Michael Carrick has been told his tenure as Manchester United manager will be coming to an end soon following a disastrous start to the season for the Red Devils boss. Labelled the latest saviour of the club following an impressive interim stint, Carrick was handed the job on a permanent basis in the summer, but his fortunes have gone downhill since then.
The humiliating defeat away to Como in the Champions League was United's seventh match without a win, with the pressure continuing to pile on the Englishman's shoulders. There have already been calls for him to be sacked, and if the sorry sight of Carrick apologising to the travelling United fans didn't send alarm bells ringing, it's hard to imagine what will at this stage.
Express Sport Poll Verdict
According to those who voted in a recent Express Sport poll asking who will be the first Premier League manager sacked this season, Carrick is nailed on to be out of a job before his top-flight counterparts. Of those who voted, Carrick took home a whopping 64 per cent of the votes - a figure that doesn't make good reading for the United boss.
The next highest on the list was Roberto De Zerbi, who equalled Carrick's tally for Premier League wins this season against Coventry City on Monday. The Italian returned 11 per cent of the vote, while Pierre Sage, manager of Crystal Palace, got 10 per cent.
Other Managers in the Poll
Elsewhere, Matthias Jaissle has endured a tough start to life as Newcastle boss, and the German received five per cent of the cast votes. Alvaro Arbeloa and Oliver Glasner of Fulham and Nottingham Forest respectively got four per cent each. The remaining two per cent was cast for alternative options to the aforementioned managers.
Eddie Howe is among the favourites to take over from Carrick, should the INEOS bigwigs decide to pull the plug. Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte have also been mooted as potential options, but according to ex-United star Lee Sharpe, the club shouldn't make any rash decisions.
Lee Sharpe's Advice
Speaking to newbettingsites.uk, Sharpe said: "I don't think the hierarchy at Old Trafford are really looking to replace Michael Carrick at the moment. It's not really on the radar."
"I think it has been a poor start. I don't think it's what they were looking for, but I think just to replace a manager again would just be going back to square one and starting all over again. And I don't think they're looking to do that. They need to give him a few weeks or a couple of months, give him till Christmas."
Adding: "It's really difficult in the January window because prices can tend to be escalated, so it is going to be difficult to strengthen the window, but if they can with one or two signings, or even a couple of loans maybe, I think that would help, but I really don't think they're looking to replace him at the moment."
"If by Christmas we're not looking at getting in the Champions League, then what's the point in replacing him anyway? They might as well wait until the end of the season and do it properly and see who's available then to really have a go at it. But if there is a chance of still getting top four and they're looking at Christmas thinking they need a change, then maybe they will look at it then. But I will be very surprised."
