Michael Carrick nears the end at Man Utd — but the anger is aimed far beyond the dugout
Michael Carrick's Manchester United tenure is approaching its conclusion after an eighth game without a win and a 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth at Old Trafford. Yet the supporters' ire on Saturday was directed overwhelmingly at the Glazer family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, not solely at the manager.
- Result: Manchester United 0-3 Bournemouth at Old Trafford
- United's run: Eight games without a win — the club's worst sequence since 2015-16
- Carrick's position: He could not confirm whether he will still be in charge for next Saturday's trip to Chelsea
- Wider unrest: Anti-Glazer and anti-Ratcliffe chants began within a minute of kick-off
- Ownership debt: Glazer-era debt has grown to over £1.15bn, with £852m paid in interest
What was said
"We'll be a different team on Sunday. We have to be a different team on Sunday."
"The responsibility is mine. What else can I say really right now? I totally understand the situation. I'm not expecting anything either way. I love this place and I'll always do what I feel is going to be the best for the football club."
Those two quotes frame the story. The first was a promise that United would look transformed; the second was the admission of a manager who knows the decision is out of his hands. Carrick could not answer whether he would still be in charge for the trip to Chelsea. He does not know.
His walk around Old Trafford after the final whistle carried an air of inevitability. He applauded the United fans as he usually does — if anything, his acknowledgements were less pronounced than they had been in Como after the equally devastating loss. The supporters sang his name repeatedly, then turned on the players once he had disappeared down the tunnel, booing until the last of them, Diogo Dalot, left the pitch.
The numbers
- 8 — games without a win for United, their worst run since 2015-16
- 0-3 — the scoreline against Bournemouth at Old Trafford
- 4-1 — the defeat to Como that preceded it, two horrific losses in a week
- £1.15bn+ — the Glazer-era debt, according to the latest accounts
- £852m — total interest paid, according to finance blogger Swiss Ramble
- £37m — interest payment in the last financial year, up from £34m the previous year
- £200m+ — spent on the likes of Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte
- £50m — the fee for Ugarte's move from Paris St-Germain
- £63.5m — spent on land for the proposed new stadium earlier this year
- 100,000 — capacity of the planned new ground, likely to cost in excess of £2bn
Why the anger is not really about Carrick
The game was less than a minute old when the first anti-Glazer and anti-Sir Jim Ratcliffe songs were heard. The Glazer family have been public enemy number one among United supporters ever since their leveraged takeover in 2005, and the grievance is financial as much as sporting: the debt loaded onto the club has grown to over £1.15bn, with £852m paid in interest.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a boyhood United fan, was supposed to change that when he struck a deal with the Glazers to become a minority shareholder on Christmas Eve 2023. Instead, a succession of decisions has generated major questions over his handling of the club. The hierarchy eventually backed Erik ten Hag after speaking with alternatives following the shock 2024 FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City, spending over £200m on the likes of Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte.
Last week, Ten Hag told the Athletic that the club went back on a promise not to sell homegrown Scotland international Scott McTominay to fund Ugarte's £50m move from Paris St-Germain. They sacked the Dutchman in October 2024. They then persuaded Ruben Amorim to leave Sporting mid-season when he wanted to wait until the summer, stuck with him after an unprecedented 15th-place finish and again after United lost to League Two Grimsby in the EFL Cup, then sacked him in January when he clashed with director of football Jason Wilcox over playing style.
That led to Carrick's arrival to the end of the season, which became a permanent appointment after he guided the club back into the Champions League after a two-year absence. A third dismissal in three seasons would not reflect well on anyone — which is precisely why the men above him are under scrutiny too.
Wilcox, Berrada and the City connection
Wilcox has largely operated behind the scenes but could not have failed to hear the obscenities sung against him during the game, nor the boos as he climbed into the vehicle taking him away from the stadium nearly two hours after the final whistle. Recruited from a similar role at Southampton following the Ratcliffe takeover and elevated in status following the dismissal of Dan Ashworth amid the decision to recruit Amorim, the 55-year-old is blamed by many fans for the club's recent recruitment, even though the budget was set at a much higher level.
Sat next to him at Old Trafford to watch the Bournemouth debacle unfold was chief executive Omar Berrada, who worked with Wilcox at Manchester City. Having senior figures steeped in City's recent history was always a potential problem if results did not go well. Berrada played no part in the Premier League proceedings that found City guilty of multiple breaches of financial rules, but the link is clear, and United's fans sang about that as well.
The 'Standards' banner held up on the Stretford End showing images of legendary skippers Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and Roy Keane was there to remind the executives running the club of the history they should be aspiring to.
Tickets, touts and a new stadium
If the results were not enough, a ticket touting investigation launched in the summer led to condemnation from all United's major fan groups. The club argued they were trying to catch touts, while fans felt it was an attempt to drive regular match-goers out in favour of more corporate sales. The club are adamant that is not the case, but the argument is falling on deaf ears.
The same is true of plans for a new 100,000-capacity stadium. The club conducted a survey which they said showed the majority of respondents were in favour of a new ground. The stadium is likely to cost in excess of £2bn and United spent £63.5m on land for it earlier this year. Some supporters simply do not believe those figures, and the Stretford End impolitely told Ratcliffe they had no interest in a new stadium either.
Talking points
- Sacking Carrick solves nothing if Wilcox and Berrada remain in place to make the next appointment — the recruitment record under this structure is the real indictment.
- Carrick has been dealt an impossible hand: three head coaches in three seasons, a squad assembled by different philosophies and a fanbase already in revolt before kick-off.
- The decision to sell McTominay to fund Ugarte, as Ten Hag described it, is the single clearest example of a promise broken to a manager and a squad.
- Fan anger at the Glazers and Ratcliffe is now so entrenched that any new manager will inherit a hostile environment from day one at Old Trafford.
What happens next
United travel to Chelsea next Saturday. Carrick could not confirm he will be in charge for that fixture, and a decision is expected before then. If he survives, a third dismissal in three seasons is avoided for now; if he goes, the pressure shifts decisively onto Wilcox, Berrada and Ratcliffe, who will have to explain a fourth managerial change in short order to a support base that has already stopped listening.
Frequently asked questions
Will Michael Carrick still be Manchester United manager against Chelsea?
Carrick said he does not know and is "not expecting anything either way" after the 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth. The end is described as approaching following eight games without a win.
Why are Manchester United fans protesting against the Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe?
Anti-Glazer and anti-Ratcliffe songs began within a minute of kick-off. The debt loaded on the club has grown to over £1.15bn, with £852m paid in interest, and supporters also object to ticket touting investigations and the planned new stadium.
How bad is Manchester United's current run under Carrick?
It is eight games without a win — the club's worst run since 2015-16 — following a 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth and a 4-1 loss to Como, two horrific defeats in a week.
Related Articles
Filed under: Manager News | LA Premier League Home
