Pochettino a decade in Man Utd's making - but Carrick deserves better

Manchester United’s decade-long courtship of Mauricio Pochettino now looks ready to become something far more permanent, with the Argentine seemingly on the verge of taking charge. That is the central theme of chief football writer Phil McNulty’s assessment, and it underlines how long the club has wanted this relationship to happen.

A chase of that length says as much about the manager as it does about the club. In football, elite teams often circle a preferred candidate for years before the right moment arrives, because appointments at the top can shape a club’s direction, identity and patience levels for seasons at a time. When the fit finally comes together, it is usually because both sides believe the timing is right.

The headline also points to Michael Carrick, with the suggestion that he deserves better. In a sport where caretakers and interim figures are often asked to steady the ship, their work can be overlooked once a bigger name is available. That makes the personal side of a managerial change important: one man’s long-awaited opportunity can be another man’s frustration.

For United, the questions now are straightforward. Would Pochettino bring the kind of stability and clarity that a major club craves? And, just as importantly, what does the shift mean for Carrick and the role he has been asked to play? Those answers will matter to supporters because a managerial decision does not just change the dugout; it sets the tone for everything that follows.