Manchester United weigh up Michael Carrick's future after Aston Villa draw
Manchester United are deciding whether to sack head coach Michael Carrick, and the club's football chiefs are close to making a recommendation. The Guardian reported on Monday that the decision now sits with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who controls sporting policy at the club.
The review is being led by Jason Wilcox, the director of football. He is the senior figure who oversees the playing side of the club, from signings to the coaching set-up. Wilcox has been talking with chief executive Omar Berrada before he puts a recommendation on Carrick to Ratcliffe.
The pressure has been building for weeks. Manchester United are in the relegation zone, the bottom three places in the Premier League that send clubs down a division at the end of the season. They have won three of their 15 games in all competitions this season.
Carrick was given three games to turn things around: Chelsea, Roma and Aston Villa. The first of those ended in a 2-0 defeat at Chelsea. Carrick then saw his side beat Roma 3-2 at Old Trafford, a result that eased the mood for a few days.
Then came Saturday's game with Aston Villa, which finished 4-4. Villa were 4-2 up deep into added time, the extra minutes played at the end of each half to make up for stoppages. Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu scored late to rescue a point. It was a wild finish, but a draw does not solve a league table in the bottom three.
The trouble started earlier. United lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth on 25 October, and Carrick came close to being removed straight after that game. Wilcox and Berrada met at the training ground the following day to discuss his position. Carrick was at Carrington, the club's training base, the following Monday, and he accepted blame for the slump while insisting the team could turn results around.
Carrick was only given the job on a permanent basis in May, on a contract running until 2028. Wilcox described him at that time as "an excellent coach" who knew what it took to win at Manchester United. Those words now sit alongside a much harder conversation.
One detail stands out. The Guardian reports that the club has no plan to add to Carrick's coaching staff to support him and the players. If he stays, he will be working with the team largely as it is.
If Carrick is removed, Eddie Howe is Wilcox's favoured choice to replace him. Howe, the former Newcastle manager, is currently taking a break from football. He would be open to considering the Old Trafford job. Nothing has been agreed, and the club has not yet said what it will do.
For fans, the next few days matter more than any single result. The decision will shape the rest of the season and possibly the summer market, when new players are bought and sold. Whatever happens, it will be a decision made by the people who run the club, not by the supporters who will watch it play out on Saturdays.
