Michael Carrick is now caught in the same downward spiral that has ended the reign of every Manchester United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson. After a 4-1 Champions League thrashing at Como, he raised his hands in apology to the travelling fans. It was almost exactly what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did after the 4-1 defeat at Watford in November 2021 that cost him his job.
Carrick is the seventh permanent manager since Ferguson retired in 2013 after 26 years and 38 trophies. Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Erik ten Hag all had moments of success, but every one of them was eventually sacked. Carrick's position looks just as fragile. Results are poor and the dressing room is restless: Lisandro Martinez criticised director of football Jason Wilcox after the defeat at Atletico Madrid, and captain Bruno Fernandes questioned the tactics in Como.
That raises an uncomfortable question. Is the problem really the managers, or the people who keep appointing them and setting the club's direction? After years of decline and poor decisions, has United simply become unmanageable?
The list of permanent managers runs David Moyes, Van Gaal, Mourinho, Solskjaer, Ten Hag, Ruben Amorim and Carrick, with interim spells from Ryan Giggs, Ralf Rangnick, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Darren Fletcher. From Ed Woodward to the Glazers to Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United's leadership has tried every type of appointment. Moyes, Ferguson's own pick, found the job too big. Van Gaal and Mourinho were proven winners at Europe's top clubs. Solskjaer had little managerial pedigree but earned the role through a successful interim spell. Ten Hag arrived after taking a young Ajax side to a Champions League semi-final, and Amorim was seen as Europe's most exciting young coach. All of them failed to tame the club. The trophies they did win were the FA Cup under Van Gaal (2016), the League Cup and Europa League under Mourinho (2017), and the FA Cup under Ten Hag (2024). That is a modest return by United's standards.
The decline goes back to a badly handled succession. Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp all turned United down. By December 2019 all three were managing within 35 miles of Old Trafford, at Everton, Manchester City and Liverpool. United, meanwhile, had Solskjaer, a sentimental choice who lasted under three years.
Carrick increasingly looks like a second Solskjaer. He is a former fan favourite who impressed as interim, and his only previous managerial job ended in the sack at Middlesbrough, just as Solskjaer's did at Cardiff in 2014. He was the easy choice after securing Champions League football, and that goodwill has now gone.
It is fair to ask whether morale and hope at United have ever been lower since Ferguson left. The club will always find a manager, but it is no longer the draw it once was. It will need to convince someone that Old Trafford offers more than an eventual sacking. Even a top-class coach might struggle to fix this squad without heavy investment.
Much of the blame lies above the manager, starting with Ratcliffe. Fans have protested against the Glazers since their debt-laden takeover in 2005, and Ratcliffe's partnership with them has made him unpopular too. He says he leaves football decisions to Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada, but his time in charge has brought instability and some very poor calls.
Ten Hag was set to be sacked before his FA Cup final win over City. Instead he was given a new contract and £200m to spend, then dismissed six months later at a cost of over £10m in compensation. Sporting director Dan Ashworth arrived in July 2024 with a strong reputation and was gone five months later after a disagreement, having spent as long on gardening leave from Newcastle as he did at United. Reports suggested he was blamed for keeping Ten Hag, or that he favoured English candidates like Graham Potter and Gareth Southgate over Amorim. United went for Amorim anyway. His fixed commitment to a 3-4-3 system, which had already put Liverpool off him, proved fatal. He left after 14 months, criticising the hierarchy on his way out and clashing with Wilcox.
Off the pitch, Ratcliffe's cost-cutting has led to staff departures and low morale. A summer investigation into ticket touting angered supporters further, though the club later softened its threats over season tickets. Debt still stands at £1bn. Record revenue of £678m and a £23m operating profit, despite no European football, mark a big improvement on the £113m loss in 2023-24. The club has also spent £64m on land for a planned 100,000-seat stadium costing more than £2bn, which Ratcliffe hopes will be his legacy.
