Manchester United fired Michael Carrick on Thursday, six months after giving him a contract through 2028 on the strength of a spring run that saved United's season. Carrick won 12 and drew three of his 17 games after taking over last January and led United to third place. Ten league games into this season, United are 18th with one league win, and the club decided that was not acceptable.
From the best form in England to the bottom three
United's own statement made the contrast for them. It said Carrick "guided the team to a third-placed Premier League finish by winning 12 out of the remaining 17 games of the 2025-26 season, accumulating the highest points tally in the league during that period," and called him "a Manchester United legend." Then it said that "after a disappointing start to the season, the club has come to the extremely difficult conclusion that a change is necessary."
The numbers since the summer are stark. United have three wins in all competitions, at home to Ipswich, Sabah and Roma, and one in their last 11 matches, according to The Guardian. They sit a point behind 17th-placed Coventry and are 17th in the Champions League standings. Club sources told ESPN that 18th place "is not acceptable" and that the squad is "far better than results and performances so far this season have indicated."
The three-game test he didn't pass
Carrick was kept on after a 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth and effectively given three more games. United lost 2-0 at Chelsea, came back to beat Roma and then rallied from two goals down twice to draw 4-4 with Aston Villa last Sunday. The comebacks were not enough. The club felt the performances showed the team was on the wrong path, and the decision went from a review by director of football Jason Wilcox, through a meeting with Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco, to a board sign-off involving the Glazer family.
Carrick kept showing up for work all week untill the end. He took training on Wednesday and was at the club again Thursday morning with his fate already sealed, The Guardian reported.
There was friction, too. Bruno Fernandes questioned Carrick's approach after a 4-1 Champions League loss at Como, and Lisandro Martínez criticized Wilcox. Carrick is the second head coach United have fired in 2026 after Ruben Amorim in January, a first for the club.
Why it matters on this side of the Atlantic
The man lined up to replace him is the USMNT coach. United have a framework agreement with Mauricio Pochettino, whose U.S. Soccer contract runs through 2030 but carries a release clause of about $10 million, with roughly another $2 million for staff such as assistant Jesús Pérez, according to ESPN. Sources told ESPN that Pochettino will still coach the U.S. in both Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal games against Haiti on Nov. 14 and Nov. 17. United's next match is at Liverpool on Nov. 22.
Carrick's spring proved this squad could win in the Premier League; his autumn proved it doesn't do it by default. Whoever takes over at Anfield inherits both halves of that record, and very little time to decide which one is real.
