Former Manchester United captain Ashley Young has urged caution over any attempt to bring in Antonio Conte as a replacement for Michael Carrick, branding such a move a “disaster.”

Conte is available after leaving Napoli by mutual consent in May, and his trophy record is as strong as any. The Italian won five Serie A championships as a player with Juventus, then added five more as a manager with Juventus, Inter Milan and Napoli, while also guiding Chelsea to the Premier League title.

Young, who spent just shy of nine years at Old Trafford before 18 months working under Conte at Inter, believes the fit would be wrong for Manchester United at this point. His view comes as pressure continues to build around Carrick, even if the hierarchy are still thought to support him.

Wednesday night’s defeat to Como was another heavy blow. It was Manchester United’s second-worst loss in the Champions League era and extended a winless run to seven matches, a sequence that sits awkwardly alongside the strong finish Carrick produced in his interim spell last season. On that run, the team collected more points from their final 17 games than champions Arsenal.

After the final whistle in northern Italy, Carrick walked straight to the corner of the stadium where the travelling supporters were gathered and apologised for what had taken place. He then turned his attention to the players and did not spare them, saying: “If you don’t run and you don’t run forward and you don’t run back, you ain’t going to win.”

Young’s doubts about Conte are rooted in the demands of his methods. Speaking on The Overlap Daily show, he said: “He is crazy,” and then described the intensity that often comes with the Italian’s approach.

“[Conte] is a bit like Diego Simeone on the sidelines. You hear him non-stop,” Young said. “Training is intense, there’s a lot of running. There was a lot that he did. The training sessions were a lot of 11 vs. 11, at times a little bit boring.

“Meetings were long. If we lost a game, we could go into a meeting and stop literally everything [else]. You could be in there three or four hours. I think that’s one of the reasons why he doesn’t last long at places because, not just the players, the board he tries to test mentally. I think people get annoyed at him and they’re like, no it’s time for you to go.”

It is the kind of start every manager hopes for after a summer of preparation: momentum, control and a perfect record to open a Premier League season. Since the competition began in 1992, several sides have produced dream runs that hinted at title glory, only for history to remind everyone that August and September do not decide championships.

One of the most recent examples came from Manchester City in 2023-24. Rodri’s late goal at newly promoted Sheffield United kept their start on track after opening with two wins, and Pep Guardiola’s team then beat Burnley and Newcastle United without conceding before overcoming Fulham and West Ham United. Their run ended at Wolverhampton Wanderers in Gameweek 7, with Arsenal defeating them the following week as well. Even so, City then went on a remarkable 23-match unbeaten stretch, including 11 straight victories to close the season and claim a fourth successive title.

Liverpool’s 2018-19 start under Jürgen Klopp carried similar promise. With Alisson and Fabinho arriving in the summer, the Reds won their first six league matches, including victories over West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion without conceding. A statement win at Tottenham Hotspur followed before Chelsea ended the perfect start at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool would not lose again until Jan. 3, yet a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium proved decisive, and they finished on 97 points without the title.

Guardiola’s first Manchester City campaign also featured six straight wins, although doubts soon surfaced. Their record included just one clean sheet, and a 2-0 defeat at Spurs pointed to problems that later showed up regularly. City dropped as low as fifth in January before recovering to third and securing Champions League qualification, setting the stage for the ‘Centurions.’

Chelsea’s early run under Carlo Ancelotti was built on a similar pattern of fast starts and later pressure. Didier Drogba’s strike helped them beat Hull City on opening weekend, and they followed with six straight victories, capped by a familiar win over Spurs at the Bridge. After two defeats in their next three matches and a draw with Blackburn Rovers in March, seven wins from the next eight, including a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford, carried them to the title by a single point.

Newcastle United’s 1994-95 season under Kevin Keegan was explosive from the outset. They scored 22 times across their first six wins and remained unbeaten until Gameweek 12, with the ‘Entertainers’ capturing the imagination even if the finish fell away. A miserable winter followed, and Newcastle ended the campaign in sixth.

This season, another perfect start has arrived at Manchester City. With seven wins from seven, including victories at Man Utd and Liverpool and high-scoring wins over Sunderland and Ipswich Town, they have again set the early pace, even with off-field scrutiny hanging over them.

Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez has moved to calm concerns after undergoing emergency surgery following a serious collision against Everton.

The Argentina international was stretchered off and taken straight to hospital after the head-on incident, while Everton’s center back was able to play on and complete the match. Martínez later shared an update on Instagram from his hospital bed, writing: “Thanks to everyone for the messages; the surgery went well,” the 34-year-old wrote. “The most important thing is that we won, and with a clean sheet . We’ll be back in a few weeks.”

Chelsea have since confirmed that Martínez suffered a fractured jaw. He was assessed on the pitch for eight minutes by medical staff before being taken to hospital, still conscious. Xabi Alonso also said after the match that his summer recruit had sustained a “concussion” while trying to clear Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s cross, a diagnosis that is likely to push back any return further.

His own estimate of “a few weeks” leaves room for interpretation, particularly given the range of recovery times for players coming back from broken jaws. The wider context matters too. At this summer’s World Cup, Austrian defender Stefan Posch broke his jaw in his nation’s opening group game but was back in contention against Argentina five days later wearing a protective mask. In that case, however, surgery was not required.

If Martínez is out until the November international break, which begins for Chelsea on Nov. 9, he would miss four matches. That is still a significant stretch, with Tottenham Hotspur visiting next Saturday before Chelsea travel to Liverpool for the Carabao Cup fourth round. Manchester United then come to the club on Halloween, followed by a trip north to Sunderland.

Before Martínez arrived, Alonso had already considered promoting Mike Penders above the error-prone Robert Sánchez. Chelsea eventually opted for the World Cup winner, but Penders now has an opening to make his case.