Continue or call it quits? Manchester United's crisis: Is it the coach's fault or the players', as "Bruno" disagrees with "Carrick".
On 22 Oct 2026 GMT+7, a heavy 1-4 defeat to Como in the UEFA Champions League raised fresh questions about Michael Carrick's future at Manchester United after a seven-match winless run across all competitions.
After the game, Carrick went to apologize to more than 700 Manchester United fans who came to support, instead of approaching his defeated players—a move reminiscent of Ole Gunnar Solskjær's gesture after a 4-1 loss to Watford in November 2021, before being sacked 24 hours later.
The situation worsened when Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United’s captain, criticized Carrick's tactics, saying, "The coaching staff decided not to use man-to-man pressing, instead allowing space behind to try to regain possession."
"But sometimes you need to be braver under pressure, willing to take risks by pushing up to press high and make it difficult for the opponents to play."
The media then asked Carrick about this view, and he responded, "No matter what system or tactics you use, if you don’t run forward and help defensively, you won’t win."
Carrick declined to comment on his future at Manchester United, focusing instead on his feelings about the team’s performance and emphasizing taking responsibility, despite criticism that he has not shown enough motivation to the players.
After leading Manchester United to 12 wins in 17 games last season and bringing the team back to the Champions League after a two-year absence, Carrick earned a two-year permanent contract. However, this season, he has managed only two wins out of 11 matches across all competitions.
The situation remains to be seen ahead of the Premier League match against Bournemouth. On this difficult night, some Red Devils fans united in singing protests against the Glazer family and club owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Both Carrick and sporting director Jason Wilcox have garnered sympathy from some quarters, viewed as not solely responsible for the club’s current poor state.
Carrick has been affected by transfer policies that brought in three midfielders but failed to secure a left-back to compete with Luke Shaw, as well as reinforcements for the striker position. Wilcox operates under tight budget constraints imposed by the management.
Perhaps the entire crisis at Manchester United right now is not just due to mistakes by the coach or players but stems from flawed management decisions from the outset.
