Hello! Welcome to the weekly column from me, Ian Irving, host of the Talk of the Devils podcast.
Every Friday during the season, I will bring you my reflections, along with the best of our Manchester United content from across our channels, just in case you missed it.
There will also be some big talking points and debates as we head into the weekend action. So let’s get to it…
Mauricio Pochettino. Thomas Tuchel. Carlo Ancelotti. Luis Enrique. Diego Simeone. Xabi Alonso. Eddie Howe.
These are all names put forward as the next man in charge of Manchester United. All in one conversation. All in one podcast episode. All before Michael Carrick had even taken charge of a full day’s worth of training, let alone a football match. Just a microcosm of the Manchester United hot-take machine.
What’s the rush?
Obviously, it’s one of the most high-profile management roles in world sport, and speculation comes with the territory. But the clamour to declare who United should and shouldn’t consider, what United should or shouldn’t do, does feel even more instantaneous and widespread than at any other managerial crossroad across recent years.
Can’t we just enjoy the moment?
The Manchester derby result and performance were something of a throwback. A display of aggression, controlled chaos, and attacking thrust. “Old Trafford, as you might remember it,” was how the poetic Peter Drury marked Patrick Dorgu’s clincher in his UK Sky Sports commentary. A day to profile that cliched ‘Manchester United DNA’. A day to savour every second. It had been a long time coming.
Michael Carrick helped deliver it. So why declare already that he shouldn’t be the choice for the club in the summer? What if that display is followed up by a win at Arsenal? What if it’s not? After all, there have been nine different men in charge of United since they last won a league game at the Emirates in 2017 — including Carrick, twice. Which way will the narrative head? Week after week, result after result.
Somehow, United will conduct a comprehensive recruitment process between now and the end of the season, immune to the noise. So why can’t Carrick make this spell an audition alongside it? Wait and see. Three matches in interim charge and this derby win, as impressive as the results have been, isn’t enough to judge his capability of returning the team to the top of English football. But equally, is there reason to categorically rule him out?
There is no sure-fire solution. The club has tried some of the biggest names in management before: proven winners, the next big thing, the Chosen One and a club legend. They’ve all managed to take United to a point, but not far enough. So which option can’t be repeated?
Maybe one permanent spell in charge of Middlesbrough in the Championship isn’t enough of a CV to put Carrick in the frame either, and the club hierarchy may well demand more experience. You could understand that. But a glance across the dugout on Sunday shows you don’t always need extensive exposure as a head coach to revitalise a top team — and Mikel Arteta has had six years and counting to prove his worth.
I wrote in this column last week about how the interim United head coach had taken the same calm and composed demeanour as a player into his coaching. Maybe we should all take a leaf out of his book?
It’s only been one game.
Devil in detail: Patrick Dorgu
Dorgu or ‘Ballon d’Orgu’, as he was crowned by listener Adam this week, was the subject of a few AI memes with a George Best wig on. It suited him.
While the compliments have maybe gone a little bit too far, it is a measure of how the 21-year-old has found a place in United fans’ hearts in the past few weeks. To coin Carl’s term on Monday’s Talk of the Devils, he’s been putting it together over recent weeks with seven starts in a row in all competitions, and the goal in the derby was the highlight of his Old Trafford career so far.
I’ve interviewed him a handful of times since he arrived in Manchester a year ago, and there’s no question he’s shy and a little reserved, but he’s young, and it’s been encouraging to see him shake off the “anxious” tag given to him by Ruben Amorim. He is used to being doubted due to his quiet demeanor, but those close to him say his former coach’s comment wouldn’t have set him back.
Dorgu has been the subject of specific one-on-one sessions with the new coaching staff and has been watching old clips of Patrice Evra to take inspiration. He’s picked up Pilates and the tried-and-tested cocktail of hard work and extra gym sessions seem also to be paying off.
Red all over
- It’s been a week of smiles since last Saturday, but Adam Crafton’s exclusive about United’s multi-million pound TV deal has brought a lot of fun too, with the lads on Thursday’s pod speculating about which actors could play which club figures in the drama series. Jack Lang has backed up a popular choice of Brian Cox as Sir Alex Ferguson in his article, but his suggestion for Jason Wilcox may be less obvious.
- A quiet January isn’t likely to get less quiet in the final week of the window, but there are a couple of loan moves for United youngsters redeployed in the Championship after mixed spells in the first half of the season. Laurie and Critch have written about where Harry Amass and Toby Collyer are headed.
- Let’s hope they can make the sort of mark Radek Vitek is making at Bristol City. He added to his impressive highlights reel this campaign with one of the most ridiculous saves you’ll see all season against Ipswich. Could be become genuine competition for Senne Lammens on his return? There’ll be talks in the summer.
- If there’s any sense of anyone getting carried away with beating Manchester City, Carl detailed in this Instagram clip exactly what happened the last time they got one over their bitter rivals. Yeah, cheers mate…
- How’s this for an omen for Sunday? Marc Skinner’s side reached their first-ever League Cup final by beating Arsenal Women away 1-0 on Wednesday night. There’s something that just feels right about watching a United team, all in black, away at Arsenal, in the dark, pulling off a result. They’ll face Chelsea in the final in March. Megan Feringa has all the details…