OLD TRAFFORD — Manchester United were backed into a corner over Michael Carrick.
With top targets like Luis Enrique not foolish enough to take on such a monumental task, Carrick was not just the logical choice to take the managerial hot seat permanently, but the only one.
His lack of tactical acumen and limited managerial experience meant he had to hit the ground running this season to have any chance of being taken seriously as a candidate to restore this fallen giant to its former glories.
So to be here now, staring into the abyss, the point of no return, was always more likely to happen than not. With a summer to prepare for Carrick’s United, teams would be better set up to stem the flow of last season’s momentum.
The fact that everything has fallen apart so quickly is the only incongruous element to it all. Carrick will not last the week, but his dismissal will not fix the club’s ailments. Especially in the eyes of supporters.
A third 3-0 Bournemouth win at Old Trafford in four years, against three different managers, is the perfect microcosm for the bin fire this once great football club has become.
In Friday’s emotional press conference, Carrick promised supporters would see a “different team” in the howling, ominous wind against Bournemouth. What played out could not have been more familiar.
Boos rang out in the first half, on the half-time whistle and at the end of another miserable afternoon. The vitriol was not, however, directed where it normally would.
Another pathetic first-half display saw United come into the break 2-0 down, without Bournemouth having had to exert much energy.
Feeling an enormous sense of déjà vu, the Stretford End decided enough was enough. Time to let their feelings be known in the second half.
Such a tepid display would normally only be on one man, but not here. United supporters don’t necessarily round on a manager – that is not going to help anyone. How the disgruntled masses targeted their ire so vociferously at everyone else sent the loudest message and perfectly summed up just how much turmoil the club is in.
All the songs about Carrick were positive, harking back to his halcyon playing days. The mood shifted, as it often does, when the Glazers were mentioned. Then supporters insisted they wanted Sir Jim Ratcliffe placed on the bonfire, where they wanted the new stadium shoved, before targeting a glum-looking Jason Wilcox in the director’s box.
The most poignant moment came upon the final whistle. With Bruno Fernandes still with his tracksuit on, having been dropped and not even brought on as a substitute – Carrick is at least going down fighting after the skipper’s public criticism this week – the besieged players completed a lap of shame upon the final whistle.
To those left in the stands, Carrick was greeted with cheers as he made his way off the pitch. Yet, as soon as the downbeat manager headed down the tunnel, resigned to his fate, supporters turned into an angry mob, shouting obscenities at the players, turning those cheers into a cacophony of boos.
Players can’t be sacked on the spot, especially when the roster is so poor there are so few obvious alternatives to come in. Match obligations must still be fulfilled. Director of football Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada remarkably still have the trust of their superiors, so will survive. The Glazers and Ratcliffe won’t sell up. Carrick therefore has to go, as the only one able to shoulder the blame for the latest debacle.
The only downside to the pending axe falling on the latest manager to fail to restore United to its former glories is that more heads won’t be rolling simultaneously.