The Michael Carrick chant Manchester United fans sing from the terraces might not hit quite the same after the defeat to 10-man Newcastle. Not for the reason you are thinking, though.
"It's Carrick, you know. Hard to believe it's not Scholes."
You may have seen United legend Paul Scholes' surprise jab at his former team-mate on social media in the aftermath of his first defeat in the job. "Michael has definitely got something special about him...because United have been c*** the last four games."
It was a strange intervention from Scholes to say the least. This is a man he partnered in midfield for seven seasons. They were team-mates and played in more than 150 games together. Plus, Carrick had won six of the last seven games.
Rather than analyse why this United legend turned podcaster might have decided to two-foot Carrick with the type of tackle he was famous for in his playing days, it is more worthwhile to dig into the point he raises, because it is not enitrely without merit.
The defeat at Newcastle felt like it had been coming after the performances against West Ham, Everton and Crystal Palace. However, when Jacob Ramsey was sent off, awarded a second yellow for an apparent dive, it seemed Carrick's run would go on.
This was the third time an opponent had received a red in Carrick's eight games in charge, which is certainly not nothing. There has been an element of good fortune since he took over.
On those previous occasions, against Tottenham and Palace, Carrick's team capitalised but what followed at St James' Park was more akin to Ruben Amorim's defeat to 10-man Everton at Old Trafford in November.
Manchester United missed the chance to move into the top five that night. This time they remained third, which is a clear indication of the progress made under Carrick, albeit they could have moved three points clear of their Champions League qualification rivals.
The problem for Carrick is that this was another scenario when his team were expected to dominate. They had a man advantage for the entire second half but you would not have known it. Newcastle had more expected goals, more shots on target and, crucially, more goals.
This was also a Newcastle team considered physically shot and on a rotten run without their captain Bruno Guimaraes. They had played 45 games against Manchester United's 30 this season and not had a midweek off since the November international break.
This was only Manchester United's third midweek fixture of 2026. They have failed to win any of them. After two of those, including the Newcastle trip, at least a week off has followed. Yet it was the team in red that faded on Tyneside.
Carrick has inherited the limitation of only having 13 first-team players that do not markedly weaken the team. Tyrell Malacia and Manuel Ugarte came off the bench at Newcastle. Their impact was as advertised. Surely, they cannot stay another season.
Looking at Newcastle, the Manchester United hierarchy must be concerned about what is on the horizon, whoever is in charge. Barring an almighty late-season collapse, this squad will be playing in Europe and on a schedule they are ill-equipped to cope with.
This reality will only further complicate the challenge of ending United's overreliance on being a counter-attacking team.
United are by no means the only team that come unstuck when the onus is on them to attack and Carrick has had limited time on the training pitch to work on the patterns of play that might address this shortcoming. It tends to take time.
However, time is not on Carrick's side to convince United's hierarchy that he is worth taking a gamble on. The question Jason Wilcox, Omar Berrada and Sir Jim Ratcliffe must answer is whether Carrick can take that step or if what we're seeing now is his ceiling.
Carrick's changes against West Ham and Everton made up for United's below-par performances with Benjamin Sesko scoring decisive goals off the bench. Both goals came from moments of individual brilliance as opposed to a wider tactical plan, though.
Smart tweaks against Palace also brought about improvements. His instruction for the team to spread wide stretched the defence and led to the penalty. However, the impact of Maxence Lacroix's contentious sending off cannot be underestimated.
In eight games, Carrick has produced two outstanding performances and results against the best teams in England, Arsenal and Manchester City. Save for the wins over Fulham and 10-man Spurs, it has been a slog ever since. Newcastle was simply dire.
Carrick is on an eerily similar path to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, under whom he worked as an assistant at United. History may remember Solskjaer more fondly than we do now after his second and third-placed finishes, but this association is unhelpful for Carrick.
The fear of repeating mistakes of the past is only adding to the uncertainty around Carrick. INEOS cannot afford to make another bad appointment, especially not one taken straight from the Ed Woodward handbook of how to run a football club.
How the team responds to this setback after their nine-day break is important. More of the same against Aston Villa, who are tied on points behind them in fourth, and it could spell trouble. This is a group of players that have been known to crumble under pressure.
Conversely, a strong performance and return to winning ways would be the perfect antidote to the doubts and put Carrick's side in a strong position to seal Champions League qualification with only seven matches left to play after that and every midweek free.
Carrick is unlikely to convince anyone that he is a "special" coach between now and then. Certainly not Scholes, it seems. But this is his last chance to address the lingering scepticism around him staying on at Old Trafford. Improvement is required.
*Fixtures subject to change
