On a Wednesday, far from the grey stands of Old Trafford, Manchester United's leadership will gather in Monaco to weigh whether Michael Carrick should remain in charge. The club has slipped into the relegation zone, and the people who must judge the matter are reportedly leaning toward removal, though nothing is final until the owners and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have spoken. It is a familiar kind of reckoning for a great institution, where hope set in one season gives way to the harder arithmetic of results, and where the question is less about one man than about whether the club can recover its sen
Monaco summit set to decide whether Michael Carrick stays as Manchester United head coach
Carrick carries on as if it were business as usual, when it is anything but
Mark
Why does a meeting in Monaco matter so much here?
Mimi
Mostly it doesn't. Ratcliffe lives there and Ineos has offices there. The meeting was already booked, and sources say Carrick's future simply became its biggest item.
Mark
So what is actually being decided?
Mimi
Whether to accept a recommendation from Berrada and Wilcox that Carrick goes. They watched the Roma, Chelsea and Villa games and concluded the defending is too chaotic.
Luke
Careful, though. The recommendation is described as expected, not confirmed. It's sourced reporting, not an announcement.
Mark
What backs up the concern about defending?
Mimi
Thirty goals conceded in 15 games across all competitions, 19 of them in 10 league matches.
Luke
Fair, but sources also say the squad is still playing for him. Those comebacks cut both ways.
Mark
Could Ratcliffe say no?
Mimi
It's possible, but it would raise questions about Berrada and Wilcox. And the Glazers have to sign off, with six of 12 directors.
Luke
And we don't know what the Glazers think. Reports of dissatisfaction exist, but nothing public.
Mark
And the replacement?
Mimi
Pochettino, Howe and Conte are mentioned. Pochettino has a release clause and a job with the US.
Luke
Mentioned is not approached. Nothing here says anyone has been offered the job.
Der Puls
- United sit 18th in the Premier League, inside the relegation zone, after a start that has left fans restless and the board uneasy.
- Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are expected to recommend Carrick's dismissal after a run of chaotic results.
- The squad has conceded 30 goals in 15 games, and the defensive collapse has turned a debate about form into a debate about survival.
- Ratcliffe must accept the recommendation, and the Glazer family must sign off, so the final call remains open while names like Pochettino, Howe and Conte circulate.
On a Wednesday, far from the grey stands of Old Trafford, Manchester United's leadership will gather in Monaco to weigh whether Michael Carrick should remain in charge. The club has slipped into the relegation zone, and the people who must judge the matter are reportedly leaning toward removal, though nothing is final until the owners and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have spoken. It is a familiar kind of reckoning for a great institution, where hope set in one season gives way to the harder arithmetic of results, and where the question is less about one man than about whether the club can recover its sense of itself.
Michael Carrick's future as Manchester United head coach will be decided on Wednesday in Monaco, far from Old Trafford. Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are travelling to meet Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and the expectation is that they will recommend Carrick be removed. The meeting was planned long before, but the agenda now carries the weight of a club sitting 18th in the Premier League.
United stood by Carrick after a heavy home defeat to Bournemouth in October, hoping the international break would bring clarity. The evidence since has been mixed. A comeback win over Roma offered relief, yet defeats and draws marked by late collapses and a red card for Lisandro Martinez have left the leadership unconvinced. Thirty goals conceded in fifteen games tells its own story.
Ratcliffe is expected to follow the recommendation, though his record of sudden dismissals keeps everyone guessing. The Glazers, who must approve any decision, have yet to speak publicly. Carrick, meanwhile, keeps training with a squad that is mostly away on international duty, preparing for Liverpool. Pochettino, Howe and Conte are among those mentioned as possible successors, and the answer will likely emerge from Monaco.
Michael Carrick's future as Manchester United head coach will be settled on Wednesday some 800 miles from Old Trafford, in Monaco. Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are flying there for one of their regular, pre-planned strategy meetings with Sir Jim Ratcliffe. This time the main item on the agenda is whether Carrick stays. It is expected that Berrada and Wilcox will recommend that he goes.
