Michael Carrick has arrived at Manchester United‘s Carrington training ground this morning with his job hanging by a thread after a day of crisis talks.
United’s players are due back in training today after Monday’s scheduled day off following Sunday’s disastrous 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth.
With the club yet to make a decision on his future – and a host of replacements in the frame – here’s what our experts think they should do next…
RIATH AL SAMARRAI: Carrick does need to go
Carrick isn’t the problem but this group of players is so inherently weak in the head that he probably needs to go if United are to spark any kind of upturn on the pitch.
If United go that way, Eddie Howe would be my suggestion. His record for improving players through coaching would be the prime driver and the club’s need in that area is self-explanatory.
CHRIS WHEELER: Keep him and hold players accountable
The manner of Carrick’s exit at Old Trafford on Sunday – following his press conference speech before the Bournemouth defeat and apology to fans in Como – makes you wonder if he has gone past the point of no return.
But it would be nice to see United’s bosses backing their head coach and turning the tables on the players: you got us into this mess, now get us out of it.
Whether Carrick is the right man for the job or not, at some point this cycle has to stop and the players must be held accountable.
JACK GAUGHAN: Eddie’s the safe bet
It’s reached the point where you can justifiably ask whether anything will actually fix the deep-rooted issues.
In the short term, it’ll have to be a new manager but they’ll be back in this position in another 18 months without more rounded change and a more experienced executive team. Eddie Howe would get them on an even keel this season if appointed and he looks the safest bet from the available bunch.
IAN HERBERT: Go for Ancelotti
United require a manager capable of instilling calm in the madhouse and standards where they are missing, and fashioning an environment in which no one would dare contemplate acts of vicious mutiny from the likes of Bruno Fernandes.
The next manager must be able to dazzle and impress targets. With the greatest respect, Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann just won’t do. There has been a sense for weeks now that Carlo Ancelotti is the individual United have needed all along.
A stellar competitor who has lifted five Champions League trophies and league titles in five countries, but who has ridden the rollercoaster for long enough to brush off the kind of vicissitudes which have destroyed so many at United.
Carlo Ancelotti, currently with Brazil, is Ian Herbert’s pick for the United role
BOBBY MANZI: The end is inevitable… just do it now
The stay of execution is unfair to Michael Carrick. He could be forced to coach a team while waiting to find out whether he’ll manage their next game. How can anyone work efficiently in those chaotic circumstances? When you’re unsure day to day whether you’ll still have a job, it’s untenable. Put him out of his misery now.
I feel for Carrick. The transfer business fell short, leaving him with an unenviable task. His eventual dismissal should not indict him but the squad that stopped caring and the obstructive hierarchy. They’re going to sack him regardless – stop dilly-dallying and do it now. Give it to someone like Jonny Evans while deliberating over the permanent replacement. The procrastination helps nobody.
United have tried pretty much every type of manager since the end of the Ferguson era. As long as the hierarchy makes poor decisions, whoever they bring in will struggle. Eddie Howe is talented. But for his sake, I hope he turns it down. United is a poisoned chalice and he is a future England manager.
KIERAN GILL: Let’s see how Nagelsmann handles it
Five years ago this week, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United lost 5-0 at home to Liverpool. That was Sunday, October 24. Our headline the next day read: ‘Super Salah goes ballistic, United are atrocious!’
The following days were filled with talk of Solskjaer needing to be sacked. But he wasn’t. In their next game on Saturday, October 30, United won 3-0 in London, away at Tottenham. So maybe that’s a good omen, should Michael Carrick remain in charge for their trip to Chelsea this Saturday.
Julian Nagelsmann is out of work having resigned his role as Germany boss in July after the last-32 World Cup exit to Paraguay
While I do think Carrick’s time is up, given the fans’ backing of him, United could do worse than give him Saturday at least while they work on identifying the replacement they think is perfect.
Eddie Howe would probably be a safe, smart choice, but purely because I want to see how he handles the Premier League, I’d personally like Julian Nagelsmann.
JAMES SHARPE: Ditch short-term fixes to make United a force
This cannot go on. United fell into the same trap as they did with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, proving they had learned nothing, by giving Carrick the job after a fine time as caretaker. They don’t need an over-promoted caretaker, they don’t need a short-term shock jock to give them a short boost, they need someone who will help build the structures United need to be a force again. That will take time.
They have put it off for so long, lurching from coach to coach, and style to style, that it’s just no longer sustainable. They need to build deep-rooted structures like Brentford and Brighton, and so on. Eddie Howe could help do that.
