Winless in eight games and hovering just above the Premier League relegation zone, struggling Manchester United are facing the prospect of yet another managerial change, with Michael Carrick likely to pay the price.
The former United midfielder was warmly applauded by fans as he made his way down the tunnel after his team’s chastening 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Moments later a chorus of boos erupted as the players left the pitch — with fans clear in their minds where the blame lies for United’s current malaise.
Carrick was handed a two-year deal in May after inspiring an impressive revival following the team’s struggles under Ruben Amorim — United secured third place in the Premier League and a return to the Champions League.
But a drastic decline this season is an all-too-familiar story for United supporters, who last witnessed a Premier League title triumph 13 years ago under Alex Ferguson.
An emotional Carrick denied his lap of the pitch at full-time on Sunday was a goodbye as he struggles to come to terms with his team’s precipitous decline.
“I definitely knew that we hadn’t cracked it and there was a lot of work to be done, but that doesn’t mean to say that it should have gone this way,” he said.
Carrick, 45, is clinging on but his position appears increasingly precarious, with former Newcastle boss Eddie Howe and ex-Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann apparently in the frame for the job.
The United boss, who won multiple titles in the club’s golden era under Ferguson, was the seventh permanent appointment since the Scot retired.
David Moyes was proven in the Premier League, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho had stellar records and Erik ten Hag and Amorim were seen as rising stars of coaching.
– Sentimental choice –
Carrick is in the same category as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was in charge for three years from 2018 — a sentimental choice as a former player who played a major role in the club’s glory years under Ferguson.
“The Manchester United fans are singing the Michael Carrick song because I think they know what’s going to happen here. They’ve seen this before. He’s one of their own and he’s popular,” former United captain Gary Neville told Sky Sports.
“But the owners, the sporting department and the players are not popular and they’ve badly let this football club down.”
The problems at the club, as Neville points out, go far beyond the dugout.
Despite fierce, ongoing protests from fans, the US-based Glazer family still hold a majority stake in the club Malcolm Glazer bought via a leveraged takeover in 2005, saddling United with huge debts.
Any hopes that the arrival of British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe as a minority owner in 2024 would signal a new dawn have been dashed.
Ratcliffe has overseen cost-cutting measures including widespread redundancies and ticket hikes but the club’s debt has still soared above £1.1 billion ($1.47 billion).
United, who for years bullied their rivals in the transfer market, lost out on the biggest names as they targeted a summer midfield rebuild, with Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes all choosing other clubs.
United instead recruited Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos — none of whom have made a strong impression — for combined fees of about £150 million.
Significant rifts have emerged in recent weeks.
Lisandro Martinez criticised director of football Jason Wilcox for not doing more to strengthen Carrick’s squad.
Last week captain Bruno Fernandes publicly questioned Carrick’s tactics in a 4-1 humbling by Champions League debutants Como.
Carrick is expected to take the blame, but the route back to the top for one of the world’s biggest clubs appears tougher than ever.
“It can’t just be the manager again. There has got to be consequences above that. You can’t keep letting the people pick the manager who keep getting it wrong,” said Neville.
“It’s years now without a Premier League title. That will be another five or 10 before you know it because there are other clubs set up for success and Manchester United aren’t.”
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