On Monday morning, when it was widely expected that an announcement ending Carrick’s tenure would be made, a senior United official said calm and clear-headedness would be needed to navigate the turbulence around Old Trafford.
Carrick had been treading water since the crushing 4-1 defeat at Como on October 21 – one of the worst European nights in the club’s history.
Andy Mitten, respected United fan and editor of United fanzine We Stand, who interviewed chief executive Omar Berrada on behalf of the club last June, described the performance as “an affront to the name of Manchester United”.
Aside from the catastrophic nature of the performance, captain Bruno Fernandes publicly questioned Carrick’s tactics and his coaches’ failure to spot what was wrong.
Fernandes’ comments come a week after defender Lisandro Martinez said he expected more investment in the team and – drawing attention to Jason Wilcox – “more from our technical director”.
It painted a picture of a team out of control, posing an immediate dilemma for the United hierarchy.
Believing it would be reactionary and impulsive to remove Carrick based on one game’s negativity, United stuck with the 45-year-old for the Bournemouth match – only for it to turn sour thanks to a performance that, arguably, was worse than Italy’s.
Fernandes played no role and was sent to the bench. Subsequently, the Portuguese star liked an Instagram post that included the caption: “Never push a loyal person to the point where they don’t care anymore.”
Late on Sunday evening, BBC Sport was led to believe that a final decision to sack Carrick had not been made, and judgment would extend until Monday.
There was no decision made at that time either. The United players who started against Bournemouth had the day off but bizarrely both Fernandes and Carrick were at Carrington. Fernandes was undergoing planned treatment while Carrick watched a behind-closed-doors Under-21 match.
Berrada and Wilcox were also present on the practice field, discussing what the immediate future should look like. Sources say it is inconceivable that minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family were not involved in these discussions.
It was early evening when it became clear there would be no update on Carrick’s future. His arrival at Carrington at 07:30 GMT on Tuesday was a sign that he would be training as normal and, along with Fernandes and several other players, Carrick signed autographs and posed for photos with a group of invited fans at the training ground that day.
Four hours later, United sources confirmed he would be in charge at Stamford Bridge.
Gn sports
