Richard Jolly: Michael Carrick’s common-sense revolution has had instant impact and makes him a man for long haul

If the actual Premier League table has a pleasing look for Manchester United, a variant of it is still more striking. Take a start date of January 13 and it shows them top, with 16 points from six games; two more than Chelsea, six better than Liverpool and eight better than Aston Villa, their nearest neighbours in the overall standings. Arsenal and Manchester City have both beaten in that time, which is because they lost to United.