Manchester United's ongoing crisis has ensnared Michael Carrick, as a humiliating 4-1 Champions League defeat away to Como extended the club's winless streak to seven matches across all competitions. Evoking memories of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's raised-hand apology following a 4-1 loss at Watford in November 2021, Carrick cut an all-too-familiar apologetic figure in front of the travelling supporters. Carrick is now the seventh full-time manager tasked with steering the club since Sir Alex Ferguson brought his 26-year, 38-trophy reign to a close in 2013, with every predecessor ultimately succumbing to the same fate of dismissal.
The latest European setback has laid bare deep internal fractures within the dressing room. Defender Lisandro Martinez confronted director of football Jason Wilcox in the wake of a Champions League loss to Atletico Madrid, while team captain Bruno Fernandes openly disputed the tactics deployed in Como. Despite fleeting moments of celebration over the years—including Louis van Gaal's 2016 FA Cup win, Jose Mourinho's League Cup and Europa League double in 2017, and Erik ten Hag's 2024 FA Cup triumph against Manchester City—permanent bosses including David Moyes and Ruben Amorim have all found the Old Trafford position impossible to master.
Significant scrutiny is also focused squarely on United's executive leadership, spanning from the Glazer family—whose debt-loading leveraged buyout in 2005 has sparked continuous supporter protests—to minority co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chief executive Omar Berrada, and Wilcox. Boardroom decisions have repeatedly backfired; Ten Hag was handed a contract extension and £200m in transfer funds before being dismissed six months later alongside his staff at a cost topping £10m. Turmoil deepened when sporting director Dan Ashworth arrived in July 2024 only to depart five months later following behind-the-scenes disagreements, while Amorim lasted just 14 months following a hostile meeting with Wilcox.
Carrick's situation increasingly mirrors that of Solskjaer, as both former fan favourites took permanent charge with past managerial records marred by dismissals in the Championship—Carrick at Middlesbrough, and Solskjaer after nine months at Cardiff City in September 2014. With morale plummeting, squad problems mounting, and no certainty that any manager can deliver an immediate turnaround without immense financial backing, United now face a sobering challenge to convince top-tier managerial talent that the post offers anything beyond an inevitable sacking.