Looking back, the 48 hours before United’s season-opening match at Hull were pivotal.
With Benjamin Sesko still trying to ease his way back from the shin issue that ended his previous campaign early, Amad Diallo suffered an ankle injury that would rule him out for seven weeks. It meant Carrick was deprived of his first-choice striking alternative, with Bryan Mbeumo having to play on the right of the attack.
Carrick instead turned to Matheus Cunha, whose preference for dropping deep took him into the spaces captain Bruno Fernandes likes to occupy.
It neutralised United’s attack on a day they seemed ill-prepared to meet the physical challenge of an opponent motivated by their long-awaited Premier League return.
In his role as interviewer for Nordic broadcaster Viaplay, former Norway and Middlesbrough striker Jan Aage Fjortoft later claimed United had lacked passion – something Carrick dismissed as “ridiculous”.
“It’s one game,” Carrick told the media afterwards.
The following week, United were losing to Ipswich – another newly promoted side. Only a slip from Marcelino Nunez inside his own half allowed Cunha to tee up Fernandes for an undeserved equaliser.
The Portugal playmaker, who had just been crowned PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26, went on to complete a hat-trick in a 5-2 win.
He has scored just once – a penalty against Villa on Sunday – in the league since.
After the Ipswich win came a trip to Everton.
Twice United led, the second occasion when Sesko struck two minutes from full-time after coming on as a substitute. Deep into stoppage time, Ainsley Maitland-Niles drove home from long range to deny the visitors.
Asked how confident he was in his side’s ability to react to a disappointing start to the season, Carrick snapped back: “It’s not been that bad.”
What happened next, however, was.
Time and again, United’s fitness was called into question. They struggled badly against a Manchester City side reduced to 10 men in the first half before their rivals benefited from an Erling Haaland goal that referees’ chief Howard Webb later admitted should not have stood.
Carrick’s complaints were justified – but they masked a poor performance from his team.
After taking a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes against Brighton in the EFL Cup, United were outplayed and beaten, thanks to two goals in four second-half minutes.
The fine margins United benefited from during Carrick’s interim spell were now going against them, and his coaching staff – lauded months earlier – could not find an answer.
Carrick called Cunha’s injury-time equaliser against a Fulham side who started the game bottom of the table a positive to build on. But immediately after the international break, United were held to another draw – conceding in injury time to an out-of-form and 10-man Tottenham.
The whirlwind was starting to pick up strength.
Lisandro Martinez, who scored an own goal against Fulham, was at fault for Spurs’ leveller, which made his post-match outburst after the 2-0 Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid more amazing.
The Argentina defender criticised United’s summer recruitment and placed the blame at the door of “the technical director” – Wilcox.
By the time of Martinez’s outburst, Sesko and left-back Luke Shaw were injured. Marcus Rashford has not played since. The rotation at left-back that eventually led to Carrick starting five different players in that role was in full swing.
After conceding in the opening minute against Atletico, Como scored inside the first two in a 4-1 Champions League defeat for United. Fernandes came out afterwards and criticised Carrick’s tactics.
He was dropped for the Bournemouth game, but returned as captain at Chelsea. United were beaten in both matches.
With just three wins in 15 matches in all competitions this season and United stuck in 18th in the Premier League, Carrick is set to pay the price.