Four things we learned as the Carrick revolution comes to a juddering halt at Newcastle

Michael Carrick was handed his first defeat as Manchester United’s interim head coach as his team flopped to a despondent 2-1 defeat against the ten men of Newcastle United. The Red Devils fell behind to a penalty but equalised deep into first-half injury time through Casemiro. After failing to take advantage of their one-man advantage after the break, they were deservedly beaten. Here are four things we learned from the match: Carrick wake-up call Make no bones about it, this was United’s worst performance under Carrick and not just because of the result. Newcastle was always going to be a difficult place to go, but the lacklustre showing was a continuation of the team’s poor performances in the last few games, and it is no surprise that it ended in the interim head coach’s first defeat in charge. Not making the most of an entire half with a one-man advantage was criminal but somehow unsurprising as the Red Devils were overwhelmed by their bombastic hosts. The points have been rolling in under Carrick but scratch beneath the surface and the downward trajectory is worrying. How he addresses this will have a huge impact on his chances of being handed a permanent contract at the end of the season; it’s not too late to pull it back, but if the increasingly poor form is allowed to reach its logical conclusion, then INEOS may be dusting off their shortlist of names. Weak mentality Quite what it takes for United to rouse themselves to a big performance is increasingly becoming a mystery. They were magnificent against Manchester City and Arsenal, but their dynamism has faded away just as Champions League football is theirs to lose. If the players think they’ve already done enough, then the club is in deep trouble. They have demonstrated moments of fluid, energetic football and did so again tonight, but the overriding sense is one of complacency. It’s no good just turning up in the big games, and whatever messaging Carrick is delivering needs to make that point crystal clear. Tonight’s defeat was a concerning sign that maybe the culture shift at Old Trafford hasn’t been as effective as first thought. Classic Casemiro Tonight was a complete Casemiro performance, and not in a good way. In keeping with the whole team’s tired display, the 34-year-old started to show his age once again with a sluggish showing in the middle of the park. But in between being caught in possession and making rash tackles, the Brazilian showed his importance to United with his well-taken header to equalise from a whipped Bruno Fernandes cross. That aerial threat will be difficult to replace, but watching Casemiro in direct contrast to the powerful pairing of Joelinton and potential summer signing Sandro Tonali was a stark illustration that United are right to be moving on from him. How they replace him will be the measure of their summer transfer business. Mixed fortunes for the front three After Benjamin Sesko forced his way into Carrick’s starting lineup last week, the interim head coach opted to again field the expensively-assembled front three which arrived in the summer. United are yet to see all three firing on all cylinders at the same time, and just as Sesko’s form picks up so Bryan Mbeumo’s has dropped off. The Cameroonian has been crucial for United this season with some key goals putting him at the forefront of their reinvigorated attack, but tonight was his worst showing in red and indicates he should be the next player rotated out of Carrick’s starting XI. While Sesko was bright when given half a chance and Mbeumo blunt, Matheus Cunha was his standard mixture of both, alternately bursting past his man and rolling the ball straight to the opposition. Two out of three isn’t bad, but Carrick will be desperate to get them all into form at the same time. Featured image George Wood via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried. He cut his teeth working in print media for local newspapers and entered football journalism covering the grassroots game for the Non-League Paper. Here he achieved a career high, interviewing United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to get his views on the lower echelons of the football pyramid. To kill time during international breaks Joe writes album reviews and has strong views on post punk for Plus One Magazine.