Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick will take training for a second consecutive day, with uncertainty surrounding his future continuing to loom large.
In the meantime, Carrick and his coaching staff have been left in the dark, with the 45-year-old reportedly becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of information being communicated to him.
His position has been precarious for several weeks, with Manchester United recording just three wins in all competitions this season. In the Premier League alone, they have managed just one victory: a 5-2 win against newly promoted Ipswich Town. That solitary victory means United have won fewer games than any other side in the division.
Combined with their five draws, they have collected just eight points from ten matches. It leaves the Red Devils firmly rooted in 18th place, languishing in the relegation zone and one point adrift of safety.
This is the latest point in the season that Manchester United have found themselves in the relegation zone since Sir Alex Ferguson took the reins on November 6, 1986, with the legendary Scotsman later dragging the club to an 11th-place finish (22 teams).
Despite an incredible run when Carrick was appointed interim manager in January of this year—picking up 39 points from 17 games, more than any other team in the league—the mood has soured at Old Trafford.
Protests have erupted among the fanbase, with groups such as the 1958 and the Manchester United Supporters Club (MUST) leading demonstrations. Thousands of green and yellow balloons—the colours of the club's original identity, Newton Heath—have been released at matches against Roma and Aston Villa, as supporters continue their fight against the club's parasitic owners for the umpteenth time.
Carrick being left in the dark and forced to carry on taking training will come as little surprise to United supporters who have witnessed the ownership's conduct over the past 21 years.
Since the club was taken over through a highly leveraged buyout, the combined cost of borrowings and financial debt has reached an extraordinary £1.15 billion. That equates to 35 per cent of the total across Premier League clubs, with United's figure more than £700 million higher than second-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
INEOS and Jim Ratcliffe were supposed to represent a changing of the guard. Having arrived as a minority owner in February 2024, Ratcliffe made a series of promises that have not only gone unfulfilled but have seemingly been discarded altogether, making a mockery of the club in the process.
When he took control of United's football operations in 2024, Ratcliffe said that the club would not continue to oscillate between conflicting tactical styles, using the contrasting approaches of Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola as examples.
If Carrick is dismissed, with Mauricio Pochettino reportedly the leading candidate to replace him, it would mean four permanent managers in the space of 33 months under the INEOS-led hierarchy, each bringing a different tactical philosophy to Old Trafford.
For a company that repeatedly claims to be “best in class”, forcing Carrick to carry on with a job that appears to be slipping away from him is yet another indication that INEOS are completely out of their depth.
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