📅 November 12, 2026
Carrick Sacked: Manchester United’s Next Manager Inherits an Impossible Job
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Manchester United have sacked Michael Carrick. The club confirmed on Thursday that he has “departed his role as men’s first-team head coach,” less than six months after signing a two-year contract, with United 18th and one league win from ten. Mauricio Pochettino is set to replace him, and whoever walks in inherits one of the hardest jobs in English football.
Carrick was told at Carrington on Thursday morning, a day after Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox met Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco. The club’s statement said a change was necessary “in order to achieve our ambitions,” and added: “Michael is, and always will be, a Manchester United legend.”
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How it ended
It’s a fast fall. Carrick took over as interim in January after Ruben Amorim was sacked, won 12 of the last 17 league games, finished third and took United back into the Champions League. That earned him the permanent job in May.
This season, nothing held. ESPN’s sources say the decision followed a review of the three games he was given after the defeats by Como and Bournemouth: Chelsea, Roma and Aston Villa. One win from those three, and 18th after ten games, was judged “not acceptable.” His last match was the 4-4 with Villa, a comeback from 4-2 down that couldn’t paper over two goals conceded in the first four minutes.
The way it was handled won’t be forgotten quickly either. Carrick took training on Tuesday and Wednesday while everyone knew the decision was coming, and Gary Neville called the club “classless” over it. According to Sky Sports, Jonny Evans, Jonathan Woodgate, Steve Holland and Travis Binnion are leaving with him.
Pochettino, nearly
United still haven’t announced a successor, only that they’ll appoint one “as quickly as possible.” Sky Sports reports an agreement with Pochettino is in place, while ESPN says terms are still being finalised. Both say United will pay the release clause in his USA contract, which ESPN puts at $10m (ÂŁ7m).
He’s expected to take the USA’s two Nations League games against Haiti, on Saturday and Tuesday, first. ESPN’s sources say United expect him at Carrington by Wednesday at the latest, the Wednesday before Anfield.
The impossible job
Start with the table. United are 18th on eight points, one behind Nottingham Forest and Coventry City, having scored 14 and conceded 19 in ten league games. They’re out of the bottom three with a win, and the next four fixtures make a win hard to find:
- Liverpool (A), Premier League, Sunday 22 November
- Sporting (A), Champions League, Wednesday 25 November
- Brentford (H), Premier League, Saturday 28 November
- Newcastle (A), Premier League, Wednesday 2 December
That’s four games in eleven days, three of them away, with a coach who’ll have had a handful of sessions. And he won’t have a full squad. Carrick said before the Villa game that Carlos Baleba would be out for “a number of weeks,” beyond the international break.
Then there’s the bigger problem, the one no head coach fixes on his own. Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, United have kept changing the man in the dugout without changing the results. ESPN points out they’ve now sacked a head coach midway through each of the last three seasons: Erik ten Hag in October 2024, Amorim in January, and now Carrick. Neville’s verdict, as quoted by Sky Sports, was blunt: “None of it has worked.”
Can he do it?
Pochettino has done hard jobs before. He took Tottenham to a Champions League final in 2019 and won Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain, and he’s wanted a Premier League return: “One day, yes, because I really like England,” he told The Overlap in April.
But nobody should expect a quick fix. A coach who arrives on a Wednesday, plays Liverpool on a Sunday and then goes to Lisbon is being asked to steady a side that’s lost its nerve, with no transfer window until January. If he gets United out of the bottom three by Christmas, that’ll be a good start. Anything more this season would be a minor miracle.
Our view
Carrick deserved better than the last week. He rescued last season, he’s a United legend, and he took training knowing he was finished. Whether sacking him fixes anything depends on the people above the head coach finally getting it right this time.
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Sources: the club statement, as published by the Evening Standard via Yahoo Sports and quoted by ESPN (Rob Dawson, 12 Nov). ESPN for the review, “not acceptable”, the release clause, Carrington by Wednesday and the three mid-season sackings. Sky Sports (12 Nov) for the agreement, the staff leaving, Neville’s “None of it has worked” and the fixtures. RTÉ for Neville’s “classless” remark and the Haiti games. The table from ESPN after United 4-4 Villa. Baleba from Carrick’s 6 November press conference. Pochettino’s Overlap quote via beIN Sports and Hooligan Soccer. Our view is our own.