Victories against Manchester City and Arsenal gave the new manager a perfect start and he will not have to deal with a match overload for the final four months of the season.
Michael Carrick can plan for the final months of the season without worrying about match overload (Image: (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images))
Ten years ago, Leicester City finished at the top of the Premier League with 47 points after 23 matches. The closest challengers are Manchester City and Arsenal, both with a three-point lead and Tottenham Hotspur with a five-point lead.
According to bookmakers, Claudio Ranieri’s side were not yet favorites to win the title. To a large extent, that made sense. After all, it was a neck-and-neck battle between two strong, deep teams and Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs were playing very decently.
Leicester finished in 14th place last season. However, what the bookmakers and many fans and experts did not take into account was the workload of each.
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Leicester only have 15 games left in the Premier League. 15 games in 15 weeks. In that time, Arsenal and Spurs have played each other 21 times, while Manchester City have played each other 25 times.
Arsenal finished in second place, 10 points behind Leicester. Spurs were a further point further away in third place, with City 15 points adrift of the notable champions. Out of their last 15 games, Ranieri’s side have won 10, drawn four and lost just one. The narrow defeat at the Emirates was somewhat controversial, but Leicester were reduced to 10 men after taking the lead.
In their last 15 games they have scored 26 goals and conceded just eight. For those who place great importance on relative workloads in the second half of the season, this carried considerable weight to their argument that match demands could play a pivotal role in final standings.
Matheus Cunha’s goal at the Emirates gave Michael Carrick his second win as Manchester United manager in two games (Image: Getty)
And 10 years from now, Manchester United will be even more important. The bookmakers were wrong ten years ago when Leicester City were still in the lead after 23 games and were not favorites, and now they are wrong when they say they have a chance (albeit a narrow 5/4) of finishing in the top four with United. It should be much shorter than that.
Understandably, commentators and many supporters are calling for Michael Carrick to calm down after his dramatic and successful start to his term. But one look at the impressive wins against Manchester City at Old Trafford and Arsenal at the Emirates, as well as a sober look at the physical demands of the rest of the season, and it’s easy to see why Carrick and United fans should remain bullish.
Harry Maguire has earned a World Cup incentive by performing well in the final 15 games of the Premier League season (Image: Getty Images)
Perhaps the phrase you hear most often around the training facilities of the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea is ‘red zone’. A player in the red zone. Players need to manage their time. We’ll probably never hear that from Carrick.
United have played 25 games in all competitions this season. This compares to 36 for Chelsea and Manchester City (both competing in the Club World Cup this summer), 35 for Liverpool (including the Community Shield) and 33 for Aston Villa.
United have 15 games left in 15 weeks. Liverpool and Aston Villa have a minimum of 18 games remaining, while City and Chelsea have a minimum of 19 games remaining. And most, if not all, teams will face additional challenges.
Jeremy Frimpong becomes Liverpool’s latest injury as Manchester United’s top four rivals suffer a spate of injuries (Image: Getty Images)
Patrick Dorg’s injury is bad news for both United and Carrick given their recent form, but the manager has a mostly fit squad and plenty of options. Carrick’s pick at Emirates was right on the bench. Eight of United’s remaining games will be played at home, with Carrick having a core of English players including Luke Shaw, Kobie Mainu, Harry Maguire and possibly Mason Mount, who know they will have to play 15 games for the club to prove they deserve a spot in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad.
Carrick is a very memorable character, a very likeable person, a highly respected figure within the game and has a very good reputation at the club. Perhaps party policy is that it is too early to tell and that there should be no knee-jerk reactions to two excellent results.
But everything is set up for Carrick to lift United to fourth place, or even higher. The job is definitely a loss for him.
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