Will Michael Carrick Join Manchester United’s Coaching Merry-Go-Round? Here's Red Devil's Long List Of Sacked Managers

Manchester United are in freefall again, and Michael Carrick is the man in the firing line. The Old Trafford side have not won in eight games in all competitions, and a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth on Sunday may have been the final straw.

The slide began early. United took only one win from their first five league games, losing to Hull City and Manchester City and drawing with Everton and Fulham. It was their worst league start since 1986-87.

The Carabao Cup exit came in September. The Champions League brought a 4-1 thrashing at Como, after which Bruno Fernandes criticised the tactics and was then left out against Bournemouth. Gary Neville said on air that it was going to get “ridiculously difficult” for Carrick, and later on his podcast that they would probably sack him. The mood is bleak, and the end looks close.

It was not supposed to go like this. For 26 years, United did not have to think about who sat in the dugout. Sir Alex Ferguson arrived from Aberdeen in November 1986, and it took him years to win anything. Legend has it a few defeats nearly cost him his job before an FA Cup win in 1990 bought him time.

What followed was the most dominant stretch in English football: 13 league titles, two Champions Leagues, five FA Cups and four League Cups. He retired in May 2013, after a final home game as champions and a final-day 5-5 draw at West Brom. His handpicked successor was David Moyes. That should have been a smooth handover. It was the start of a long, expensive, increasingly farcical search for someone who could fill the void.

Since then, the managerial post at United has become the least secure job in the Premier League. Ferguson’s 26 years have been followed by a run in which no permanent manager has lasted three full seasons. Each appointment has been presented as the long-term fix, and each has ended in a sacking. Here is the list.

The Managers Since Ferguson

David Moyes (July 2013 – April 2014)

Record: 51 games, 27 wins, 9 draws, 15 losses

The “Chosen One” lasted less than a year. A Ferguson-sized shadow, a stale squad and a string of home defeats left United seventh and out of Europe. He was sacked in April 2014 with the season still running. Ryan Giggs took over as interim for four games (2W 1D 1L).

Louis van Gaal (July 2014 – May 2016)

Record: 103 games, 54 wins, 25 draws, 24 losses

The Dutchman brought grand philosophy and slow, sideways football. He did get United back into the Champions League in his first year. Fourth place the next year was not enough, even with an FA Cup win. He was sacked two days after the final.

José Mourinho (May 2016 – December 2018)

Record: 144 games, 84 wins, 32 draws, 28 losses

He won the Europa League and the League Cup in his first season. A second-place finish followed in 2017-18, but the relationship with the squad curdled, and so did the football. He was sacked in December 2018 after a loss at Liverpool, with United 19 points behind the leaders.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (December 2018 – November 2021)

Record: 168 games, 91 wins, 37 draws, 40 losses

The caretaker who became the permanent hire after a hot start. He steered United to a few runner-up finishes and a Europa League final, but never found a consistent way to play. A 4-1 defeat at Watford ended it. Michael Carrick took three games as caretaker (2W 1D) before leaving.

Ralf Rangnick (December 2021 – May 2022)

Record: 29 games, 11 wins, 10 draws, 8 losses

Hired as an interim, he oversaw a dreary, directionless half-season. He finished sixth, United’s worst Premier League position at the time, and moved into an advisory role that quickly evaporated.

Erik ten Hag (May 2022 – October 2024)

Record: 128 games, 70 wins, 20 draws, 38 losses

He delivered the League Cup in 2023 and an unlikely FA Cup in 2024, beating Manchester City in the final. But the league form was shaky, the transfer business was costly, and a 2-1 defeat at West Ham in October 2024 finished him. Ruud van Nistelrooy took four games as interim (3W 1D).

Ruben Amorim (November 2024 – January 2026)

Record: 63 games, 25 wins, 15 draws, 23 losses

He oversaw 63 matches, with 25 wins and 23 defeats, before his exit was confirmed after a 1-1 draw with Leeds. He was stubborn about his three-at-the-back system and fell out with the hierarchy. Last season brought a 15th-place finish and a Europa League final defeat. Darren Fletcher took charge for the next two games

Michael Carrick (January 2026 – ?)

Carrick was supposed to be the fix. As interim, he guided United to third place, winning 12 of 17 league matches. That earned him a permanent two-year deal in the summer. The honeymoon is over

The Case For Sacking Carrick

Carrick’s position is now very hard to defend on results alone. The numbers are poor, and the performances have been chaotic: formation changes that have backfired, a captain publicly at odds with his tactics, and a team that looks fragile every time the pressure rises. The immediate reaction from pundits, led by Neville, was that a sacking is likely..

The harder question is what happens next. Seven managers have been and gone since 2013, and the same issues keep surfacing: a muddled recruitment strategy, a boardroom that changes its mind, and an expectation that a new man can fix it in months. Sacking Carrick may well be the right call on the pitch. But if the club replaces him without fixing the structure around him, the next name on this list will be there for the same reasons.