So Bruno Fernandes and Michael Carrick have cleared the air. Marvellous. Here comes the new Manchester United, the Carrick relaunch. Be afraid, Chelsea. Very afraid. 

Why didn’t they pull up a chair earlier if it were that easy? United have not reached ground zero by accident. They are the authors of the mess they are in, one that cannot be talked out of existence nor willed away in episodic bouts of tub thumping.

If we take Fernandes at his word, why should Carrick believe that the skipper’s form this season is somehow unrepresentative of a declining 32-year-old? Fernandes has had one good hour at home to Ipswich, United’s only Premier League win.  

One of the few dynamic moves Carrick has made in this harrowing period has been to drop Fernandes for the home game with Bournemouth. Not for what he said after the Como retreat, but for the poverty of his play. Of those guilty of not running enough, Fernandes leads the yards less covered table by a canyon’s width. 

To fall for the idea that peak Bruno might be returning at Stamford Bridge is more likely to hasten Carrick’s end than prolong his stay. There has been nil sign of that Fernandes since the spring. Better to select an engaged Youri Tielemans in the playmaker role to which he is best suited. 

That would properly clear the air and let Fernandes and the rest of the squad know that actions not words are the currency that matters here. Let Fernandes state his case by making a difference from the bench.

Midfield rebuild starts here

Carrick is blessed by the return of his most consistent performer. No wonder Kobbie Mainoo succumbed to muscle failure saddled as he was with Fernandes in front of him and an out-of-position Tielemans behind.

Carlos Baleba’s injury coupled with the lack of any defensive effort from Fernandes killed the so-called midfield rebuild at birth. Tielemans was even less mobile than Casemiro, and had none of the Brazilian’s positional feel for the No.6 role.

With Tielemans deployed in a part of the pitch that he at least understands and Baleba holding, Carrick is living the upgrade dream and Mainoo is free to link defence with attack, which is his thing.

Attack attack attack

The sitting of Fernandes would allow Carrick to fire up the forward line that led the post-Ruben Amorim resurrection last season. Matheus Cunha, a victim of Carrick’s desire to rehabilitate Marcus Rashford, must start on the left with Amad on the right and Bryan Mbeumo through the middle. 

It is surprising how quickly Carrick forgot the simplicity of the selections that persuaded the owners to give him the post full time. Freed from Amorim’s needless philosophical dogma, Carrick chose round pegs for round holes and watched the rhythm flow. This is the lesson he must learn at Stamford Bridge.

Holy grail

United have conceded against every opponent bar the mighty Shabah in the Champions League. This is the one area for which Carrick is absolved of responsibility. The so-called defensive reset is supposedly next following the investments in attack and midfield made in the previous two summers. 

United are shorn of high-end full backs on both sides of the pitch. Harry Maguire is done as a front line centre-back and Matthijs de Ligt was hardly convincing before his injury. Having tried everything else, Carrick needs to find stability in the centre, which means trusting Leny Yoro and hoping De Ligt stays fit. 

The crisis at left-back caused by Luke Shaw’s returning frailty is a measure of the best-in-class ineptitude which has come to define the Sir Jim Ratcliffe leadership. There is little enthusiasm for Diogo Dalot or Noussair Mazraoui at right-back, never mind make-shift left-backs. 

Time then for Harry Amass to navigate the deep. He can’t be any worse, and he has a left-foot. Carrick needs a freak outcome, which by definition is unlikely. It starts with risk. Cry God for Harry, Carrick and United.

Kevin Garside’s XI to face Chelsea