There was an air of inevitability around Michael Carrick walking around Old Trafford after the 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth.
It is not unusual for Carrick to be applauded by Manchester United fans. If they assert anything, it is equally damaging to Larius if it is not pronounced.
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But after eight games without a win, their worst run since 2015-16 and two horrific defeats in a week, the end is near for the United States boss.
However, if anyone in a senior position at the club thinks that the problems at Old Trafford can be solved simply by changing the head coach and, instead, the fans will be appeased by a new face in the dugout, the reaction from the stands on a terrible day and off the pitch told them very clearly otherwise.
On Friday, as he looked back at the 4-1 loss to Bournemouth ahead of Bournemouth, Carrick said: “We’re not going to be a different team on Sunday. We’re going to be a different team on Sunday.”
Sadly they were not.
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Carrick could not answer if he will still be in charge for next Saturday’s game against Chelsea. He does not know.
“It’s my job,” he said. “What else can I really say now? I understand the situation completely. I don’t expect anything. I love this place and I will always do what I feel is best for the football club.”
A third dismissal in three seasons will not reflect well on anyone
United’s fans followed through with their opinion of the performance as Carrick disappeared down the tunnel to the dressing room.
After repeatedly chanting the former midfielder’s name, as soon as he was seen, they turned on the players. The booing lasted until the last of them, Diogo Dalot went off the pitch. They just feel that they are either not good enough or don’t care enough, or both.
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but more, much more.
The game was less than a minute old when the first anti-Glazer and anti-Sir Jim Ratcliffe chants were heard.
The Glazer family has been a public enemy among all the United faithful ever since their takeovers in 2005.
The debt that initially fell on the club has now grown to over £1.15bn, according to the latest figures. The total cost of the loan is 852m£, according to the observed financial blogger Swiss Ramble. In the last financial year, interest payments were £37m, an increase from £34m the previous year.
The argument is that the money could have been used to sign players much more richly.
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It was hoped that Ratcliffe, a boyhood United fan, would change his deal with the Glazers to become a minority shareholder on Christmas Eve 2013.
But a succession of decisions led the club to discuss major issues.
On the management side, the United Hierarchy has finally helped Eric ten Hag after talking about an alternative in the event of a 2024 FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City by spending over 200m pounds on the likes of Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte.
Last week Ten Hag reported that the Athletic club had withdrawn from a promise that they would not sell domestic Scotland international Scott McTominay in order to fund Ugarte’s £50m move from Paris St-Germain. Dutch looted in October 2024.
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After that they persuaded Ruben Amorim to leave Ludicrum in the middle of the season, while he wanted to wait for the summer.
They stuck with him after an unprecedented 15th-place finish, and again after Britain’s two defeats to Grimsby in the EFL Cup, then sacked him in January when he got involved in football manager Jason Wilcox’s toy.
That led to Carrick’s arrival at the end of the season, which turned into a permanent appointment after he brought the club back into the Champions League after a two-year absence.
A third dismissal in three seasons does not reflect well on anyone.
A banner of ‘signs’ held at the Stretford End, displaying images of sailing legends Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and Roy Keane, was there to remind the executives running the club that they should aspire to history.
Manchester United shot ‘signs’ during their 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth, displaying images of three legendary captains Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and Roy Keane. [Getty Images]
Draft, tickets, new stadium – many reasons why some fans are offended
Wilcox worked hard behind the scenes, but he could not hear the obscenities being chanted against him in today’s game, nor the leaflets in the vehicle taking him out of the stadium nearly two hours after the final whistle.
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From a similar role at Southampton following the Ratcliffe takeover and being promoted after the dismissal of Dan Ashworth, including the decision to sign Amorim, the 55-year-old has been criticized by many fans for his recent recruitment fee, although the financial position has been set at a much higher level.
Sitting next to him at Old Trafford to watch the Bournemouth debacle unfold was chief executive Omar Berrada, who worked with Wilcox at Manchester City.
With the older figures steeped in the city’s recent history, there was always a potential problem if events did not go well. Berrada played no part in the recent Premier League trial that found the City guilty of many breaches of financial regulations, but the link is clear, and the United States in Trafford also sang about it.
If that wasn’t enough, a ticket booking investigation was launched in the summer to condemnation from all of United’s major fan associations. The club argued that they were trying to catch touts, as fans felt it was an attempt to drive away regular par-goons in favor of more bodies sold. The diamond club doesn’t happen, but the argument falls on deaf ears.
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The same goes for plans for a new 100,000-seat stadium. The club conducted a survey that they said showed a majority of respondents in favor of the new cause. The stadium cost over £2bn and United £63.5m in land for it earlier this year.
Some supporters simply don’t believe those figures. Stretford End rudely told Ratcliffe that he had nothing to do with the new race today.
Carrick may take responsibility for the poor results but it is far more than just the chaos at Manchester United.
Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada (left) sat next to director of football Jason Wilcox for their 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth [Getty Images]