There is something almost poetic about this. Manchester United, the club that spent years throwing obscene money at big names, handing out contracts like party invites, might actually end up turning to one of their own. Michael Carrick being recommended for the permanent job is the kind of story that would have seemed absolutely mad two years ago but right now, honestly, it makes a strange kind of sense.
Carrick has done a solid job at Middlesbrough. Nobody is pretending he has conquered Europe, but he has shown he can organise a team, get players believing in something and actually build rather than just react. That counts for a lot when you look at what United have been doing lately, which is mostly panicking and spending money like a teenager with their first credit card.
The smart thing Ratcliffe could do here is back the recommendation. The executives at the club clearly see something in Carrick and these are people who have watched managers come and go at Old Trafford like a revolving door at Primark on a Saturday. They know what a mess looks like. If they are pointing toward Carrick, that carries weight.
The concern, and it is a fair one, is whether the Premier League is a different animal entirely from the Championship. It is. No question. But then Pep Guardiola had to start somewhere too, and the gap between a promising manager and a proven one is often just one big opportunity. United could do worse than giving a man who actually loves the club and understands what it means a proper shot.
What feels different this time is that Ratcliffe seems to be building something with a plan rather than just reacting to a crisis every three weeks. If that is true then Carrick as a long term project, a manager who grows with the rebuild, actually sounds less crazy and more like the kind of thinking United have desperately needed for years.
Will it work? Nobody knows. But it feels like the right kind of gamble. Let me know your thoughts.