The position United find themselves in is a long way from the one Ratcliffe described on Christmas Eve 2023, when he said everyone shared an ambition to see the club back at the very top of English, European and world football. United are now 18th, inside the relegation zone, having won one of their first 10 league games and none since August. It is their lowest position this far into a top-flight season since 1986-87, when they were 20th. Ratcliffe has been criticised for many decisions since buying a 28.94% stake for just over £1bn, and this is one he needs to get right.
The choice of Monaco is incidental. Ratcliffe lives there, and his company Ineos has offices in the principality. Sources stress the location was not influenced by the debate over Carrick; the meeting had been in the diary for some time. The meetings were once held every six weeks and are now less frequent. Those who have attended say they happen in the morning, last three to four hours and usually end on time so Ratcliffe can go for his lunchtime jog. Senior executives are in daily contact, so a decision could be made by video call. The travel does complicate matters, though, because Berrada and Wilcox would prefer to tell Carrick of any decision face to face.
United stood by Carrick after a 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth on 25 October. Club sources said they wanted to give him and his players a chance to turn things around, and felt the November international break offered a better moment to assess the season. Since then the evidence has been mixed. United beat Roma 3-2 on 3 November, ending a long wait for a win, but had to come from two goals down in a chaotic game. Against Chelsea they excelled in the first half, failed to press their advantage and lost 2-0, with central defender Lisandro Martinez sent off. On Sunday they conceded twice in five minutes and came from two goals down twice to draw with Villa.
Sources say the comebacks showed the squad still plays for Carrick. But Berrada and Wilcox, who attended all three matches, are understood to have concluded that the chaos and the inability to stop opponents scoring mean a change is needed. United have conceded 30 goals in 15 games: 19 in 10 Premier League matches, eight in four Champions League games and three in their one Carabao Cup tie. An alternative under consideration is adding coaching support instead of replacing him; Bayern Munich coach Aaron Danks, who worked with Carrick at Middlesbrough and was touted in the summer, is one option.
The assumption is that Ratcliffe will accept the recommendation, since overruling it would raise serious questions about how Berrada and Wilcox could work with Carrick again. The pair have faced intense and frequent fan discontent, though sources insist Ratcliffe retains faith in them, even as United head towards a mid-season sacking for the third successive year. Ratcliffe has form here. Ruben Amorim was sacked 19 hours after an explosive media conference following a 1-1 draw at Leeds in January, and Erik ten Hag went a day after defeat at West Ham. Ratcliffe also spent £5m hiring Dan Ashworth from Newcastle in 2024, waited five months for him to finish gardening leave, then saw him dismissed five months later after disagreement over Ten Hag's replacement. Amorim, whom Berrada suggested, lasted 14 months.
The Glazer family is the other unknown. They must sign off any decision. Six of United's 12 directors are Glazers, including co-chairs Joel and Avi, and the chairman holds a casting vote. Media reports suggest Glazer dissatisfaction, but there has been no public statement.
Meanwhile Carrick carries on. No one has spoken to him about his job. Most of the squad is away on international duty, but Mason Mount, Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt and injured players including Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford remain. After a day off Monday, training is set for Tuesday to Thursday, with players due back on 17 November ahead of the trip to Liverpool on 22 November.
If Carrick goes, Mauricio Pochettino is a leading contender and keen. United have spoken to him three times before, but he coaches the United States, renewed in August, and has a $10m (£7.5m) release clause. Eddie Howe is available, with compensation to Newcastle of £3m that falls as the season goes on. Antonio Conte, Julian Nagelsmann and Kieran McKenna have also been mentioned. The next signal will come from Monaco.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
We'll train and get ready for the next game.— Michael Carrick, after the Villa draw
Möchten Sie die ganze Geschichte?
Das Original lesen bei BBC News ↗
Sports