When Michael Carrick disappeared down the tunnel after Manchester United's loss to Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday, the support from fans for a legendary player turned to hostility and anger at the current squad. The atmosphere afterwards was said to be emotional. Carrick was the last to leave the stadium and, as usual, patiently posed for selfies and signed shirts for the fans who remained on what had been a foul day weather-wise, and an awful one on the pitch.
Asked in his post-match news conference if he expected to be in charge for Saturday's trip to Chelsea, Carrick said: "I'm not expecting anything in particular, to be honest. I'm carrying on as normal." Few felt that was sustainable. Even Carrick's coaching team wondered whether they would survive.
United have decided Carrick and his players will have the chance to turn the present situation around. No timescale has been put on this, but Carrick will be in charge at Chelsea, with his team 16th in the table. They have a crucial Champions League match against Roma three days later, then a Premier League encounter with in-form Aston Villa before a two-week international break.
No-one from Manchester United is saying so, but that would be the most obvious time to decide if a change of coach is required. On Monday morning, when it was widely anticipated an announcement terminating Carrick's tenure would be made, a senior figure at United said calmness and a clear head would be needed to navigate the turbulence around Old Trafford. Carrick had been treading water since the crushing 4-1 defeat at Como on 21 October - one of the worst European nights in club history.
Respected United fan and United We Stand fanzine editor Andy Mitten, who interviewed chief executive Omar Berrada on behalf of the club last June, described the performance as "an affront to the name of Manchester United". In addition to the catastrophic nature of the performance, captain Bruno Fernandes publicly questioned Carrick's tactics and the inability of his coaches to spot what was going wrong. Fernandes' comments came a week after defender Lisandro Martinez said he had expected more investment in the squad and - turning attention to Jason Wilcox - "more from our technical director".
It painted a picture of a squad out of control, posing an immediate dilemma for the United hierarchy. Feeling it would look reactionary and impulsive to remove Carrick based on the negativity of one game, United stuck with the 45-year-old for the Bournemouth match - only for that to turn sour thanks to a performance that, arguably, was worse than the one in Italy. Fernandes played no part and was dropped to the bench.
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