End is nigh?
IMAGO/APL

By Chris O'Brien
November 11 2026

Michael Carrick is supposedly still the manager of Manchester United. The media have already sized up Mauricio Pochettino's tracksuit from the Megastore, and analysed the style of play he will deploy, while an historic endorsement from Sir Alex Ferguson has done the rounds again. Yet - Carrick has reportedly still not been told of his future.

It was widely briefed to the media that the decision would be made on Wednesday - but, come dinner time, things still remained in limbo.

But make no mistake - it seems certain that Carrick will be gone, Poch will be in. On Betfair Exchange, Poch is now about 1/33 - which has closed significantly from a little under 4/5 yesterday. It's job done. It's just, the club have handled it like a protracted VAR review; taking an eternity while obvious to everyone else.

Sadly, we have reached the place where the club cannot even sack people correctly.

It could be argued it is a slight exaggeration to call Carrick an MUFC legend - but only if the word "legend" is being reserved for the Football Club's royalty. His history with United has been massive.

He played a whopping 463 games for Manchester United - more than David Beckham, and only 18 fewer than Roy Keane.

Over 12 years, he won the Champions League, the Club World Cup, and a host of the game's top domestic prizes - including five league titles.

As manager, things have been harder for Carrick - but he led United back into Europe's top tier competition, likely benefitting from the club's slimmed down fixture list last season.

He was Premier League Manager of the Month in January 2026, despite only taking the helm 13 days into the New Year. He won his first four games - including games against Manchester City and Arsenal. In 18 games at the helm last season, Carrick won 12, and only lost two, amassing 40 points and securing a third-placed finish.

Unfortunately, United haven't built on this momentum this season - it has been chaotic, to say the very least.

Summer recruitment was underwhelming, and the dressing room has felt divided.

The Red Devils sit in the relegation zone after ten league games, with only one Premier League win. United are already out of the League Cup, and have been well beaten in Europe by Atletico Madrid and Como. In all competitions, Carrick's men have three wins from 15 - and records are tumbling as to when the club last had a worse start to the season.

Even Carrick's most ardent admirer would admit that isn't good enough. But neither is the way United have handled this.

Whether Carrick could have dug United out of this hole divides the fan base. He certainly has significantly more support than certain click-hungry, thumbnail-obsessed influencers would have people believe. One of these YouTube men appeared visibly disappointed by some of United's recent comebacks on the "live streams" that have become synonymous with modern football, presumably because they were neither good for viewing figures nor for the chances of the club drafting Carrick's P45.

But, whether you're #CarrickIn, or #CarrickOut, he clearly deserves better - whoever was to come next.

It has always felt inevitable that Poch would one day manage United. He is a top manager, who - at United - would be taking charge of his fourth Premier League club. The 54-year-old has been linked with Old Trafford many times in the past. Recently, he broke records with the United States following their 2026 World Cup performance.

After Carrick's once promising spell in the dugout nosedived in a similar vein to Ole Gunnar Solskaer's, the club clearly felt the need to bring in a big name again. And while a reported £7million compensation package is plenty in managerial terms, that has always seemed bizarre for a sport where mediocre players attract significantly higher transfer fees all the time. If Poch can turn United's season around, it'll be lauded as the best £7million spent since United broke the British transfer record to sign Andy Cole in the mid-1900s.

But, for fans who have loved what United traditionally stood for, it will be difficult to draw a line under this fiasco with a few wins on the pitch, or a sudden upturn in fortunes. The handling of Carrick's inevitable depatutre has felt utterly devoid of class. United were always judged by excellence - now, we treat our heroes with contempt. Fans don't want a (state-funded?!) new stadium, we don't want a managerial merry go-round. We do want a club that once again feels true to its roots, traditions and heritage. The slow way Carrick's future has been decided this week has been anything but.

IMAGO / Sportimage