Manchester United's decision to appoint Michael Carrick permanently after a successful interim spell was not taken lightly. Even as late as April, club bosses deliberated about whether he should be included in promotional material for preseason games over the summer.
Weeks later, on the back of mounting fan support, he was handed a two-year contract. But what followed was a startling decline.
A shock opening-day defeat to newly promoted Hull City in August kicked off a miserable start to the season, with just one league win and only three in all competitions from 15 attempts. Carrick's tactics were questioned by captain Bruno Fernandes, he came close to the sack after defeat to Bournemouth last month, and his last game in charge was a chaotic 4-4 draw with Aston Villa that left United in the bottom three and facing the once-unthinkable prospect of relegation.
What went right for Carrick in order for him to get the job, and what went wrong that led him to lose it?
How Carrick went from interim to permanent
In the end, results between January and May were considered too good to ignore. They gave him the edge over the only other serious candidate, Andoni Iraola, but even though United enjoyed a run of 12 wins from 17 games to end the season, there were nagging concerns that Carrick had been on the right side of some fine margins.
During meetings between technical staff in March, it was concluded that the team had played well against Manchester City, Arsenal and in the first half against Tottenham Hotspur. Yet the form table also showed victories over Fulham, Everton and Crystal Palace and a draw at West Ham United. For some analysts, there was a disconnect between what they saw on the pitch and the outcome of matches.
Though performances weren't totally convincing, Carrick ticked other boxes. He was particularly impressive off the pitch, and his calm demeanor after both wins and losses was appreciated by the hierarchy. Ruben Amorim was still enthusiastically celebrating a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield in October 2025 long after the final whistle.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe was expecting something similar when he arrived in the Emirates tunnel to speak to Carrick after a 3-2 win over Arsenal in January. Carrick, though, made it clear that while he was happy with the individual result, it was already in the past, and he wanted to move on quickly. To Ratcliffe, that was how a United manager should behave. Carrick was a reluctant manager and turned down the chance to speak to Wolverhampton Wanderers in November 2025. He did, though, have a clear idea of how a United boss should carry themselves.
Previously, Amorim had made a habit of continually asking director of football Jason Wilcox for more and more support. Carrick was the opposite. When Wilcox saw disparaging comments made about Carrick by former United players including Roy Keane, he expected a call to sort it out. But his phone never buzzed; Carrick dealt with such criticism himself, often just brushing it off as part of the job. With Carrick in charge, Wilcox appreciated the freedom to be able to focus more on long-term planning than day-to-day problems sent his way by Amorim.
Man United's squad was a problem
There were other complications left over from Amorim's reign. The Portuguese coach made a big play to the rest of the squad about the need to root out what he considered to be "bad characters." It was done with the full support of the hierarchy, so when Marcus Rashford was reintegrated over the summer, there was feeling within the group that the club was taking a step backward.
Realizing it was a thorny subject, a number of meetings were called at Carrington over the summer to work out how best to bring Rashford back. There's no suggestion Rashford has done anything wrong since his return, but it has caused confusion for players who were told a year earlier that he was not the right fit for the environment the club was trying to create.
Rashford's form has been hampered by a hip problem suffered in England's first game at the FIFA World Cup. Other injury issues -- particularly at left back and center forward -- have put pressure on the squad.
Carrick felt he needed more new signings than the three central midfielders (Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba) who arrived over the summer. Wilcox and CEO Omar Berrada understood his point of view and largely felt the same way, but they had to explain they were having to work with tight budget constraints. United are fully compliant with financial sustainability rules. The problem, Carrick was told, was that a lack of cash made it impossible to match the spending of Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham.
Medical staff knew that Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire -- both key for Carrick last season -- could not play three games a week in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League.
The message was passed on, but club chiefs did not have the funds available to make the necessary changes. Money from last summer's budget -- a reported transfer fee of around €76.5 million, with an additional €8.5 million in performance-related add-ons -- had already been used to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig a year earlier.
Carrick struggled to take the team forward
Ratcliffe and the board have sympathy for Carrick. In the aftermath of the 4-1 defeat to Como 1907, they acknowledged he was hampered by nine absentees due to injuries, illness and suspensions. Plenty of the blame is being placed on underperforming players -- particularly for their woeful displays against Como and AFC Bournemouth, but there also remains a sense that results should have been better. The view inside Old Trafford is that despite recruitment struggles, the squad is stronger than last season with one aging midfielder in Casemiro replaced by three others.
After short-term success last season, Carrick and his staff attempted to change their approach over the summer and implement a more front-foot style. When it didn't work, it raised questions internally about why the coach was struggling to get his message across.
It wasn't an issue when he arrived. With Amorim keen on complicated training sessions focusing on athleticism and team shape, Carrick simplified the demands and reaped the rewards.
Sessions were shortened significantly and often started with skill games and races. One favorite involved players taking part in a relay, running forward with the ball before clipping a pass back over a small net for a teammate to volley into the goal. It helped boost morale and get the best out of the squad.
Carrick built a strong relationship with a number of players. He was particularly good at bonding over shared experiences from his own career -- both good and bad. When one player was struggling to get over a costly mistake, he was advised to watch a video of the 2011 FA Cup semifinal against Manchester City in which Carrick gifted the ball to Yaya Toure to score the winner. The message was: "I know what you're going through."
Others needed a firmer hand. On one occasion last season, Casemiro asked to come off at halftime. Carrick said no and sent him back out. It was noted by some within the squad as a show of strength toward a senior member of the dressing room. He went one step further when he benched captain Bruno Fernandes against Bournemouth following criticism of the game plan against Como. Carrick hit back at Fernandes' criticism in Italy, but some club insiders believe he was often too eager to protect his players in public.
Carrick was encouraged more than once to shift some of the responsibility onto the squad after poor results, but he repeatedly chose to shoulder it himself. There was a feeling within the Man United hierarchy that Carrick did only what he thought was best for the club and never put himself first.
He wasn't always as calm and composed behind closed doors. Furious after the defeat to 10-man Newcastle United at St. James' Park in March, he also questioned the players' desire in difficult moments when Everton scored a stoppage-time equalizer in September.
A number of staff members have lingering concerns that there's a mentality issue within the squad. It's not that the players don't try; it's more a belief that some individuals lack the edge and will to win every game, something that's needed at a club of United's size and stature.
Now, it's a challenge the next coach will have to deal with as United try to move forward from a third managerial sacking in as many seasons. The irony is that -- at 18th in the table and in the relegation places -- they're looking for someone to have the same immediate impact Carrick did when he arrived as caretaker nine months ago.
Last season's run of results swayed club bosses and earned Carrick the permanent job. A miserable start to the new campaign undid it all, and United are back to square one.