Carrick repeats the mistakes of his predecessors: Manchester United walking blindfolded towards another lost season
Continuing chaos at United
Michael Carrick is under mounting pressure at Manchester United. The 1-1 draw with Leeds United has reopened questions over his future, with fears growing of a repeat of the scenario that cost his predecessors Ruben Amorim and Erik ten Hag their jobs, against the backdrop of a disastrous start to the season and no signs of improvement.
The parallels with last season are uncomfortable. Amorim was sacked less than 24 hours after United drew with Leeds by the same scoreline, following a tense press conference in which he criticised club director of football Jason Wilcox.
Nothing suggests a similar decision on Carrick is coming this week. But the disappointing results keep piling up, and so does the pressure.
Seven rounds into the Premier League, United have collected just 7 points, 14 behind leaders Manchester City. They also went out of the EFL Cup in the first round for the second season running, and have won only twice all season, once against Ipswich Town and once against an Azerbaijani side in the Champions League.
A report by "ESPN" says this picture brings to mind a pattern that has repeated itself in recent years at "Old Trafford": "a stuttering start, then a slide in results, followed by the board announcing its backing for the manager and waiting for performances to improve, before the crisis ends with his sacking without any fundamental treatment of the problems the team is suffering from".
Carrick earned a two-year contract last May as a reward for leading the team back into the Champions League after taking charge on an interim basis in January as Amorim's successor. Keep losing and that deal counts for little.
Eddie Howe, Antonio Conte and Kieran McKenna could all be among the club's options should they decide to make a change.
Against Leeds, Carrick tried to change course by deploying three defenders and strengthening the midfield, hoping to give his side more solidity.
Bryan Mbeumo put United ahead in the 35th minute, but the team couldn't build on it. Dominic Calvert-Lewin levelled for the hosts six minutes into the second half, pouncing on defensive confusion after a corner.
The tactical switch did bring a degree of defensive stability, but it cost United their attacking edge, leaving them incapable of imposing their style or creating enough chances to settle the match.
Carrick's excessive calm on the touchline was strange, too, because the team needs clearer leadership given the decline in performance.
The manager himself clung to optimism, telling reporters: "We are not pretending that everything is fine, but sometimes when you face difficulties, you have to find a way through them. We have to find a way out. I understand that the situation does not look good, but I have no doubt whatsoever that we are capable of putting together a run of positive results".
He added: "There are a lot of things to be optimistic about, and I believe we are still capable of delivering a very good season".
Time is the one thing Carrick doesn't have. United face Como in the Champions League on Wednesday, then host Bournemouth at "Old Trafford" on Sunday, two results that could shape the board's stance on whether the coaching staff survives.
Echoes of 1986 hang over all of this. United suffered modest results before their manager was sacked at the beginning of November, having collected 13 points from 13 matches. What followed was the Alex Ferguson era, one of the most notable chapters in the club's history.
Four decades on, the question returns: "Will Carrick succeed in halting the decline and getting the team back on track, or will the sacking be repeated and the club begin the search for a new manager to rescue a season threatened with collapse?".
