Michael Carrick is on the brink of being sacked after Manchester United were thrashed 3-0 by Bournemouth, but the Old Trafford faithful made clear they hold the club's hierarchy responsible for the mess.
As Bournemouth fans taunted Carrick with chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning", United supporters responded with unequivocal backing for their beleaguered boss. The Sky Sports cameras then focused on Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox, the two chiefs behind the decision to appoint Carrick as full-time manager in the summer and the architects of a transfer window that saw £155million spent on midfielders with nothing spent elsewhere.
Supporters Turn on the Boardroom
United's malaise is nothing new, but the nature of the past two games has made a managerial sacking feel all but inevitable. After a shambolic display in Como came the disjointed thrashing by Bournemouth.
The build-up to the game was dominated by Bruno Fernandes, with Carrick making the correct call to leave the United skipper on the bench after his subordination in Como. But the decision did not have the desired effect, and with two wins from 12 games this season and an extremely daunting fixture list on the horizon, the writing is on the wall.
"It is going to get ridiculously difficult for Michael Carrick to be Manchester United manager moving forward. That's the problem the club have got," Gary Neville said on co-commentary for Sky Sports.
"It is horrible to say that. I did think that last season that the club should have gone for the best manager they could have got and not given the job to Michael Carrick. Because I felt this might happen this quickly but this has gone very, very sour very quickly and the club is a mess."
Defensive Neglect Exposed
The way United conceded the second and third goals spoke of a team bereft of confidence and sorely lacking in quality. Leny Yoro fell over to allow Marcus Tavernier to score, while Senne Lammens lost his bearings and left his goal unguarded for Evanilson to help himself - mistakes more befitting of pub football in the local park.
The neglect shown to the defence by the club's hierarchy is ridiculous and completely foreseeable. The failure to sign a left-back left an obvious Achilles' heel, while no serious club would still be relying on over-the-hill players like Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt.
That is there for all to see this season, and the Stretford End's focus as the game meandered to its close showed they know where the blame lies. Just as former executive Ed Woodward was previously, director of football Wilcox is now the lightning rod for their ire.
"They have badly let this football club down," Neville said as Wilcox and Berrada came into view after the full-time whistle.
Their jobs are not up for discussion, and they will be the ones to throw Carrick to the wolves after another toxic performance.
