Carrick Manchester United future after Bournemouth defeat
Michael Carrick is on the brink of losing his job as Manchester United head coach after a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, with Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher both treating his position as untenable. The result leaves United just above the relegation zone and represents the club's worst-ever start to a Premier League season.
United are winless in their last eight matches. Carrick took over from Ruben Amorim in mid-season last year and led the club to Champions League qualification, but the current campaign has unravelled far faster than that record suggested it would.
Neville and Carragher call for a decision
Speaking on Sky Sports match commentary, Neville said it would become "ridiculously difficult" for Carrick to remain as manager. "That's the problem the club have got," he said. "It is horrible to say that."
Carragher went further, arguing United should act immediately rather than let the situation drift. "Manchester United need to make that decision tonight," he said. "Michael Carrick needs to be relieved of his duties tonight. Not just for the good of Manchester United but also for the good of Michael Carrick."
Neville said he had doubted the appointment from the outset, believing the club should have recruited the strongest available manager instead of handing the role to Carrick. He said the slide had "gone very, very sour very quickly and the club is a mess."
Old Trafford support and the boardroom divide
Carrick's name was chanted loudly around Old Trafford after Bournemouth's third goal, a show of backing from the stands that Neville separated from the mood towards the ownership and recruitment staff. "Carrick is popular," he said. "But the owners, the sporting department and the players are not popular. They have badly let the club down."
Neville added that a decision taken the following day would "probably" disgust supporters while being "probably necessary." He framed the immediate question as simple: whether Carrick would still be the manager when the club next convenes.
Bruno Fernandes dropped after criticising tactics
Bruno Fernandes was dropped for the Bournemouth match after criticising Carrick's tactics in the wake of Wednesday's 4-1 thrashing at Como in the Champions League. The United captain stayed on the bench for the entirety of the defeat.
Carrick described the reasoning behind leaving out his captain as "pure football." He told Sky Sports that picking a team is always difficult and that the staff had to choose what they felt would produce the performance they wanted.
What to watch at Manchester United
The standings context is the pressure point. A club of United's size sitting just above the relegation zone after eight matches without a win turns every team selection and every post-match comment into a referendum on the coach.
Two things are unresolved in the reporting. United have not confirmed any change, and the calls from Neville and Carragher are punditry rather than club statements. The next signal will come from the owners and the sporting department, whose judgement Neville has already described as badly letting the club down.
The original report is from skysports.com.
