COMMENT: So Carrington is humming again. Within a week, victory and a superb performance in front of their fans over Tottenham was followed up by a spectacular win at Liverpool. Manchester United are officially back on track.
But there's dark cloud forming on the horizon. A dark cloud which could have long-term ramifications.
The very public row between United manager Louis van Gaal and Jorge Mendes has shown no signs of letting up. Since a round of shots were fired by Mendes earlier this year, the Portuguese super agent has kept his own counsel.
But there's been no sign from Old Trafford that tensions have eased.
During the aforementioned week, where six points were secured against two of United's main top four rivals, we've also had Radamel Falcao's former agent going public with claims the Colombian was in tears being relegated to the club's U21 team. Then it broke that Van Gaal had steamed into Angel di Maria immediately after the Liverpool win, leaving the Argentine shaken and questioning his future under the Dutchman.
Couple that with a third of Mendes' clients, David de Gea, still in his contract impasse with United's paymasters and you can actually see a pattern forming.
The players Van Gaal is now pushing United to sign have no connections with Mendes' Gestifute company.
Mats Hummels, the Borussia Dortmund captain, PSV Eindhoven winger Memphis Depay and VfL Wolfsburg sensation Kevin de Bruyne are all on Van Gaal's shopping list and not inside Mendes' stable. Jim Lawlor, the United chief scout, was in Italy this week to see Lazio play Hellas Verona. The Biancoceleste duo, Felipe Anderson and Stefan de Vrij, were his prime targets. Again, neither player is connected to Mendes.
Mendes usually keeps a low profile and rarely speaks about his players. But he hasn't been backward in coming forward about Van Gaal and his treatment of Falcao.
"They miss (Sir Alex) Ferguson at Manchester United. With him and his template the situation would be different," said Mendes in February. "I know if they give Falcao five whole games he will score in almost every one of them.
"If Falcao does not stay at Manchester, he will be at one of the other five or six best teams in the world."
Van Gaal has described Mendes' constant jabs as "unhelpful", while the Portuguese's supporters insist the comments have been overblown and it was more about him replying to questions during his book tour than anything agenda-driven.
But how do you go from Sir Alex Ferguson, the former United manager, describing Mendes as "the best agent I dealt with, without a doubt. He was responsible, looked after his players and was very fair with clubs", to a situation where the manager of the same club is sparring with him through the press?
And, more importantly, where does this leave United's transfer plans if they're having to work around one of the biggest powerbrokers in the game because of a personality clash?
Mendes handles some of the best players in football. Real Madrid stars Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez, Chelsea striker Diego Costa, the list goes on and on. It is intriguing that talk of Sporting CP midfielder William Carvalho, another of Mendes' clients, moving to United has suddenly dried up this season.
Can United afford to simply write off the Gestifute stable when it comes to team strengthening? Just as importantly, can they afford to allow a Premier League rival to establish a relationship with Mendes as they once had with Ferguson in charge?
This is where Ed Woodward really needs to earn his money. If there is a problem between Mendes and United due to Van Gaal, then it will be up to the United vice-chairman to rescue the relationship. From Ronaldo, right down to Porto's 18 year-old midfielder Ruben Neves, United will have to work with Mendes if they want to find a way back to the top.
Jose Mourinho, the Chelsea manager and one of Mendes' most loyal clients, admits he was offered Di Maria and Falcao, but had to pass on both because of Financial Fair Play laws. But Mendes did get Diego Costa in at Stamford Bridge last summer.
This summer, unless Woodward acts, the prospect of pulling off another Di Maria/Falcao coup becomes all the more remote if United sideline one of the most powerful agents in the game.
PART II - The LVG vs Mendes blow-up: 5 top targets Man Utd can kiss goodbye