Ultimately, though, it is the combination of poor boardroom decisions and failure on the pitch that is doing the damage. United face more upheaval while their rivals pull further away.
Carrick is the seventh permanent manager since Ferguson retired in 2013 after 26 years and 38 trophies. Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Erik ten Hag all had moments of success, but every one of them was eventually sacked. Carrick's position looks just as fragile. Results are poor and the dressing room is restless: Lisandro Martinez criticised director of football Jason Wilcox after the defeat at Atletico Madrid, and captain Bruno Fernandes questioned the tactics in Como.
That raises an uncomfortable question. Is the problem really the managers, or the people who keep appointing them and setting the club's direction? After years of decline and poor decisions, has United simply become unmanageable?
The list of permanent managers runs David Moyes, Van Gaal, Mourinho, Solskjaer, Ten Hag, Ruben Amorim and Carrick, with interim spells from Ryan Giggs, Ralf Rangnick, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Darren Fletcher. From Ed Woodward to the Glazers to Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United's leadership has tried every type of appointment. Moyes, Ferguson's own pick, found the job too big. Van Gaal and Mourinho were proven winners at Europe's top clubs. Solskjaer had little managerial pedigree but earned the role through a successful interim spell. Ten Hag arrived after taking a young Ajax side to a Champions League semi-final, and Amorim was seen as Europe's most exciting young coach. All of them failed to tame the club. The trophies they did win were the FA Cup under Van Gaal (2016), the League Cup and Europa League under Mourinho (2017), and the FA Cup under Ten Hag (2024). That is a modest return by United's standards.
The decline goes back to a badly handled succession. Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp all turned United down. By December 2019 all three were managing within 35 miles of Old Trafford, at Everton, Manchester City and Liverpool. United, meanwhile, had Solskjaer, a sentimental choice who lasted under three years.
Carrick increasingly looks like a second Solskjaer. He is a former fan favourite who impressed as interim, and his only previous managerial job ended in the sack at Middlesbrough, just as Solskjaer's did at Cardiff in 2014. He was the easy choice after securing Champions League football, and that goodwill has now gone.
It is fair to ask whether morale and hope at United have ever been lower since Ferguson left. The club will always find a manager, but it is no longer the draw it once was. It will need to convince someone that Old Trafford offers more than an eventual sacking. Even a top-class coach might struggle to fix this squad without heavy investment.
Much of the blame lies above the manager, starting with Ratcliffe. Fans have protested against the Glazers since their debt-laden takeover in 2005, and Ratcliffe's partnership with them has made him unpopular too. He says he leaves football decisions to Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada, but his time in charge has brought instability and some very poor calls.
Ten Hag was set to be sacked before his FA Cup final win over City. Instead he was given a new contract and £200m to spend, then dismissed six months later at a cost of over £10m in compensation. Sporting director Dan Ashworth arrived in July 2024 with a strong reputation and was gone five months later after a disagreement, having spent as long on gardening leave from Newcastle as he did at United. Reports suggested he was blamed for keeping Ten Hag, or that he favoured English candidates like Graham Potter and Gareth Southgate over Amorim. United went for Amorim anyway. His fixed commitment to a 3-4-3 system, which had already put Liverpool off him, proved fatal. He left after 14 months, criticising the hierarchy on his way out and clashing with Wilcox.
Off the pitch, Ratcliffe's cost-cutting has led to staff departures and low morale. A summer investigation into ticket touting angered supporters further, though the club later softened its threats over season tickets. Debt still stands at £1bn. Record revenue of £678m and a £23m operating profit, despite no European football, mark a big improvement on the £113m loss in 2023-24. The club has also spent £64m on land for a planned 100,000-seat stadium costing more than £2bn, which Ratcliffe hopes will be his legacy.
Ultimately, though, it is the combination of poor boardroom decisions and failure on the pitch that is doing the damage. United face more upheaval while their rivals pull further away.
