An emotional Michael Carrick was cheered as he walked around the pitch after Sunday’s defeat at Old Trafford. When he disappeared down the tunnel after Manchester United’s loss to Bournemouth, the support from fans for a legendary player had turned to hostility and anger at the current squad.
The atmosphere afterwards was said to be emotional. Carrick was the last to leave the stadium and, as usual, patiently posed for selfies and signed shirts for the fans who remained, on what had been a foul day weather-wise and an awful one on the pitch.
Asked at his post-match news conference whether he expected to be in charge for Saturday’s trip to Chelsea, Carrick said: “I’m not expecting anything in particular, to be honest. I’m carrying on as normal.”
Few felt that was sustainable, and even Carrick’s coaching team wondered whether they would survive. United have decided that Carrick and his players will have the chance to turn the situation around. No timescale has been put on this, but Carrick will be in charge at Chelsea, with his team 16th in the table.
They have a crucial Champions League match against Roma three days later, then a Premier League encounter with in-form Aston Villa before a two-week international break. No-one at Manchester United is saying so, but that would be the most obvious time to decide whether a change of coach is required.
Waiting for a decision that never came
On Monday morning, when an announcement terminating Carrick’s tenure was widely anticipated, a senior figure at United said calmness and a clear head would be needed to navigate the turbulence around Old Trafford.
Carrick had been treading water since the crushing 4-1 defeat at Como on 21 October, one of the worst European nights in the club’s history. Respected United fan and United We Stand fanzine editor Andy Mitten, who interviewed chief executive Omar Berrada on behalf of the club last June, described the performance as “an affront to the name of Manchester United”.
The catastrophic nature of that performance was compounded when captain Bruno Fernandes publicly questioned Carrick’s tactics and the inability of his coaches to spot what was going wrong. Fernandes’ comments came a week after defender Lisandro Martinez said he had expected more investment in the squad and, turning his attention to Jason Wilcox, “more from our technical director”. It painted a picture of a squad out of control, posing an immediate dilemma for the United hierarchy.
Feeling it would look reactionary and impulsive to remove Carrick on the back of one game, United stuck with the 45-year-old for the Bournemouth match. That decision soon turned sour, as the performance was arguably worse than the one in Italy. Fernandes was left out of the starting line-up and dropped to the bench. Afterwards, the Portugal star liked an Instagram post with the caption: “Never push a loyal person to the point where they no longer care”.
Late on Sunday night, it was understood that a final decision to sack Carrick had not been made, and that the judgement would stretch into Monday. There was no decision then, either. The United players who started against Bournemouth were given the day off, but bizarrely, Fernandes and Carrick were both at Carrington. Fernandes was having pre-planned treatment, while Carrick watched a closed-doors Under-21s game.
Also at the training ground were Berrada and Wilcox, discussing what the immediate future should look like. Sources say it is inconceivable that minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family would not have been part of those discussions.
It was early evening before it became clear there would be no update on Carrick’s future. He arrived at Carrington at 07:30 GMT on Tuesday, a sign he would take training as normal. Along with Fernandes and several other players, Carrick signed autographs and posed for photographs with a group of fans invited to the training ground that day. Four hours later, United sources confirmed he would be in charge at Stamford Bridge.
‘We all want to put it right’
The current predicament at the club is seen as not being entirely Carrick’s fault. Senior figures at the club feel United’s players, a squad they believe is capable of qualifying for the Champions League, are underperforming badly and should shoulder some of the blame.
There does seem to be a general desire to help Carrick out. One player said: “The feeling is that we all want to put it right. Players, staff, everyone.”
It is not known whether the “we” includes Fernandes, and it has not been established what, if any, conversations have taken place between the captain and his manager. Obviously, it is easier to get rid of one manager and his backroom team than an entire squad of players, and if results do not turn around, Carrick will pay the price.
One former senior United official said: “Ordinarily, Michael would have gone. The last two performances were unacceptable and team discipline is broken. Not doing it is fascinating and risky.”
Cynics may argue the main reason Carrick is still in a job is the club’s inability to secure a replacement before the Chelsea game. Additionally, some of the coaches that Under-18s boss Darren Fletcher called on to help him during his spell as interim manager in January are now part of the senior set-up.
As reported earlier, Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann were among the options explored by United as they weighed up whether to make a change. Any decision to appoint Howe would trigger a multi-million pound compensation payment from his former club Newcastle. Some observers think compensation payments may be a factor in United’s reluctance to make a change, given the sums previously spent on hiring and firing coaches.
It has also been reported that former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is willing to have a conversation about the job, although there has been no direct contact. That trio are all out of work, as is Kieran McKenna, who worked with Carrick as part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching team at United before leaving for Ipswich. Aston Villa’s Unai Emery also has strong backing at United, but the club are realistic about their chances of tempting the Spaniard from Villa Park.
What about Berrada and Wilcox?
Wilcox’s future has also come under intense scrutiny. One source close to United feels it is inevitable that the former Blackburn and Leeds player will eventually lose his job if a third managerial change in as many seasons is made.
There is sympathy for Wilcox, who did not set the summer transfer budget. Others say Ratcliffe has provided significant funds for transfers since he took charge of football affairs in early 2024, as well as injecting £300m of his own money into the club. While disgruntled fans may point to the recruitment of clubs such as Brentford and Brighton as proof that good players can be signed without paying astronomical fees, options for bigger clubs such as United were said to be scarce during the summer window.
Nevertheless, it has never been explained why the decision was made to focus on bolstering the midfield last summer, rather than address clear personnel issues at left-back and centre-forward. Injuries to Luke Shaw and Benjamin Sesko have made that issue even more acute.
Another senior figure in the game said both Wilcox and Berrada may be vulnerable, suggesting Ratcliffe could be considering a wider overhaul of senior staff.
For now, though, minds are focused on Stamford Bridge, where Carrick is due to speak to the media on Thursday.