Jonathan Wilson on Michael Carrick, VAR reforms and the promoted Premier League sides
Jonathan Wilson used a mailbag edition of his Soccer Desk newsletter, published on 10 August 2026, to assess Michael Carrick’s position at Manchester United and to discuss recent VAR changes and the prospects of the Premier League’s newly promoted clubs. He opened by saying United finally seem to have something that resembles stability in the dressing room under Carrick.
Wilson noted that United’s late run of 12 wins and three draws in 17 games last season left the board little choice but to give Carrick the job, but he warned those results came when the pressure was lower—United were already out of both cup competitions and had no European football—and that reproducing them over a full campaign is a different task as the club will play 15 more games this season than they did in 2025-26. He listed recent additions Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans as reinforcements to a midfield area that needed improvement, said a left-back seems almost certain to arrive before the end of the month, and added there is probably the need for one more high-class experienced central defender.
On forward options, Wilson said it is unclear what Marcus Rashford’s future is after his return from loan at Barcelona, noted Rashford has two years left on his contract, and suggested he could add dynamism and finishing to the left side of the attack. Assessing United’s overall prospects, Wilson wrote it is probably not a title-winning squad, but it’s certainly one that should qualify for the Champions League.
Wilson set out two managerial and organisational concerns that will determine Carrick’s success: whether Carrick can cope with the churn of two games a week, and whether he can operate with a squad that is at least as fatigued as their opponents. He also raised the psychological issue at the club, arguing that a routine of failure and mistrust of success could complicate realistic assessment of progress.
On VAR, Wilson described the changes implemented before the World Cup that allow reviews and overturns of incorrectly awarded corner kicks, certain attacking fouls and clear mistakes relating to red cards given from a second yellow. He noted the Premier League has adopted only the measure allowing VAR to overturn a second yellow leading to a red and emphasised that VAR cannot recommend that a referee should award a second yellow that would lead to a red.
Wilson reflected on the World Cup application of those changes, saying the corner issue only rarely came up and that it seemed odd incorrectly awarded goal kicks could not be turned into corners. He wrote, "Personally, I would scrap VAR, or at least this form of it, but if incorrect decisions can be corrected quickly and unobtrusively then they probably should be." He added that the Premier League’s aim for a "light touch" explains its resistance and predicted that offsides will be almost fully automated soon, arguing that, "Whatever doubts there may be about margins of error and frame rates, it’s still going to be more accurate than a 40-year-old running the line 30 yards away, peering through a thicket of players."
Wilson outlined specific Premier League regulations intended to curb timewasting: speeded-up substitutions; players who receive treatment having to remain off the field for 60 rather than 30 seconds; an outfield player having to be withdrawn for 60 seconds after a goalkeeper receives treatment; and a five-second clock on throw-ins and goal kicks. He said all of these should speed up the game and that it will be interesting to see the level of tolerance for grappling in the box, particularly by attacking players.
Turning to the promoted clubs, Wilson contrasted the recent achievements of Sunderland and Leeds, who finished seventh and 14th respectively last season, with the challenges facing Coventry, Ipswich and Hull. He judged it extremely difficult for all three to survive: Hull were promoted unexpectedly; Coventry, despite Premier League return euphoria and the Frank Lampard factor, have had only modest summer spending; and Ipswich—who lost the manager who got them up, with Kieran McKenna opting for a break rather than another Premier League campaign—have added Daizen Maeda, Abdul Fatawu, Issa Diop and Chuba Akpom. He added that Gary O’Neil perhaps feels he has unfinished business and concluded that if any of the promoted sides are to survive, they need another club to have a dreadful campaign.
Two questions remain that will only be answered as the season goes on. First, Carrick himself: can he cope with the churn of two games a week, and operating with a squad that is at least as fatigued as their opponents? And second, where is the club psychologically?