Michael Carrick’s tenure as Manchester United head coach ended on Thursday. His successor, Mauricio Pochettino, was announced by Friday. The switch was almost seamless and was done in a matter of days. Which begs the question of why the 20-time league champions can’t act as swiftly when it comes to players’ transfers.The transfer sagas featuring United always tend to drag on before the club either overpays or settles for cheaper options. Because the club operates on a tight budget — its coffers bear the brunt of the accumulating debt of the Glazer family, United’s principal owners — the effect falls on transfers.Other managers before Pochettino suffered because of United’s less-than-stellar track record during the transfer windows, and the Argentine will, in all likelihood, go through the same cycle. Carrick might have been the most hard done by United’s attitude, with the Englishman given Youri Tielemans, an injured Carlos Baleba and Andrey Santos — all midfielders — ahead of the 2026/27 season. This occurred when United needed defenders who would offer much-needed stability to their backline.Mauricio Pochettino has agreed to become the Manchester United men’s head coach.— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 13, 2026This forced him to make do with players like Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez and the relatively inexperienced Leni Yoro and Ayden Heaven. None of these names screams ‘world-class.’ On top of that, players considered seniors weren’t exactly doing a lot either. They only made strong comments on everything under the sun and downed tools when it mattered the most.Also Read | Can Pochettino fix leaking roof and collapsing floor at Manchester United?Martinez, a World Cup winner with Argentina, slammed the club hierarchy after their 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League for not investing enough. 11 days after the rant, he caught Wesley Fofana with a forearm that wouldn’t look out of place in a WWE ring. He was red-carded, and United went down to 10, ultimately losing 2-0.In the last match before Carrick’s sack, United went down and came back from 2 goals down twice against Aston Villa, with the game ending 4-4. Every goal United conceded resulted from schoolboy errors.Meanwhile, captain Bruno Fernandes looks like a shadow of his former self, with the skipper even criticising Carrick’s tactics after losing 1-4 to Como in the Champions League. As a veteran player, he should have known better than to sound like he was helming a munity. More so, considering his own numbers this season have been abysmal — 6 goals and 3 assists in 14 matches in all competitions.These are the players Pochettino has acquired and has been tasked to whip into shape. This is easier said than done if you have seen United play this season. The footballers look practically lethargic and out of ideas during matches, with United players often among the worst runners in the league. “Whatever system you play, whatever tactics you play, if you don’t run, and you don’t run forward, and you don’t run back, you ain’t going to win,” Carrick had said after their defeat to Como.Story continues below this adThese players will be in for a rude awakening now, with Pochettino expected to employ the Gacon test in training — a 25-stage high-intensity drill where players have to run 150 metres in 45 seconds for the first stage. Then in the next stage, the distance is increased by 6.25 metres but the time remains the same. As the stage increases, the distance also increases but the time remains the same, with the player expected to cover 5,000 metres in the 25 stages. However, few players managed to make it to the last stage.It now remains to be seen if Pochettino’s methods make or break the players or if the Argentine joins the laundry list of coaches since Alex Ferguson who tried to steady the clown car — that is, Manchester United — and fell by the wayside.