Carlisle United plot MK Dons raid for Mike Williamson | OneFootball

The former Newcastle United player had huge success in the north, and could be the next United manager.

Carlisle United look set to make a surprising bid to bring Mike Williamson from MK Dons back to the north as their new manager.

That's according to Alan Nixon via Patreon, who has said that the League Two side are hoping that the former Newcastle United defender can repeat the magic touch he had at National League side Gateshead if he returns close to the Scottish border.

The Cumbrians and Paul Simpson parted ways at the end of August following a 2-1 defeat to Tranmere Rovers, their third league defeat of the season at that time.

Now six games in to the League Two campaign, Carlisle's fortunes have not turned around, and the club has won just one of their matches so far, losing the other five.

Simpson's side were relegated from League One last season, finishing bottom of the table with just 30 points, 11 off Port Vale, who finished 23rd and 16 points from safety.

Williamson has not been able to repeat his fortunes at MK Dons

After finding great success with Gateshead in non-league, it has been a bit of a struggle for Williamson in Milton Keynes.

The 40-year-old guided his former club to promotion from the National League North in 2021/22, before pushing the side onwards to safety in their first season in the fifth tier a year later.

Williamson left Gateshead while they were 6th in the table last season, and carried his new team, MK Dons, to the League Two play-offs.

However, it was an extremely difficult play-off campaign for the Dons, who were beaten home and away by Crawley Town in significant defeats. The Red Devils ran out 3-0 winners in the first leg at home, before humiliating Williamson's side 5-1 at Stadium MK, winning the tie 8-1 on aggregate.

The hangover from last season seems to have had an effect on MK Dons, who have started 2024/25 in a less than impressive fashion.

They have won just two of their six League Two matches so far, losing the other four, including a crushing 3-0 defeat to rivals AFC Wimbledon last Saturday at The Cherry Red Records Stadium.

Nevertheless, this has not put Carlisle off trying to bring Williamson to the club in the coming days, with their need for a manager growing following a 3-2 loss to Fleetwood Town over the weekend.

Bringing in a new manager quickly is imperative to Carlisle's season

Although their performance against Derby County on the final day of the 2023/24 season was promising, despite the 2-0 defeat, Carlisle have struggled to mount any momentum in their opening six matches.

A 1-0 win over rivals Barrow has been the highlight of a poor campaign, and is one that will continue to get worse if a new manager is not brought in quickly.

The Cumbrians are on the precipice of the relegation places currently, and are just a point above Accrington Stanley, who are 23rd.

With games against teams that are in and around themselves in the coming weeks, it is an incredibly important stage of the season for Carlisle, and bringing in a new manager will provide the stability that they need to march back up the table.