Carrick apologises after Como defeat as United identify potential successors
Michael Carrick apologised to Manchester United's 700 travelling fans after Wednesday's 4-1 Champions League defeat by Italian side Como, and while he is expected to be in charge for Sunday's trip to Bournemouth the club have begun drawing up a list of possible replacements.
Sources say Carrick is carrying on as normal and has not been made aware of any imminent change following Wednesday's humiliating 4-1 defeat by Como, but the loss was followed by captain Bruno Fernandes questioning Carrick's tactics. Players were given Thursday off and the club are yet to confirm arrangements for Friday's planned news conference to preview the Bournemouth match.
Some senior figures at United believe frequent managerial changes in recent years have failed to arrest the club's decline and argue Carrick has been let down by players who are under-performing, yet there is also recognition in parts of the club of the progress made last season and a view that he should be given more time. That does not remove the major uncertainty over his future.
For weeks managers both in and out of work have been aware the United job may become available; Eddie Howe, Antonio Conte and Julian Nagelsmann are understood to be among those interested. Sources have indicated Howe is available and open to returning to management with Manchester United after leaving St James' Park in the close season, while Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery and Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler are highly regarded at Old Trafford but would be difficult to prise away from their clubs.
The club have publicly and financially backed a manager in the summer for the third consecutive year without the hoped-for positive results. Ruben Amorim staggered on to January after a shock League Cup defeat at League Two side Grimsby last August and a poor showing at Brentford less than a month later stripped away his safety net and left the hierarchy with limited options when he criticised their influence.
United examined other candidates, including Thomas Tuchel and Roberto de Zerbi, in the summer of 2024 before deciding to retain Erik ten Hag; the Dutchman was dismissed in October. There were dissenting voices when he was appointed on a permanent basis in May, but the majority of supporters felt 12 wins from 17 in interim charge and a place in the Champions League after a two-year absence justified his appointment at the time.
Results have been poor this season: two wins from 11 games and none in seven, their worst run since 2015-16 when eight matches without a win took Louis van Gaal to the brink of dismissal. The squad have been accused of a lack of passion, desire and intensity, have been hampered by injuries and underperformance, have won just two matches in all competitions and kept only a single clean sheet all season; post-match comments from Lisandro Martinez criticised recruitment and Bruno Fernandes attacked Carrick and his tactics, while Ten Hag spoke of "'broken promises' and a 'toxic culture'."
The proximity of United's next Premier League fixture makes an immediate change complicated: after Amorim's dismissal in January Darren Fletcher took over as interim manager for two games before returning to his Under-18 role, though coaches Jonny Evans and Travis Binnion remained with the senior set-up as part of Carrick's team. United have a midweek match coming up following their EFL Cup defeat by Brighton, who came back from two down to win at Old Trafford last month, which in theory would allow time to take stock. Bournemouth secured their first Premier League win under new boss Marco Rose last week, drew 4-4 at Old Trafford last season and had previously won 3-0 on each of their two visits before that.
United travel to Bournemouth on Sunday; it remains to be seen if Carrick will be in charge, and if so, how long after that.
