Michael Carrick: Why interim Man Utd boss maybe shouldn’t get manager’s job

Manchester United have won the most points in the Premier League since caretaker boss Michael Carrick took over in January, so giving him the job on a permanent basis seems a no-brainer.

But dig a little deeper and you’ll see that the decision isn’t so obvious, as the statistics warn that no matter how brilliant the results, they’re unlikely to last in the long run.

On the surface, everything looks great under Carrick.

Despite being the team with the most points during his tenure, only Arsenal has a better goal difference and no team has scored more goals.

United’s attack continues to run hot under the former midfielder; This is certainly great in the short term, but a bit worrying for the future when it inevitably cools down.

Eight teams were better at creating chances relative to expected goals, but having the best shot conversion rate in the league means United have scored seven more goals than any other team, more than any other team would have achieved from chances in the past.

Looking at attack and defense in general, the only team to outperform United in xG numbers since Carrick took over is Nottingham Forest, who are enjoying their own ‘new manager bounce’ under Vitor Pereira.