Pochettino won’t fix Carrick’s Man Utd by pressing harder. He fixes it by giving a free-flowing side a structure, and that is the one thing BBC Sport’s tactics correspondent Umir Irfan says Carrick couldn’t reliably offer. The two men want much the same football on paper, which is why Pochettino’s tactics at Man Utd are a smaller change than the headlines suggest.

Earlier on this story: Pochettino’s Man Utd XI, the World Cup 4-2-3-1 (13 November), the four positions he must fix (13 November), the possession test (13 November) and where Carrick’s shape broke down (12 November).

What Carrick was building

Irfan’s account of Carrick’s side is a kind one. United finished last season with a run no other team matched, but it was a counter-attacking run. In the 13 games where they had less than half the ball, they lost once and won 62%. When they had the majority of possession the win rate fell to 36%. Casemiro’s set pieces were a reliable way through deep defences, something United have struggled with this season, and when United led, opponents stepped up and left the space the forwards wanted.

This season Carrick wanted something else: short passing in build-up, with Paris St-Germain’s midfield three as his reference, and a quick ball to the forwards once the press had been pulled out of shape. Irfan says it never came together, the same hurdle that beat Solskjaer and Ten Hag, and that his 4-2-4 press, with four players left high, worked early before teams worked it out and United didn’t adapt. BBC Sport’s Sami Mokbel adds that there was a feeling inside the club of too little progress in team structure across the Chelsea, Roma and Aston Villa games, where the side conceded eight goals.

The structure Pochettino adds

Irfan’s point is that Pochettino’s ideas in possession are close to Carrick’s. At the World Cup his USA side used a fluid midfield four, small-space passing and early through-balls for Folarin Balogun. Pochettino has called himself a Bielsa disciple, and Irfan compares his principles to Andoni Iraola’s at Liverpool. Where he differs is the organisation underneath. Pochettino’s own words, quoted from 2014: “My philosophy is to give a freer style with a good organisation.”

That is the bit United need, and it is why the similarity should help. The players already know the principles, so the change is who stands where when the ball is lost. The defence is the first job, not the attack. United have a 900-minute goalkeeper in Lammens and a back line that has conceded in bunches, and no pressing scheme works if the line behind it keeps shifting.

It also answers the fitness point Irfan raises. He says United appeared less fit the further they got from Ruben Amorim’s departure. A high-intensity coach has to get the squad fit first, and the days of training before Anfield won’t do it.

Who it suits in this squad

Pochettino is known for letting attackers solve problems. Cole Palmer said he gave him the “confidence and licence to go where I wanted on the pitch” at Chelsea, per Irfan. United’s attackers have the minutes to be those players, according to official Fantasy Premier League data on 13 November.

Cunha’s four assists from 703 minutes is the number that stands out. A coach who frees the player between the lines gets more from him than one who asks him to hold a wing. The midfield is the unanswered question. A fluid four needs a full-back or winger stepping inside, and Dorgu, with 195 league minutes, is the player the left side would lean on while Shaw is out with no return date. Šeško and Rashford are also out, so the striker role Balogun filled for the USA has no clear owner.

The risk BBC flags

Irfan’s warning is specific. If Pochettino stumbles, it will be in breaking down stubborn defences when United are asked to dominate the ball, “Groundhog Day, again”. Anfield on Sunday 22 November (4.30pm UK) is the opposite problem, a game where United will probably have less of it, and last season’s 62% win rate in those games suggests that suits them. The test is Brentford at home on Saturday 28 November (3pm) and Newcastle away on Wednesday 2 December (8.15pm).

Irfan also points to Brighton as proof that off-the-ball intensity still works in the Premier League in 2026: Fabian Hurzeler’s side are second with the fourth-highest average possession, ten games in. Pochettino doesn’t have to invent anything. He has to make a team that already knows the principles stand in the right places.