Manchester United have decided not to sack Michael Carrick for the time being. The 45-year-old was expected to be shown the door following a 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth but will be in the dugout on Saturday against Chelsea.
Carrick's first full season in charge of United has started dismally. Eight Premier League games have been played so far and his side has won just once. They've also suffered four defeats and been held to three draws. Not to mention, they were sent packing from the Carabao Cup by Brighton and have lost two of their three Champions League games.
After being beaten 3-0 by the Cherries, emergency discussions involving CEO Omar Berrada and sporting director Jason Wilcox were held to decide whether Carrick would be sacked. The decision was taken to afford the manager additional time, with suitable replacements in short supply.
Three replacements
Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt have selected three managers they believe would be suitable to step in should Carrick be dismissed. And one of those names was former team-mate Roy Keane.
Butt and Scholes, featuring on the X page of their podcast, The Good, The Bad and The Football, were each presented with 11 names. They reached a consensus on just three.
Antonio Conte was the first name presented to them and while Scholes gave his approval, Butt did not. Gareth Southgate followed and they were divided: Butt endorsed him, but Scholes remained unconvinced by the former England manager. Unai Emery was the third candidate and both agreed he would be an excellent choice.
Of the remaining eight, only Keane and Kieran McKenna received unanimous backing from the duo. On Keane, Butt remarked: "It would be fun" before Scholes confessed with a smile: "I don't see why not." The pair disagreed on Fabian Hurzeler and Mauricio Pochettino, while both rejected Eddie Howe, Daniel Farke, Cesc Fabregas and Julian Nagelsmann for the present moment.
Roy Keane's message to Michael Carrick
Speaking of Keane, he didn't mince his words when addressing Carrick's predicament and cautioned the manager that he must travel to Chelsea on Saturday and secure a positive result.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast alongside Gary Neville, he said: "When he got the job last year and Carrick went in there, we said from day one we didn't think he was probably good enough long term.
"It's alright managing a few games, all of a sudden, then you've got to manage the football club, preseason, expectations, recruitment. They were getting results last year and people were saying you've got to give him the job because of results. All of a sudden, they're not getting the results. 'Oh, it's the board, it's [Jason] Wilcox. It's somebody else.'"
Michael Carrick, his coaching staff, Jonny [Evans], [Jonathan] Woodgate, [Steve] Holland - they're lucky boys to be still involved at Manchester United. They have to grow a pair and start getting results on Saturday. Get a result at Chelsea.
