goal and out
If there was further evidence needed of just how unforgiving the English top-flight can be, then look no further than the case of Liam Millar.
The Canadian has been one of Hull’s early season heroes, scoring his team’s only goal in the win at Coventry nine days ago.
But by the time Sergej Jakirovic‘s team lined up for Saturday’s draw with Aston Villa, the 26-year-old had already been shipped out on loan to Birmingham.
Ouch.
Why isn’t Glenn Hoddle a better pundit?
Match of the Day continues to evolve and added Rob Edwards and Ashley Young to their roster over the weekend. Both made solid debuts.
But what of TNT Sports?
Saturday’s offering from St James’ Park featured Joleon Lescott and Glenn Hoddle and was once again underwhelming. Hoddle, for some reason, is never quite the astute and insightful pundit that you would expect him to be.
TNT are in danger of falling too far behind standards set by Sky Sports.
Hoddle, for some reason, is never quite the astute and insightful pundit that you would expect him to be
Raya is top of my list
On the radio 5 Live’s excellent Matthew Upson was gushing over David Raya’s distribution in the compelling Arsenal-Chelsea game.
The Spaniard – who is quite amazingly only third choice for Spain – is becoming the complete goalkeeper and is currently the best in the Premier League at a time when the likes of Liverpool’s Alisson Becker are now on the other side of the curve.
My Premier League top five goalkeepers are currently: David Raya, Emi Martinez, Jordan Pickford, Alisson, Senne Lammens.
Two other Englishmen – Dean Henderson at Crystal Palace and Leeds’ James Trafford – have also started the season well.
New rule fails Rogers
Perhaps the pick of this season’s new rules is that which says players must leave the field at the nearest point when substituted. It’s a decent weapon in the war on time wasting.
Morgan Rogers won’t be a fan though. After leaving the field at the Emirates on Sunday, the new Chelsea signing had to do a half lap of honour past fans of the club he chose not to join on leaving Aston Villa in the summer.
It didn’t go particularly well for him.
Enzo is well out of Chelsea muddle
Enzo Fernandez never looked like a £100million player while at Chelsea and the decision by Manchester City to take him off their hands for a whopping £125million seemed curious to say the least.
But the Argentina player’s debut for City – rather hurried after Nico O’Reilly’s late injury saw him promoted from the bench – was impressive. Not only did the 25-year-old set up Erling Haaland for City’s goal, he delivered another brilliantly imaginative pass for an effort that was subsequently ruled out for offside.
Maybe it was never Fernandez who was the problem at Chelsea but rather the environment in which he was asked to play. Another reason why we should view Xabi Alonso’s sound start at Stamford Bridge with a little caution.
Where are the right backs?
How hard can it really be for a top Premier League club to find a decent right-back?
Manchester City, for example, have never really found a top-class replacement for Kyle Walker.
New coach Enzo Maresca has the likes of Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis to choose from but left both on the bench against Coventry, asking central defender Abdukodir Khusanov to play there.
Meanwhile at Liverpool, Andoni Iraola attempted to solve the same problem the same way at the start of the weekend.
Loan central defender Ronaldo Araujo was selected ahead of Jeremie Frimpong at Ipswich on Friday and though he was adequate enough, he certainly didn’t look like a long-term solution.
Manchester City have never really found a top-class replacement for Kyle Walker, with central defender Abdukodir Khusanov (above) asked to play at right back on the weekend
Ben is back… again
Ben Chilwell made an instant impact for his new club Crystal Palace, scoring the winner in a 3-2 ding-dong at Fulham.
I recall watching Chilwell form a fabulous left-sided partnership with Mason Mount as Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea won the Champions League in 2021.
Since then, both have lost their way a little and Mount was an unused substitute for Manchester United on Sunday.
It may be too late for either to rekindle England ambitions. Chilwell, for example, will be 30 in December.
But having won a Premier League with Leicester, a Champions League with Chelsea and the FA Cup during his first spell at Palace, a very talented left back has an impressive medal haul for a guy who has been restricted by injury to a little more than 200 league appearances.
All bets are on
At a time when sport is endeavouring to preach caution regarding all things related to gambling, the line up of officials for Boreham Wood’s home game with Carlisle in the National League was unfortunate.
Referee Harry WAGER was assisted by linesman FIDLER and CONN.
