Manchester United lost 2 nil at Chelsea today, extending their winless run in all competitions to nine matches. Michael Carrick’s job is on the line again. Fans now face an old question. Should United sack him and start from scratch? Or is the Man United manager cycle itself the real problem?

Thirteen Years Without a Fix

Sir Alex Ferguson announced his exit on 8 May 2013, after 26 years in charge, and his last game came at West Brom on 19 May. Since then, United have named seven permanent managers: David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag, Ruben Amorim and Carrick. Caretaker and interim spells add even more names to the list.

The record tells a clear story. Moyes lasted 10 months. Solskjaer managed 168 games, more than anyone since Ferguson, and won nothing. Mourinho won the League Cup and the Europa League. Ten Hag won the League Cup and the FA Cup. Cups came. A league title never did.

How the Man United Manager Cycle Works

Here’s the pattern. United hire a coach. The club signs players for that coach. Results drop, the coach leaves, and the next one inherits a squad built for someone else.

The current owners have already lived through this twice. Ten Hag survived the summer, then lost his job a few months into the 2024/25 season. Amorim won 24 of his 63 games and went after 14 months. Now Carrick, five months into a permanent deal, faces the same exit.

Each sacking resets the plan. That costs time, money and identity. And it never fixes the thing that keeps breaking.

Carrick’s Rise and Fall

Carrick took over in January with United seventh in the table. By May, he had won 11 of his 16 games, guided the team into the Champions League and signed a deal until 2028. United finished third. Director of football Jason Wilcox led the search that picked him.

This season went wrong fast. United lost 4 to 1 at Como in the Champions League, and captain Bruno Fernandes said the team should have been braver and pressed higher. Carrick dropped him for Bournemouth. United lost that game 3 nil at home and sat 16th, one point above the relegation zone. At Chelsea, Lisandro Martinez saw red, and the run now reads three draws and six defeats.

We flagged the early warning signs in our piece on the Man United worst start in 40 years.

The Squad Has Gaps

Carrick deserves some blame. Results this bad are not bad luck. But the summer window matters too.

United spent big on midfield. Andrey Santos arrived from Chelsea for £48 million and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa for £35 million. Carlos Baleba joined from Brighton too. Yet United signed neither a left back nor a forward. Martinez publicly criticised the club’s leadership after the defeat at Atletico Madrid, as we explained in Martinez slams Man United board.

Here’s the thing. A new coach would inherit the same gaps.

So What Should United Do?

The board already chose to keep Carrick once. After talks involving Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Omar Berrada and Wilcox, the club decided to give him more time. Media reports link Julian Nagelsmann, Eddie Howe, Unai Emery and Antonio Conte to the job.

A new name alone changes nothing. It just spins the Man United manager cycle one more time.

What United need is the right order. First, decide how the team should play. Second, sign players for that style, not for one coach. Third, judge the coach on whether he fits the plan.

If Carrick fits, back him properly in January. If the board no longer believes in him, act now and pick someone who fits the plan, not the biggest name on the list.

What This Really Means

Watch the January window more closely than the dugout. It will show whether United have learned anything in 13 years, or whether the Man United manager cycle simply rolls on.