This week’s soccer questions: Wrexham’s future, and did we just see the biggest title shock in history?

Wrexham face another season in the Championship. Photograph: Michael Steele/Getty Images

According to Transfermarkt, Wrexham’s squad was only the 15th most valuable in the Championship this season with their wage bill estimated by Capology to be the 12th largest. That Phil Parkinson’s team finished seventh was an overachievement, even if the failure to make the playoffs on the final day was a disappointment.

Everything must be examined if Wrexham are to take the next step. Is Parkinson the right manager to guide them to the Premier League? Is his style of play too conservative for Wrexham to impose themselves on Championship opponents? Are they signing the right players to go up? Do they need a clearer transfer strategy?

Adversity will make Welcome To Wrexham more watchable, but as a team with Premier League aspirations they will now be tested like never before. The true measure of McElhenney and Reynolds as owners will be taken from this point forward.

Has Champions League qualification made Michael Carrick the right man for the Manchester United job?

The famous Champions League music will be heard again at Old Trafford next season. While qualification for European soccer’s most prestigious club competition seemed unlikely when Ruben Amorim spectacularly flamed out as Manchester United manager at the start of the year, Sunday’s win over Liverpool confirmed the club’s place in the Premier League’s top five.

Whether Michael Carrick will still be in charge to lead United in the Champions League next season is yet to be confirmed although the former midfielder is expected to be offered the chance. Club executives were waiting on the outcome of the team’s top-five pursuit, which is now settled.

Other, more illustrious, names were linked with the vacancy. The qualities of Andoni Iraola, Oliver Glasner and Julian Nagelsmann among many, many others have been discussed by fans and experts who argue United should look at the bigger picture and not just the last three months.

Carrick, however, has made it impossible for the club to hire anyone else. While an argument can be made that someone with a broader resume would fare better, Carrick has tangible evidence to suggest he deserves the opportunity to build on a very impressive run. Everything else is hypothetical.

United have won five more points than any other Premier League side in the period since Carrick’s arrival and while results have been better than performances, Old Trafford is clearly a healthier environment than it was six months ago. Under Carrick, Manchester United have been the sum of their parts which is a huge improvement on Amorim’s reign.

Those parts may not be enough to withstand the rigours of Champions League soccer next season. United must use the summer transfer window to add depth to a squad that will have played only 40 matches in all competitions once this season is over. It’s been easier for Carrick to set up his side when he and his coaching staff have had a full week on the training field between games, a luxury other top sides in the Premier League have not enjoyed this season.

Nonetheless, Manchester United would risk breaking things all over again by hiring someone else. Across the sport, the cult of the manager may also be on the wane. Bayern Munich hired Vincent Kompany from Burnley. Mikel Arteta had no senior management experience before taking over at Arsenal. The best manager isn’t always the same thing as the best manager for the job.