{"id":11344,"date":"2026-10-25T20:56:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T20:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=11344"},"modified":"2026-10-25T20:56:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T20:56:49","slug":"can-carrick-survive-man-uniteds-slump-and-fernandes-fallout-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=11344","title":{"rendered":"Can Carrick survive Man United\u2019s slump and Fernandes fallout? | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Manchester United manager Michael Carrick left the Old Trafford pitch on Sunday to the sound of his name being sung by the adoring home support, but he may never lead the team onto the field again.<\/p>\n

His players followed him and the message delivered to them and the club captain Bruno Fernandes, who was an unused substitute, was quite different.<\/p>\n

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Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n

The 3-0 thumping by Bournemouth<\/a> was a result that marked a 40-year low for the crisis club and plunged it to new depths \u2013 and the fans were determined to let United\u2019s owners and playing staff know it.<\/p>\n

The opening seven league matches marked United\u2019s worst start since 1986. The latest defeat, their sixth of the season, leaves the club just a point above the relegation zone and without a win in eight matches in all competitions.<\/p>\n

What has happened between Fernandes and Carrick?<\/h2>\n

Fernandes, the Professional Footballers\u2019 Association\u2019s Player of the Year last season, was left among the substitutes on Sunday as a result of criticising Carrick after Wednesday\u2019s 4-1 humiliation at Como in the UEFA Champions League.<\/p>\n

The Portuguese player has been the Red Devils\u2019 darling since he arrived in 2020, and seemed to have sealed his place as a club legend in a time of darkness with his accolade achieved on the back of United\u2019s third-place finish, which they have only twice bettered in 13 years.<\/p>\n

The award came as a result of his record number of assists in a Premier League season \u2013 all the more impressive in a side that lacked a spark anywhere else on the pitch.<\/p>\n

The upturn in fortunes under Carrick\u2019s interim position last term, when he replaced Ruben Amorim in January, resulted in his full-time appointment in the summer.<\/p>\n

A tenure that may now have run its course, with him and United\u2019s best player seemingly at loggerheads.<\/p>\n

How have fans reacted to the Premier League giant\u2019s fall?<\/h2>\n

The United fans are famously loyal to their managers and players. Boos for anyone associated with the home side at Old Trafford were relatively unheard of until the last two seasons.<\/p>\n

Now the boss receiving the adulation on exiting one of world football\u2019s greatest stages \u2013 the Theatre of Dreams \u2013 may be the one on whom the curtain is being pulled.<\/p>\n

Fernandes is no villain in this piece, but United\u2019s fans have delivered a clear message directly to the heart of the dressing room \u2013 sending it via the player who could do no wrong in the eyes of the supporters will leave the ears of every member of the squad ringing.<\/p>\n

Enough is enough.<\/p>\n

Outplayed is one thing, but being outrun and outfought is another.<\/p>\n

What is the context of Man United\u2019s demise?<\/h2>\n

United\u2019s history has been one of rebuilds and comebacks. They have known difficult days \u2013 their most successful manager Sir Alex Ferguson was on the verge of the sack in 1990 before winning the FA Cup and beginning one of the greatest runs of trophy-laden eras in football.<\/p>\n

Their wait for a league title stretched from 1967 \u2013 and the Holy Trinity of George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law \u2013 to 1993, when Ferguson\u2019s inspired signing of Eric Cantona ignited glory days even the biggest club in the world at the time had never seen.<\/p>\n

Now, United are on the edge of a precipice \u2013 quite literally if the gap to the drop zone is even to be realistically contemplated. Perhaps United\u2019s cross-town rivals City won\u2019t be the only Manchester club facing relegation this season.<\/p>\n

That is demise no one is truly considering yet.<\/p>\n

Is it a case of Carrick or Fernandes for Man United?<\/h2>\n

They are, however, at a crossroads \u2013 and the divide between Carrick and Fernandes \u2013 his captain, who criticised the tactics<\/a> that stopped United pressing their Italian opponents in midweek, is likely to see the axe fall on the manager rather than a valuable asset.<\/p>\n

\u201cManchester United need to make the change tonight (Sunday),\u201d former England team-mate of Carrick, Jamie Carragher, told British broadcaster Sky Sports when asked if a sacking was needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fans have taken the side of the manager, which is not about him being the manager, it\u2019s about him being a huge figure in United\u2019s history \u2013 and those players have done nothing compared to teams of the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo Carrick is always going to win that fight \u2013 and rightly so \u2013 with Fernandes, no matter how talented a player he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut also United \u2013 one of the biggest clubs in the world \u2013 are 16th in the table right now and that can\u2019t happen \u2013 it can\u2019t continue and Carrick needs to be relieved of his duties.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wants to be sacked. It\u2019s become untenable. He doesn\u2019t want to be sat in the dugout with those players.<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine going into training with Fernandes after not bringing him on? It\u2019s a rancid dressing room. He wants to be put out of his misery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary Neville, former Manchester United defender and team-mate of Carrick\u2019s for club and country, added: \u201cCarrick is popular, but the owners, the sporting department and the players are not.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will probably make a decision that will disgust United fans, but it is probably necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe club is a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n

What has Carrick said amid rumours of the sack?<\/h2>\n

The final word of the day belongs to the man in the middle of a power battle that has seen him win the popular vote, but one that is unlikely to sway the United hierarchy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take the responsibility,\u201d Carrick said in the post-match news conference. \u201cI totally understand the situation, I\u2019m not expecting anything, I\u2019m carrying on as normal and I love this place.\u201d<\/p>\n

In something of a reference to dropping the club captain and the response he received from the crowd at the end, Carrick continued: \u201cI always do what I feel is going to be the best for the club, whatever decision is made.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve tried to do everything I can to not be in this position and for a number of reasons, whatever they are, we\u2019ve not been able to stop that happening to the position we\u2019re in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always felt that support and always felt that connection with the [fans].<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to say it is mixed emotions, I didn\u2019t really expect that from the supporters. The respect that I have for them and for them to show that back meant an awful lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emotions are running high at Old Trafford and, even though Carrick denied it, his fanfare at the end may well prove to have been his farewell.<\/p>\n

The Theatre of Dreams has become a house of horrors \u2013 for the 11th manager since Ferguson retired and with United\u2019s last Premier League title now stretching back to 2013.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Manchester United manager Michael Carrick left the Old Trafford pitch on Sunday to the sound of his name being sung by the adoring home support, but he may never lead the team onto the field again. His players followed him and the message delivered to them and the club captain Bruno Fernandes, who was an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t