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With seven Premier League games remaining, Manchester United’s hierarchy are undecided about whether to give Michael Carrick the permanent manager’s job. They shouldn’t be.

Incredibly, just three months have passed since Ruben Amorim’s doomed project finally swerved off the road. In that time, his replacement has swept away the tiresome conversations about failing formations and rotten results, replacing them with a standard back four and a major upswing in performances. This back-to-basics approach has clearly worked for the players, who have enjoyed seven wins, two draws and a solitary defeat from his first 10 games in charge.

Carrick’s Tactical Approach Has Unleashed His Star Men

Tactically, the former United midfielder has stuck by the same principles that worked well in much of his three-year spell as Middlesbrough head coach. The go-to formation is a 4-2-3-1, with centre backs and midfielders bouncing passes off each other in tight spaces to draw in the opposition and expose any gaps left behind. Aided by former England assistant Steve Holland and former internationals Jonathan Woodgate and Jonny Evans, the new coaching group has drilled the side to drop back quickly out of possession, forming a deep line and aiming to...