Michael Carrick was just the latest fall guy for Manchester United’s dysfunctional hierarchy | Jamie Jackson

Disastrous decisions and confused appointments have been a constant theme at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 For a window into the alarming dysfunction at Manchester United that Michael Carrick failed to manage and caused his sacking , consider the case

Disastrous decisions and confused appointments have been a constant theme at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 For a window into the alarming dysfunction at Manchester United that Michael Carrick failed to manage and caused his sacking , consider the case of Eddie Howe, initially a favourite to succeed the 45-year-old before Mauricio Pochettino’s emergence as the chosen one. The former Newcastle manager had been Jason Wilcox’s choice to take over from Carrick. Howe was also the favoured candidate of Dan Ashworth, Wilcox’s predecessor as United’s director of football, to follow Erik ten Hag after the Dutchman’s sacking in October 2024.

Except Wilcox disagreed and Sir Jim Ratcliffe went with Wilcox’s man, Ruben Amorim, and that December Ashworth departed only five months after joining. Continue reading...