Manchester United have sacked head coach Michael Carrick after the club’s worst-ever start to a Premier League season, the club confirmed on Thursday.
“Manchester United can confirm that Michael Carrick has departed his role as men’s first-team head coach,” the club said in a statement. “After a disappointing start to the season, the club has come to the extremely difficult conclusion that a change is necessary in order to achieve our ambitions.”
United sit 18th in the 20-team Premier League table, in the relegation zone, with just one win and eight points from their first 10 league games. Carrick’s final match in charge was a chaotic 4-4 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday, 8 November.
01. A short spell that started so well
Carrick, 45, took over as interim head coach in January after Ruben Amorim was sacked. He turned the team’s form around at the end of last season, guiding United to a third-place finish, and was rewarded with a two-year permanent contract in May.
But this season has gone badly wrong. United have managed only three wins in all competitions, and the decision to remove him was taken at a meeting in Monaco on Wednesday involving co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chief executive Omar Berrada and football director Jason Wilcox. Carrick was told on Thursday morning.
He is the seventh permanent manager to be sacked by United since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
02. Pochettino lined up to take over
United said they intend to appoint a permanent successor “as quickly as possible”. Mauricio Pochettino, the current head coach of the United States men’s national team, is widely expected to get the job.
Reports say United have reached a verbal agreement in principle with the 54-year-old Argentine, who is under contract with US Soccer through the 2030 World Cup. United would have to pay compensation of around £7.5 million to release him. Pochettino is expected to remain in charge of the US team for their matches against Haiti on Saturday and Tuesday before any move is made official.
The former Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss has been linked with the Old Trafford job several times over the past decade.
Whoever takes over faces a huge task. United’s next game is against fierce rivals Liverpool at Anfield on 22 November, and the club has never recovered its old dominance since Ferguson’s departure 13 years ago.
