Why United’s Latest Managerial Lurch Should Be a Warning for Liverpool, Not Just a Laugh
Six months ago, Michael Carrick was the man who had supposedly fixed Manchester United. Now he looks set to become the latest name on a very long list of coaches chewed up by Old Trafford. The Athletic reports that United are expected to part company with him before the squad reassembles after the international break, and on the evidence of this season, it is hard to argue the club has many other options left.
From where we sit, it was almost predictable. United are 18th, with one league win and three in all competitions. That is not a sticky patch, it is genuine trouble.
From saviour to scapegoat in one summer
The speed of the collapse is what stands out. Carrick was handed the job on a permanent basis in May on the back of an interim stint that, to be fair to him, was outstanding. He inherited a team in seventh and dragged it up to third, picking up 39 points from 17 league games. No other club in the division took more points over that stretch, and he did it while beating Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and, yes, Liverpool along the way.
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That run earned goodwill, not a free pass. The 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth already had people questioning his future, and the board stuck with him. In hindsight, that looks less like patience and more like indecision.
Since then, United have been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton and shipped four in a frantic 4-4 home draw with Aston Villa. For such an expensive squad, the lack of shape has been startling.
The succession talk has already started
Perhaps the clearest sign that Carrick’s time is up is that the conversation has already moved on to who comes next. Mauricio Pochettino is understood to be among the frontrunners, with Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann also said to have support inside the club. Any final decision will still need the sign-off of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family, but once a club starts drawing up shortlists, the outcome is rarely in doubt.
Sitting in the bottom three in November, a club of United’s size has no room for sentiment. Last season’s revival is already a footnote.
Our take: the lesson Liverpool should keep hold of
Liverpool supporters will enjoy this, and fair enough. But there is a useful point buried in the chaos. United keep believing that a burst of good results means the deeper problems are solved. Momentum and a proper football structure are not the same thing, and United have spent years confusing the two.
The clubs that stay at the top are the ones with a clear plan that can survive a bad month, and the discipline to judge a manager on more than a hot streak. If United now reach for another big name without sorting out their recruitment, their dressing room and a basic sense of how they want to play, whoever replaces Carrick will be walking into exactly the same mess.
Timing makes it worse. Change manager in November while 18th and every fixture feels like a cup final, with players hearing every rumour and opponents sensing the nerves. With Liverpool among the sides United still have to face, nobody at Anfield should assume a wounded rival will roll over.
We will not be shedding any tears. A club that keeps making the same costly mistakes deserves the scrutiny it gets, and if this report proves accurate, United are paying the price for a summer built on misplaced confidence. The rest of the league will not wait for them to work it out.