Carrick’s philosophy was more akin to that of Alex Ferguson but football has moved on since then, leaving United behind

How does Michael Carrick explain the wild oscillations, the bipolar disorder of this team and this stadium?

Trey Nyoni showed against Arsenal he has the qualities to be a better central midfielder than Dominik Szoboszlai

Fans are fickle and easily swayed, while executive club management has proved to be serial failures

Obsession with physical duels is turning the world’s richest league into a wasteland for creativity

Their titles now mean nothing, yet still they taunted Anfield with a song declaring: ‘Cheating bastards, we know what we are’

Finn Azaz’s creativity was missed against Israel but leaving him on the bench spared him from the criticism that would inevitably have come his way

In a country with its own tortured history, small town of Backa Topola hosts divisive Nations League fixture

Many hours spent arguing in team meetings last week could have confused and demoralised Ireland, but it seems to have cleared their heads

In a mess seven months in the making, there is no one villain in the Irish set-up at whom people can point the finger

Ireland are anxious to get through these games without creating any unnecessary trouble. Israel are long past caring about that

Big strong back five did not bring the security they were intended to provide

But expect change at Arsenal as Mikel Arteta will not treat Brighton defeat as just a bad day at work

United fail to exploit advantage after Foden sees red in hotly contested Manchester derby

Despite €2bn spent on new players in the past four years, Chelsea coach Xabi Alonso still has few midfield options