Manchester United have dismissed manager Michael Carrick following a crunch meeting between senior figures, with Mauricio Pochettino lined up to take over. The decision ends an increasingly awkward situation for the departing boss, who had continued to take training at Carrington this week despite the near certainty of his departure being made public.
United are now finalising a deal to bring in Pochettino, with club officials making formal contact with the USA national team. Once confirmed as Carrick's replacement, the Argentine faces a huge challenge to turn things around, with Carrick leaving the club in the relegation zone. There is also the prospect of Pochettino not arriving until after the USMNT's two fixtures with Haiti over the international break, meaning he faces a rush to be ready for a daunting opening game with Liverpool.
Decision Made After Monaco Meeting
Despite his popularity among fans, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox decided it was time to swing the axe on Carrick. The decision was made after a crunch meeting in Monaco on Wednesday, with chief executive Berrada and director of football Wilcox recommending to Ratcliffe and the Glazer family that Carrick be dismissed.
Carrick had been given three games to save his job after the humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, but a sole victory against Roma — achieved thanks to a late comeback — and a chaotic draw against Aston Villa was not enough to spare him. United, who dropped to rock bottom at one point this past weekend, could only muster a draw against Villa after two stoppage-time goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu, leaving them 18th with just eight points from 10 matches.
Fan and Icon Criticism
The United fanbase have stuck by Carrick throughout their woeful season, which has seen them garner just one league win, with their anger reserved for the ownership and leadership team. Berrada and Wilcox, in particular, have come under fire for their work in the summer, with United left alarmingly short at left-back and lacking quality in defence.
Club icons share fans' views, with Gary Neville saying on Sunday that United's back four would "get them relegated" and that the "problem is with the ownership." United chose to spend the entirety of their £155million summer budget on their midfield, landing Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba, with a view to improving the defence next summer. However, that decision is already backfiring, with senior figures privately accepting they got this summer wrong, having pulled out of deals for top targets like Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes and failed to address their problems at left-back. Diogo Dalot, who usually plays right-back and was booed off by fans at the weekend, is having to fill in for the injured Luke Shaw.
Carrick's Record and Player Unrest
Carrick walks away from United with just three wins from the 15 games he took charge of following his appointment as Ruben Amorim's permanent successor. The 45-year-old, who said he "expected" to stay after the Villa fightback, led the team back to the Champions League last term with a third-placed finish, but the good times at Old Trafford didn't last long.
As well as the performances on the pitch taking a turn for the worse, Carrick was forced to deal with players speaking out of turn in interviews. Lisandro Martinez publicly questioned director of football Wilcox and the summer recruitment after the Champions League defeat away at Atletico Madrid, while Bruno Fernandes criticised the head coach's tactics after another European loss at Como.
Pochettino's Arrival and Costs
Traditionally, the international break is seen as an opportune time to change managers, giving the new boss extra time to prepare for their first game. But after USA manager Pochettino emerged as the outstanding candidate, United bypassed that advantage. Due to the short amount of time between a potential appointment and two competitive fixtures with Haiti, it is expected he will remain in charge before reporting to Manchester towards the end of next week.
An agreement was quickly reached with the manager, with United initiating formal contact to trigger his release clause on Wednesday night. Pochettino has been targeted by United several times in the past and now appears to finally be heading to Old Trafford. However, United will have to fork out to hire him; the Argentine is currently in charge of the United States National team and will cost at least £7.5million to buy him out of his contract.
Pochettino would also be looking to bring his staff with him to Old Trafford, including long-term assistant Jesus Perez. It is understood that there would be an additional cost to United in buying out their contracts with the national team, pushing the price of the operation even higher. United would also have to pay around £5m in compensation to dismiss Carrick and his assistants Steve Holland and Jonathan Woodgate. It will be a baptism of fire for the ex-Tottenham boss, with his first United match an away trip to rivals Liverpool before a Champions League fixture at Sporting CP.
