📅 November 1, 2026

Carrick Gets Two More Games: Roma and Villa, Then a Decision

By Mav Jones · Manchester United fan writer

Manchester United have given Michael Carrick two more games. After yesterday’s 2-0 defeat at Chelsea, the club will keep him in charge for Roma on Tuesday and Aston Villa next Sunday, then look at his position again over the international break. The Guardian’s Jamie Jackson and The Athletic both report the same timeline.

He goes into those two games with United 17th in the Premier League. They’re level on seven points with Crystal Palace and out of the bottom three only on goal difference.

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What was decided

The Guardian, as reported by SPORTbible, says Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada met at Carrington and decided Carrick would stay in his job, with “the situation” to be “revisited after the next two games.” The Athletic’s version, carried by SI and Sky’s review of Sunday’s papers, says the hierarchy want to reach the November international break before acting.

So it’s the same conclusion from two directions: Roma and Villa, then a decision. That’s the second time in a week United have bought time rather than made a call. Last Tuesday it was “at least one more game”. Now it’s two.

The names behind the decision

The Guardian reports that Wilcox has Eddie Howe at the top of his shortlist, and Football365, citing the same Guardian report, says United have made contact with him. Howe left Newcastle in the summer. Julian Nagelsmann, out of work since leaving Germany after the World Cup, is also named as a candidate by SI and others.

The club still hasn’t said anything in public about Carrick, either way.

What Carrick said

Asked by TNT Sports whether he expected to be in charge against Roma, Carrick said: “Yeah.” He added, as Stretty News reported: “I’m just looking forward to getting the boys ready for midweek now.”

On the table, SI quotes him: “Got to keep moving forward and winning games, simple as that. You can move up the league quite quickly if you win football matches.” Asked whether there’s a stigma about being near the bottom three, he said: “Not from me, no.”

Where United stand

This weekend’s results, now on our Premier League table, leave United 17th: played nine, won one, drawn four, lost four, goal difference minus five. Palace are 18th on the same seven points with a goal difference of minus 12. Nottingham Forest are on six and Sunderland on five. Arsenal went top this afternoon with a 1-0 win at Anfield.

The run without a win is now nine games in all competitions, the longest since 1988, as the AP and The Analyst reported after yesterday’s defeat. Lisandro Martínez, sent off at Stamford Bridge, is suspended for Villa.

Our view

Two games is a fair test, as long as everyone is honest about what it is. Roma is the Champions League. Villa at home is a league game United simply can’t lose if they want to stay out of the bottom three.

What isn’t fair is doing it this way again: leaks to the Guardian and The Athletic, silence from the club, and a manager left to answer “Yeah” when he’s asked whether he’ll still have a job on Tuesday. If the board want a decision by the break, they should say so publicly and let Carrick and the players play for it in the open. One week from now, everyone will know where they stand. They might as well know it today.

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Sources: The two-game timeline and Wilcox’s shortlist from the Guardian (Jamie Jackson) via SPORTbible, 1 November, and from The Athletic via SI and Sky Sports’ review of Sunday’s papers. Contact with Howe from Football365, citing the Guardian. Carrick’s “Yeah” (TNT Sports) and “getting the boys ready” from Stretty News; his table quotes from SI. Each of those quotes appears in one outlet we could check, so they’re attributed. The table from ESPN’s and the Premier League’s standings, which agree, and from our own table page. Nine without a win and the 1988 record from the AP and The Analyst. Left out: a compensation figure for Howe that appeared in one report only.