Having watched their team fail to win an eighth successive game, Manchester United fans would have had every reason to turn on manager Michael Carrick. Those in attendence for Sunday’s crushing defeat to Bournemouth did not.
As Carrick walked around the Old Trafford pitch following the 3–0 defeat for his latest round of apologies, he was met by an unusual sound: support.
“It’s Carrick, you know,” the Old Trafford faithful sang to the tune of Pilot’s 1974 hit Magic. “It’s hard to believe it’s not Scholes.”
The second Carrick disappeared down the tunnel, however, the atmosphere changed drastically. A vicious chorus of boos was mixed with a series of explicit chants that quickly reminded the world that this group of supporters is far from happy.
So, whats going on at United?
Ownership Issues
United fans have been protesting against the club’s ownership ever since the Glazer family took control on June 28, 2005. Midfield maestro Kobbie Mainoo was just two months old when the group assumed the helm of his future employers.
The Glazers have overseen massive investment in United, the sort of which rival fans would envy under normal circumstances, but the problem for the Red Devils was the nature in which the Glazers financed their takeover.
Most of the funding was sourced through loans against the club’s assets which came with enormous interest payments. Debts against the club were sent spiraling out of control, but the Glazers remained relatively shielded in the board room.
“Sell United and f--- off home,” has been the message for over two decades now, with fans clear in their belief that it is not Carrick who should be departing.
The general sentiment among fans is that the Glazers are here for money, not on-field success, and so there was genuine excitement when Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS arrived with a takeover offer in December 2023. Ratcliffe assumed full control of day-to-day sporting operations but only acquired 25% of the club’s shares, later taking that number up to 28.9%. The Glazers still remain, which is a source of significant frustration for a fanbase that has hardly been satisfied by the INEOS era, either.
INEOS has also overseen a handful of significant appointments behind the scenes, including the arrival of CEO Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox, recruited to bring the soccer knowledge to a group that was, admirably, prepared to accept some of its own flaws.
Those brilliant minds are now on the cusp of needing a fourth permanent manager since INEOS’s arrival less than three years ago, having also overseen a series of underwhelming transfer windows that has left the squad struggling on the pitch. Center back Lisandro Martínez made sure the world knew that recently.
Underperforming Players
Carrick can only do so much on matchdays. It is his duty to set the team up and provide the tactical blueprint to success. Once the whistle blows, however, it is over to the players.
United fans have been left thoroughly underwhelmed by the performances of a number of big names. Captain Bruno Fernandes, benched for the Bournemouth game after speaking out against Carrick’s tactics, is one of many players to have underwhelmed this season, but his decision to publicly question his manager left many questioning his value as the team’s leader.
The Red Devils have looked lethargic on the pitch this season and have been regularly outran by opponents. Fans can excuse poor form, but maximum effort is mandatory and the overwhelming belief is that the United squad are simply not producing that. Carrick cannot run for them.
It was not too long ago that the sun was shining on Carrick. His interim stint in the second half of the 2025–26 season brought some of the highest highs the club has experienced in the past decade, but this year’s players have looked like shadows of those who were stealing the headlines just a few months ago.
A banner demanding the “standards” of legendary former captains Eric Cantona, Roy Keane and Bryan Robson was brought back out against Bournemouth in a clear message to the players that anything other than full commitment will not be tolerated.
Déjà Vu
Among the biggest frustrations for United fans is that the club finds itself in this situation yet again.
INEOS arrived in late 2023 with the promise of change. Erik ten Hag was awarded a new contract, only to be fired shortly after when everything went wrong. In came Ruben Amorim, who won just 25 of his 63 matches in charge before being moved on. Now, a third manager seems destined to go.
Fans have been left wondering when that change is actually coming, or if it ever will at all.
United officials have claimed to have a direction over the past three years, spending big to hire a new structure capable of restoring United to their former glory, but the misery remains and there is a genuine feeling of frustration that a legendary figure like Carrick is, almost inevitably, going to be punished for the mistakes of those above him.
Make no mistake about it, Carrick is not blameless. There have long been questions as to whether he was ready for a job of this magnitude, but even the fiercest of United critics would acknowledge that he has been hamstrung by circumstances over which he has no control.
Fans are staring at another period of uncertainty, and there is no belief that things will get better. Changes to the squad are going to be slow, particularly with United officials believing they are already two-thirds of the way through a rebuild, and those that have so far failed to turn the team back into a genuine powerhouse will be tasked with finding another resolution.
With no faith in that happening, United fans can do little other than throw their support behind Carrick, perhaps the only person to have convinced supporters of his love for the club in a long, long time.
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