Carrick loses his job at Manchester United amid crisis

Michael Carrick was sacked by Manchester United on Thursday after the club is only eighteenth in the Premier League, a position that would mean a first relegation in history. The dramatic results of Manchester United have proved fatal for Michael Carrick.

Carrick is dismissed and Pochettino as successor

Under the 45‑year‑old Carrick United this season has been on a dismal run. In the league only one match was won, a 5‑2 home victory over Ipswich Town. United lost four times and drew five times, including last Sunday a 4‑4 home draw against Aston Villa. If Manchester United is still eighteenth at the end of the season, then the very first relegation from the Premier League will be a fact.

In the group stage of the Champions League United sit seventeenth with two wins and two defeats. In the League Cup the Mancunians were already eliminated in the third round after a 3‑2 home loss to Brighton & Hove Albion, the current number two in the Premier League. So the former midfield stalwart Carrick (he played 316 matches in 12 seasons) also failed to pull the long‑struggling club from Manchester out smoothly.

United's relegation battle pushes Pochettino towards Old Trafford

United's crisis and historical background

Manchester United still thrives on the successes from the time when Sir Alex Ferguson was the manager. In the 27 seasons that the Scottish man was at the helm United collected one trophy after another. Ferguson led the club to become champion of the Premier League thirteen times. In addition United under ‘Sir Alex’ also won the FA Cup five times, the League Cup four times, the Community Shield ten times, the Champions League twice and also once the old European Cup II.

Since Ferguson left in 2013 United have had twelve managers at the helm, five of them on an interim basis. Among those twelve were also three Dutch: Louis van Gaal (2014‑2016), Erik ten Hag (2022‑2024) and interim Ruud van Nistelrooij (28 October to 10 November 2024). United have hardly won any notable trophies in the last thirteen seasons. Two times winner of the FA Cup (in 2016 and 2023) and one title in the Europa League (2017), the Manchester fans had to endure that.

In the past two seasons no trophy has been won at all, although United were very close in 2025 as losing finalists in the Europa League (0‑1 to Tottenham Hotspur). Mauricio Pochettino, former coach of, among others, Tottenham Hotspur, PSG and Chelsea, appears to be the main candidate to replace Carrick, and according to various media negotiations are already underway with the current US national team coach. Carrick was appointed on 13 January of this year; ten months later the curtain also fell for him at Old Trafford and it is again up to, among others, Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui to see who they will get for the squad.