Michael Carrick has insisted Manchester United are not an unmanageable club, even as he faces mounting pressure following a run of two wins in 11 games and public criticism from his own captain. The former midfielder, now in charge at Old Trafford, gave a simple "No" when asked directly whether the club had become beyond managing.
Carrick has endured a difficult season after his sensational interim spell earned him the top job on a permanent basis. This year, however, he has found things much tougher, with the demands of multiple competitions proving harder to navigate than a single game each week.
Dressing Room Unrest
The poor results have led to clear signs of dressing room chaos, with body language telling its own story. In Friday's press conference, Carrick took the lead in demanding a greater work ethic from his players if they were to turn their fortunes around.
He has seen players call out issues within the club twice in the space of a fortnight. Lisandro Martinez took aim largely at the hierarchy, but the attack from Bruno Fernandes was very much aimed at Carrick himself.
A History of Managerial Struggles
Carrick is the seventh permanent manager in 13 years at United, with a number of interims in between. The club has won the occasional FA Cup, a Carabao Cup and Europa League success, but managers have constantly had to deal with outside noise, often from former United players, and issues of in-fighting between themselves and squad members.
Carrick was part of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era as a player, witnessing David Moyes' short-lived reign, Louis van Gaal's two years, Jose Mourinho's two-and-a-bit seasons, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure and Erik ten Hag's time in charge. Each faced their own struggles, from Mourinho calling out record signing Paul Pogba to Solskjaer losing the dressing room before his sacking.
Spending and Sackings
Erik ten Hag was allowed to spend £81million on Antony, £72m on Rasmus Hojlund and £47m on Andre Onana, yet it made no difference to the club's fortunes. Ruben Amorim left with a dire record after a fiery press conference where he demanded to work as a manager "not the coach", and was sacked the following day.
If results do not improve soon, Carrick will be the man to pay, even if the Old Trafford hierarchy will be loathed to make another change in the dugout, which would be another admission they have, yet again, got it wrong.
