Wayne Lewis

QPR keeper Pierce Charles is only 21 and coming of age judging by these impressive past few weeks. Played every minute of Northern Ireland’s four games in the international break and kept four clean sheets against Georgia (home and away), Hungary and Ukraine. Saved a penalty from Georgia’s Kvaretskhelia and made an astonishing stop from Mikautadze in Tbilisi. Contributed an assist against Ukraine. And then back to Championship action. Against West Ham, the QPR keeper on loan from Manchester City saved a shot from Bowen, a shot from Piroe, a penalty from Bowen and Engels’ headed follow-up. Some of his long passes to left and right flanks were superb. As QPR head coach Julien Stephan observed, Charles is as good in possession as out of it. (Sheffield Wednesday also deserve praise for their part in Charles' development 21-26). This all came on the night when West Ham and their fans movingly saluted the memory of a much-loved goalkeeper, club legend Ludek Miklosko – and were joined by fans of QPR where he spent three seasons. #WHUFC #QPR

Michael Carrick’s tougher than some of the headlines suggest. Tough enough to leave home at 15 for West Ham, move into digs with a bunch of Aussies, go out on loan to Swindon and Birmingham, fight his way up the professional ladder, argue with Daniel Levy in protracted departure from Spurs to Manchester United.... ....take Roy Keane’s old 16 shirt at United, convert his penalty in the 2008 CL final shootout, deal with many challengers to his position at United, win 18 trophies, play 34 times for England in the era of Gerrard, Lampard etc (and should have played more, especially at 2006).... ....work his way out of a depression in 2009 (only 4 people knew what he was going through), play again after a heart scare in 2017, take interim charge in 2021 man-managing characters like Ronaldo, Fernandes and Rashford and leading them to two wins and a draw in his three games in charge. This doesn't guarantee success in his current assignment. It's a really tough job given the imbalanced squad, the mood, the tensions between fan and board, and challenging imminent fixtures against City and Arsenal. But just because he's a polite, respectful individual, slightly "reserved" by his own admission, doesn’t mean Michael Carrick lacks resilience. And many of the experiences he's been through could help in man-management of United's players. Good luck to him. He's a sensible short-term caretaker solution while United look for a long-term manager in the summer.