Keep hearing about the 'amazing job' Carrick is doing. Let's look at the facts:
They have played the least amount of games any of the 92 English league clubs can. Their least for over 100 years. Their coping that 'it's hard to build rhythm with one game a week' - is exactly that. Sports scientists have proved the benefits of more time to rest vastly outweigh any perceived 'match rhythm' issues. Next season they'll have a way bigger workload.
I am not a big one for stats, but their expected goals for and against don't look much better than Amorim's, might even be marginally worse. They're still conceding lots of goals too.
Their performances have been very inferior to results. They've won a lot of games under Carrick they really didn't deserve to, or that were in the balance. They played City when City had no defence really, Chelsea and Liverpool were poor when they met them (and even then Liverpool did all the attacking, United just sat back and hit them on the break effectively, and Chelsea hit the woodwork serveral times) and Arsenal was a tight game won in the last minute with a great Cunha strike.
They seem to play against teams missing their best player a lot. In fact, so often teams have been missing key players against them that it feels like the officials are purposely booking or sending players off so they won't be able to play against United in following games.
Carrick himself - not to do the lazy 'he's just Ole mark II!' thing again - but it's actually true. Like Ole, he is a wet lettuce - he comes across as supremely simple and lacking tactical IQ, knowledge of the game, charisma etc. There's no reason to believe he will buck the trend of all of Ferguson's acolytes being awful managers (and that's one of many reasons you can argue Ferguson is an overrated manager himself, but that's another debate entirely) and somehow start leading them to glory.
Their squad is very very average. Not many good players there at all.
They are still hampered by their debt and even if they do buy some good players, it's just kicking the can down the road. Also, INEOS have proved themselves totally clueless with some of their buys and their dawdling over Ten Hag and Amorim when anyone with half a brain knew they were failing.
Overall, they're in a false position. I tend to think United get more points most seasons than they truly deserve and the same was true this season. Even last season, finishing 15th, their performances warranted relegation.
I won't mention too much the favouritism from the officials and VAR - they routinely get decisions not a single other club would, the latest being the Forest debacle. This won't change and is the biggest positive they can hold onto for next season.
However, the evidence for it falling apart next season is fucking overwhelming. So don't fret. Let the more clueless of the cunts on Redcafe act like this is them back - the deluded 'everything is brilliant' Top Reds have been proved absolute fucking morons and constantly wrong for many years now. They have to believe this is the right one because as mostly glory hunters their self-esteem is wrapped up in United doing well, and Carrick failing would be one false dawn too many and surely utterly break them.