Michael Carrick has been sacked as Manchester United manager after a turbulent spell that saw him clash with club captain Bruno Fernandes and striker Matheus Cunha
Michael Carrick’s final weeks at Manchester United were marred by clashes with two of his players, before the manager was shown the door on Thursday following days of mounting speculation about his position.
United have managed just one victory from their opening 10 Premier League fixtures this season, finding themselves in the relegation zone heading into the international break. A thrilling 4-4 draw against Aston Villa proved insufficient to lift them out of the drop zone.
Mauricio Pochettino is widely expected to take the reins at Old Trafford, with a broad agreement reportedly reached between him and the US Soccer. Despite penning a fresh contract with the USA, a £7.5m release clause has paved the way for United to make their move.
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Carrick was handed the job on a permanent basis in the summer after steering the club into the Champions League during the second half of last season. However, this campaign has fallen well short of expectations.
Several flashpoints punctuated his time in charge, including bust-ups with two members of the United squad. Tensions appeared to simmer between Carrick and Matheus Cunha in the wake of their comeback victory over Roma, reports the Mirror.
The striker was dismissed in stoppage time, just minutes after United had battled back from two goals down to claim a dramatic 3-2 win. Carrick then blocked Cunha’s attempt to rush onto the pitch to join his teammates’ celebrations.
The United boss instead sent him back down the tunnel, in a bid to shield Cunha from further punishment, as football regulations bar players from entering the pitch immediately after the final whistle.
Tensions also surfaced with club skipper Bruno Fernandes. The midfielder appeared to challenge Carrick’s tactics following the 4-1 Champions League thrashing against Como last month.
When pressed on whether the game plan was wrong, Fernandes said: “That’s on the manager and staff to see, not me. Sometimes you have to be more brave under pressure, take the risk of pressing high and making them uncomfortable.
“As you saw with them [Como], the centre-back was coming to mark me in my own half. We need to do that as a team but we were unable to. A team that plays through the middle with small connections, if you give them too much time and space then they can hurt you out wide.”
In the wake of these comments, Fernandes was dropped to the bench by Carrick for the next Premier League clash, as United slumped to a 3-0 defeat against Bournemouth. The United boss did maintain, however, that the decision was purely based on footballing grounds.
Days later, he sat down for frank talks with the club skipper, and the matter was considered settled. The 32-year-old was restored to the starting line-up for the Premier League clash with Chelsea, and has been in the first XI for every game since.