Michael Carrick paid the ultimate price for Manchester United’s dismal start to the season, with the Red Devils languishing in 18th position in the Premier League after winning only once so far.
The former head coach received his marching orders amid complaints about the squad’s poor fitness levels and tactical blunders.
INEOS’ role in this whole fiasco cannot be taken lightly, as they failed to back the Englishman in the summer. Add to this key players underperforming, and such a scenario was bound to happen.
One of last season’s top performers, goalkeeper Senne Lammens, has struggled to replicate that form, with the Belgian failing to keep a single clean sheet in the league.
Lammens on INEOS’ call to sack Carrick
He arguably had the worst game of his United career so far against Aston Villa, in what turned out to be Carrick’s final game in charge.
| Date | Match |
|---|---|
| 22/08/2026 | v Hull City (A) 0-2 |
| 30/08/2026 | v Ipswich (H) 5-2 |
| 06/09/2026 | v Everton (A) 2-2 |
| 13/09/2026 | v Manchester City (H) 0-1 |
| 20/09/2026 | v Fulham (A) 1-1 |
| 10/10/2026 | v Tottenham (H) 1-1 |
| 18/10/2026 | v Leeds (A) 1-1 |
| 25/10/2026 | v Bournemouth (H) 0-3 |
| 31/10/2026 | v Chelsea (A) 0-2 |
| 08/11/2026 | v Aston Villa (H) 4-4 |
The 24-year-old was asked about Carrick’s dismissal after his country’s international friendly against Türkiye.
He explained that INEOS’ decision was a tough pill to swallow for the whole squad, which had shown through recent results that they were fully behind the former United midfielder.
“Yes, these are difficult weeks. I’m not going to lie about that,” he admitted. “Of course, as a Manchester United team, we need to do better.
Why United were forced to sack Carrick
“Now the manager has been sacked. It’s obviously a difficult time, both for me and for the whole team. We were all behind him.”
After the Bournemouth debacle, United’s co-owners had reportedly handed Carrick a three-game ultimatum. It started in disastrous fashion.
The 20-time English league champions showed promise in the first half against Chelsea before Lisandro Martínez single-handedly dragged his team down.
A trademark comeback in the Champions League against AS Roma followed, and despite a come-from-behind 4-4 draw against Aston Villa, INEOS decided to pull the plug.
Mauricio Pochettino has a mountain to climb, with INEOS reportedly expecting European football at the end of the season despite the fact that the Argentine is inheriting a weak and broken squad.
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
