Michael Carrick’s Manchester United turnaround has pushed him into contention for the Barclays Manager of the Season award after six managers were nominated for 2025/26. Fans have until 12:00 BST on Monday 18 May to vote for their favourite, with the public vote to be combined with a panel of football experts to decide the winner.
Carrick took over as head coach in mid-January after Ruben Amorim left, when United were sitting sixth in the Premier League. In 15 league games, he oversaw 10 wins, three draws and two losses, with United scoring 27 goals and conceding 16. That run carried them up to third place, secured Champions League football for next season and left them first in the Premier League form table. The surge also included a 2-0 win over Manchester City, along with victories over Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs.
That kind of finish is why Carrick’s name is on a shortlist that also includes Keith Andrews, Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola, Andoni Iraola and Regis Le Bris. Andrews has been recognised after Brentford’s debut season under him included a challenge for a top-six finish. Arteta’s Arsenal posted 24 wins, seven draws and five losses from 36 matches, while Guardiola has already collected the February and April Barclays Manager of the Month awards this season. Iraola has Bournemouth in sixth place and chasing European qualification, and Le Bris led Sunderland to promotion to the Premier League in his first season there.
The contrast is what gives this vote its edge. Carrick is being judged on only 15 Premier League matches, yet those games produced 33 of United’s 65 points and transformed the club’s league position in a matter of weeks. The question now is whether voters and experts reward the sheer scale of that recovery over the fuller-season résumés built by the other nominees.
With the deadline set for Monday, the result will say as much about how the season is valued as it does about the managers themselves. Carrick has already done the hard part by changing United’s trajectory; the final call now belongs to the voters and the panel.
