Manchester United stand at a familiar crossroads of modern football: a proud club, a young head coach, and a season that has slipped faster than anyone expected. After a 4-4 draw with Aston Villa left them 18th in the Premier League, the board finds itself weighing whether Michael Carrick, still only 45, should be given more time or pay the price for a start not seen at Old Trafford in four decades. The decision is expected to be made during the November international break, and the answer will say as much about the club's patience as about the manager's record.
Man Utd Expected to Sack Michael Carrick After Worst Domestic Start in 40 Years
One win in 10 league games, and a reprieve that ran out
Mark
Why is the board still saying no decision has been made if the expectation is so strong?
Mimi
Because the process they set after the Bournemouth loss was a reassessment during the break. Sources say they're still committed to it, even as expectation grows that Berrada and Wilcox will recommend dismissal.
Mark
What does the record actually look like?
Mimi
One win in 10 league games, 18th place, 19 goals conceded, and three wins in 15 across all competitions. It's the worst start since 1986/87.
Luke
Those numbers are solid. The sacking itself is expectation, not fact. Nobody has confirmed it.
Mark
And the candidates?
Mimi
Howe and Nagelsmann were sounded out, according to BBC Sport in October. Conte is keen, and Pochettino is reportedly open.
Luke
Be careful there. Pochettino being open comes from sources, and his contract clauses are described as thought to exist. Nothing is confirmed about his availability.
Mark
Was there anything beyond results?
Mimi
Martinez blamed the technical director, Wilcox, and Fernandes criticised Carrick's tactics. Both are on the record in this story.
Luke
Worth noting that Wilcox is one of the two people expected to make the recommendation, and what the owners will decide is still unknown.
Il Polso
- United sit 18th after one league win in 10 matches, their worst top-flight start since 1986/87, and the pressure has become impossible to ignore.
- Injuries to Amad Diallo, Benjamin Sesko and Marcus Rashford, plus five different left-backs, have turned every selection into a scramble.
- Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are reportedly preparing a recommendation to the owners that could end Carrick's reign.
- Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann, Antonio Conte and Mauricio Pochettino are all being discussed, with Pochettino's USA contract clauses now a key variable.
- A decision is expected before the international break ends, and the club stands on the edge of its next chapter.
Manchester United stand at a familiar crossroads of modern football: a proud club, a young head coach, and a season that has slipped faster than anyone expected. After a 4-4 draw with Aston Villa left them 18th in the Premier League, the board finds itself weighing whether Michael Carrick, still only 45, should be given more time or pay the price for a start not seen at Old Trafford in four decades. The decision is expected to be made during the November international break, and the answer will say as much about the club's patience as about the manager's record.
Manchester United left Sunday's 4-4 draw with Aston Villa sitting 18th in the Premier League, one point above Crystal Palace, and with Michael Carrick looking more and more likely to lose his job. It is the club's worst domestic start in 40 years. The board chose not to act after the 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth in October, preferring to reassess during the November international break. Sources insist no final decision has been made, but the expectation is growing that Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox will recommend dismissal to the owners.
The numbers tell a hard story. United have won once in 10 league games, have conceded 19 goals, and have won only three of 15 across all competitions. Carrick's reign has shown both sides: fragile defending, yet the character to recover from two goals down on three occasions. The search for a successor has already begun, with Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann, Antonio Conte and Mauricio Pochettino all linked. Pochettino, who extended his USA contract in August, may have a clause allowing him to leave for a major job.
The trouble started before a ball was kicked in earnest. Amad Diallo's injury and Benjamin Sesko's lingering problem left the squad stretched, and a brief revival, including a 5-2 win over Ipswich, could not hide the instability. Later, a poor showing against Manchester City, a Brighton cup defeat and late draws against Fulham and Tottenham deepened the doubts. Tensions spilled into the dressing room as Lisandro Martinez criticised recruitment, and Bruno Fernandes openly questioned Carrick's tactics, leading to his temporary exclusion.
Now the decision looms. The recommendation from Berrada and Wilcox, and the state of Pochettino's contract, will show which way the club is leaning in the days ahead.
Manchester United came out of Sunday's 4-4 draw with Aston Villa sitting 18th in the Premier League, one point above bottom-placed Crystal Palace, and with head coach Michael Carrick looking increasingly likely to lose his job. It is the club's worst start to a domestic campaign in 40 years.
The board did not act after the 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth on 25 October. It chose to keep Carrick and reassess during this month's international break. Multiple sources have told BBC Sport the board remains committed to that process and that no final decision has been made. But there is a growing expectation that chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox will recommend to minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family that Carrick be dismissed.
The numbers explain why. United have won once in 10 Premier League matches, their worst top-flight start since 1986/87. They have conceded 19 league goals, a total exceeded only by Crystal Palace and Ipswich. Across all competitions they have won three of 15. The Villa game was Carrick's third since the reprieve, and the results, a win, a draw and a defeat, showed both sides of his reign: leaky defending, but the character to come back from two goals down on three occasions. Carrick is 45.
The replacement search appears to be under way. BBC Sport reported in October that the club had sounded out former Newcastle manager Eddie Howe and former Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann. Antonio Conte, formerly of Chelsea, is known to be keen. Multiple sources say Mauricio Pochettino, the former Spurs manager, is open to a move to Old Trafford. He signed an extension as USA coach in August, though the deal is thought to include clauses allowing him to leave for specific high-profile jobs. The US play Haiti in a two-legged Concacaf Nations League play-off on 14 and 18 November.
The unravelling began early. In the 48 hours before the season opener at Hull, Amad Diallo suffered an ankle injury that would sideline him for seven weeks, while Benjamin Sesko was still recovering from the shin problem that ended his previous season. Bryan Mbeumo had to play on the right, and Matheus Cunha, who prefers to drop deep, drifted into the space captain Bruno Fernandes likes to use. Former Middlesbrough striker Jan Aage Fjortoft claimed on Viaplay that United lacked passion; Carrick called that ridiculous and said it was one game.
A recovery of sorts followed. United beat Ipswich 5-2 after trailing, with Fernandes, newly named PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26, scoring a hat-trick. He has scored once in the league since, a penalty against Villa. At Everton, United led twice, the second time through a Sesko goal two minutes from time, before Ainsley Maitland-Niles equalised from long range deep in stoppage time. Asked about the start, Carrick said it had not been that bad.
What followed, BBC Sport's account says, was. United struggled against a Manchester City side down to 10 men, who then benefited from an Erling Haaland goal that referees' chief Howard Webb later admitted should not have stood. Carrick's complaints were justified, but they masked a poor performance. Against Brighton in the EFL Cup, United led 2-0 inside 10 minutes and lost after two goals in four second-half minutes. Cunha's injury-time equaliser rescued a draw with Fulham, who began the game bottom, and United then conceded late against a 10-man Tottenham.
The damage spread to the dressing room. Lisandro Martinez, at fault for Spurs' equaliser, criticised the club's summer recruitment after a 2-0 Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid and blamed the technical director, Wilcox. By then Sesko and Luke Shaw were injured, and Marcus Rashford has not played since. Carrick ended up using five different left-backs. A 4-1 Champions League loss at Como followed, after which Fernandes criticised Carrick's tactics. He was dropped for the Bournemouth game, returned as captain at Chelsea, and United lost both matches.
The international break is the window for a decision, and the first signals to watch are the recommendation from Berrada and Wilcox and the status of Pochettino's USA contract.
Citazioni salienti
It's not been that bad.— Michael Carrick, after the Everton game
Multiple sources say the board remains committed to its reassessment and no final decision has been made.— BBC Sport sources
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