📅 November 1, 2026
Carrick Stays for Roma, With Another Review Expected Over the Break
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Michael Carrick will take Manchester United into Tuesday’s Champions League game against Roma, and his job will be looked at again over the international break. The Guardian reports both points, and The Athletic has the same timetable, according to Brit Brief’s summary of its story. There’s no club statement.
That’s the new part of this. Carrick survived last Monday’s talks and stayed for Chelsea, then lost 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. That defeat hasn’t brought a decision, and the reports now point to two more games.
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What’s reported
Jamie Jackson’s Guardian story, also carried by The Irish Times, says Carrick’s set to stay for Roma and that his position’s expected to be reviewed during the break, after United host Aston Villa next Sunday. It also says there’s still a view within the hierarchy that he can turn results around.
Brit Brief, citing The Athletic, has United’s bosses agreeing in private to hold off until the break if they can, then reassessing after these two fixtures. We haven’t read The Athletic’s original, so we’re relying on that summary. Neither report is a club announcement, and United could still move sooner.
What Carrick said
He answered the question himself on Saturday. TNT Sports asked if he’d still be in charge for Roma and he said he would, in one word. Sky Sports has it as “Yeah”, while Sports Illustrated has it as “Yes”.
Both carry the same line from afterwards: “I’m just looking forward to getting the boys ready for midweek now.” The Guardian quotes him adding: “We’ve got to move forward and win matches, it’s as simple as that.”
Asked in his news conference about the bottom three, he pointed the other way up the table, as Sky reports: “You can also look at how far you can move up the league quite quickly.” That only holds if United start winning. They’ve gone nine games without a win in all competitions.
The names behind it
The Guardian says Eddie Howe is Jason Wilcox’s preferred candidate if Carrick goes, that contact’s understood to have been made, and that Howe’s open to the job subject to negotiations. It also says Julian Nagelsmann is highly regarded by United’s director of recruitment, Christopher Vivell, who’s believed to have sounded him out. Brit Brief’s summary of The Athletic names the same two men as options. All of that’s reporting from unnamed sources, and neither Howe nor Nagelsmann has said anything on it that we’ve seen.
The two games
Roma come to Old Trafford on Tuesday 3 November at 3 PM ET (8 PM UK), going by Dimers’ kick-off list and the 9 PM Italian time on Roma’s own schedule.
Villa follow on Sunday 8 November, also at Old Trafford, and Lisandro MartĂnez misses that one through suspension, as Sports Mole confirms. United went into Sunday’s games 17th on seven points, above the bottom three only on goal difference.
Our view: this isn’t backing, it’s a timetable. If that’s how it works, Carrick has two home games to change the conversation, and the second comes without his sent-off centre-back. A win over Roma would end the run and buy him some air. Anything less, and the break starts to look like a deadline.
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Sources: Carrick staying for Roma, the review during the break, the hierarchy’s view, Howe and Nagelsmann, the league position and the “move forward” quote from Jamie Jackson in The Guardian via AOL and The Irish Times, 1 Nov. The Athletic’s report via Brit Brief, 1 Nov; we haven’t read the original. Carrick’s TNT Sports answer, “getting the boys ready” and the league quote from Sky Sports, 31 Oct, 19:42 UK, with the answer and “getting the boys ready” also in Sports Illustrated (no full date shown, covers Saturday’s game). Kick-off from Dimers, 31 Oct, and AS Roma, 29 Aug. MartĂnez’s ban from Sports Mole, 31 Oct, and Brit Brief, 1 Nov, which wrongly calls the Villa game away. Left out because we could only trace them to one report: the compensation figure for Howe and any exact date for the review. United haven’t made a statement.