What Manchester United need now is stability, not more changes, according to BBC Sport columnist Tony Pulis. Writing as pressure mounts on head coach Michael Carrick, the former Premier League manager argues the club’s problems run far deeper than whoever sits in the dugout — and that another managerial change would solve nothing.
Tony Pulis (Credits: BBC Sport)
Carrick took over in January as interim manager, inheriting a club Pulis says was drifting deeper and deeper into mediocrity. The former Stoke and West Brom boss says he knows that challenge well, having spent his career taking on under-achieving clubs.
Carrick’s Bounce Has Faded — But the Problems Are Bigger Than the Manager
Pulis notes that supporters often talk about a “new manager bounce,” and Carrick certainly experienced one: results and performances improved, United finished third and secured Champions League football, and he calmed the waters behind the scenes. Yet, Pulis warns, with every bounce there almost always comes a return to normality, as players who raised their levels slip back to what they are used to. That, he suggests, is what is happening at United now.
To judge Carrick fairly, Pulis argues, you have to balance everything he inherited. Since 2021, United have had three other permanent managers — Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim — who spent more than £1bn on 27 major signings, many of whom are still at the club. This year, under Carrick, they invested another £150m, but the bulk of it went on three midfielders, and Pulis questions how many of the current squad Carrick would actually have chosen himself.
Pulis: Stability, Not Another Sacking, Is What Man Utd Need
Pulis also highlights the dilemma facing any manager inheriting an expensively assembled squad: owners want to know whether he can improve players and recover money from those he does not rate, while loyalty to the club means he cannot publicly criticise players whose value the club needs to protect.
The column also addresses Lisandro Martinez’s recent public questioning of the club’s recruitment strategy. Pulis says the outburst raises serious questions about the player himself, wondering whether Martinez believes he has been a success personally — and how many more players in the first-team squad also see themselves as successful rather than part of the problem.
Carrick apologised to the club’s 700 travelling supporters for the 4-1 defeat at Como, and the scrutiny on him has only intensified since. But Pulis’s message is clear: United’s issues are structural, not just managerial, and what the club needs now is stability, not more changes.
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Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
