Key events
The mailbox is beginning to bulge. “Hey,” says Karen Asad, ”I know you don’t like to hear it Tim, but I look at United and the only negative I see right now is the fact that Rashford’s back. I just hope his presence and media attention do not derail a very settled squad from last season. Please don’t forget Rashford’s struggles long predate Amorim.
“I love Carrick being here but it’s not fair to ignore the discipline Amorim brought to United; all his other faults considered. Maybe Barca not signing him has brought a long-overdue wake-up call for Rashy.”
Point taken about the discipline, but Amorim’s purge of the left-wingers did weaken the team. And Rashford’s presence didn’t derail Villa, Barca or England. I’d back Carrick to cope, knowing him as well as he does, but you may be right, it could all go wrong.
The first email of the day comes from our man at the match. “Grey skies sit above the MKM Stadium,” says Will Unwin, “but there is great positivity among both clubs as Hull mark their return to the Premier League with a game against one of the competition’s greats.
“Manchester United think Michael Carrick can banish the memories of numerous failed spells from higher profile coaches and have invested in midfield. Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans have been tasked from the start and are a well-balanced pairing in theory, but the proof will be in the performance.
“The wily Oli McBurnie will fancy his chances of unnerving Ayden Heaven, who has been given the nod at centre-back. The striker has spent much of his career outside of the English top flight but is relentless in terms of work-rate and pops up inside the box at crucial times, as he evidenced at Wembley to secure promotion.”
McBurnie does look like a big threat. But I’d back Heaven to cope – he was classy in pre-season and can’t be blamed for the collapse against Milan, as it was 2-2 when he was taken off.
Teams in full
An interesting contrast: on paper, United’s bench is stronger than Hull’s first XI. But football isn’t played on paper, it’s played on grass.
Hull (probable 3-4-2-1) Tzolakis; Mendy, Egan, Ajayi; Coyle, Crooks, Slater, Giles; Stroud, Belloumi; McBurnie.
Subs: Phillips, Drameh, McNair, Herrington, Targett, Gourna-Douath, Hjerto-Dahl, Dowell, Millar.
Man United (4-2-3-1) Lammens; Mazraoui, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw; Santos, Tielemans; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Dorgu; Cunha.
Subs: Darlow, Dalot, Yoro, Martinez, Mainoo, Lacey, Zirkzee, Rashford, Sesko.
Referee Darren England.
Teams in brief: Hull City
Sergej Jakirovic is handing out the competitive debuts too – to Konstantinos Tzolakis in goal, Nobel Mendy at the back and Elliot Stroud as one of the 10s. It looks as if Hull are playing three at the back, the formation that bothered Carrick’s United at Leeds last season and against AC Milan the other day.
Teams in brief: Man United
Youri Tielemans makes his competitive debut for United, and so does Andrey Santos, alongside him in the pivot. There’s no sign of Amad, so Bryan Mbeumo reverts to the right wing and Matheus Cunha starts up front. On the bench, Marcus Rashford is back, 20 months after his long and largely distinguished United career was rudely interrupted by Ruben Amorim. He will wear the No 9 shirt, as he did on loan at Aston Villa. Benjamin Sesko makes the bench too after a slow-healing shin injury.
Preamble
Morning everyone and welcome to the second game of the Premier League season. It’s the Harry Maguire derby. It’s the Paddy McNair derby. For fans of a certain age, it’s the Stuart Pearson derby. It’s the north against the north. It’s the white rose against the red. It’s the club that finished 26th in last season’s league pyramid against the one that came third. It’s one of the world’s most famous clubs going to a place that may still be unable to believe that it’s in the Premier League.
But Hull City and Manchester United also have things in common. Both were abysmal the season before last – Hull 21st in the Championship, United 15th in the Prem. In Sergej Jakirovic and Michael Carrick, both have managers who radiate decency and are loved by the supporters. And both could struggle to maintain their recent resurgence, as Hull try to cope with the high life and United suddenly find the season stretching to more than 40 games.
Last time United visited the east coast was a year ago next week, under Ruben Amorim, and they had a shocker. They went 2-0 down at Grimsby in the League Cup and ended up losing on penalties. For a writer who run a Substack site reviewing United’s performances, this was so bad that it was actually quite good. The headline wrote itself: “Battered by an inflatable haddock.”
That night, as on many other occasions, Amorim was a fish out of water. It’s just one of the ways in which Carrick is a very different creature. He’s not just at home at Carrington: he’s used to going to Hull. He took his Middlesbrough team to the MKM Stadium three times, winning twice and drawing once. If the atmosphere has an edge of hostility today, he won’t be fazed. So much of managing Man United is about staying calm, which comes naturally to Carrick.
His team are hot favourites to win today, but the fans have a couple of reasons to be fearful. One is the way the wheels came off last weekend, for the first time under Carrick, as three goals were conceded in 15 minutes to AC Milan – managed by Amorim, of all people.
The other is the one blot on Carrick’s copybook last season, which came in trips to promoted clubs, with a defeat at Leeds and a stalemate at Sunderland. His United seem to cope better with low expectations than high ones. This may explain why he’s been scoffing at the idea that they have an easy start to this season. Secretly, Carrick might prefer to be in Jakirovic’s shoes today, with a moment to savour and nothing to lose.