Manchester United and Michael Carrick were briefly in limbo after a chastening week, with plenty expecting INEOS to pull the plug on his tenure as manager after the club’s on-field woes worsened.

The Red Devils were battered by Como before going out with a whimper at home to Bournemouth. It was the sort of defeat that felt like end times for the manager, even if the fanbase were clear about who they primarily blamed for their wretched start to the season post-match.

However, the announcement so many were expecting never arrived. Some have suggested that Man Utd simply can’t afford to dismiss Carrick and make a lucrative new appointment. Whatever the truth, Carrick remains at the helm, and a significant duel beckons against Chelsea.

The Blues were seemingly in the ascendancy after keeping their first Premier League clean sheet since January against Everton, but Xabi Alonso then became just the second Chelsea manager since 1990 to oversee a home league defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last week, and followed that by losing in the cup to Liverpool. Their most likely avenue to silverware has gone.

There’s pressure on Alonso, but the scrutiny is incomparable to what Carrick is under. The Englishman may well have one more ‘prove it‘ match in his locker before his firing is rendered inevitable.

Here’s how Carrick can save his job this weekend.

Bring Back Bruno

Carrick felt he had no choice but to drop his captain for Bournemouth’s visit to Old Trafford. Bruno Fernandes had thrown him under the bus after the 4–1 defeat at Como, decrying the manager’s gameplan.

Fernandes’s public criticism left a sour taste, given that it was Carrick who facilitated his rise to claiming the Premier League’s single-season assist record and the PFA Player of the Year award last season. Fernandes had been restricted under Ruben Amorim, who was intent on converting him into an all-round midfielder. Carrick liberated the Portuguese as a playmaker, and United purred as a collective.

Ultimately, this iteration of the Red Devils require the very best of Fernandes to flourish. It’s no surprise that the midfielder’s individual struggles have coincided with a dismal start to the season, yet last week’s defeat to the Cherries proved that dropping him, while necessary, isn’t the solution going forward for the manager.

The pair have supposedly cleared the air this week, with Fernandes poised to return to the starting lineup on Saturday.

Stop Relying on Diogo Dalot

Carrick has the higher-ups to blame for his distinct left back issue. Man Utd were in the market for Luke Shaw mitigation toward the end of the summer window, but seemingly gave up when it became clear that Lewis Hall wouldn’t be leaving Newcastle United.

While Shaw was injury-free last season, the extra games on the schedule were always going to provide a stiffer challenge for the often unfit Englishman. So, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Shaw has already missed multiple games due to various setbacks, forcing Carrick to function with one hand tied behind his back.

United simply aren’t blessed with optimal solutions in reserve, and their woes without Shaw came to a head last Sunday. Diogo Dalot lined up in replacement, and asked to operate as an attacking outlet down the left flank while Mason Mount drifted infield. It was a combination that lacked dynamism, and generally looked awkward.

Carrick can’t rely on Dalot as an high and wide outlet down the left. It just doesn’t work. Either Marcus Rashford must start on Saturday to offer some thrust, or he gets creative at right back. In possession, Dalot or Noussair Mazroaui could play on the left-side of a three, with the right-sided defender asked to get forward and support the attack. Amad Diallo, maybe?

Trust the Kids

This is usually part of the playbook of an under-fire manager desperate to win over supporters. Carrick doesn’t need to convince the fanbase, they’re firmly in his corner.

Still, given what the seniors have produced at the start of the new season, Carrick wouldn’t hurt his standing by trusting the club’s academy. We’re not talking about Ayden Heaven, who joined from Arsenal, but instead the likes of Shea Lacey, who wasn’t given much of an opportunity to build on an impressive performance against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup.

Lacey has appeared off the bench in back-to-back games, and seems the most likely starlet to earn a start. However, Carrick also has Harry Amass, Jack Fletcher, Jariyah Shah and Jim Thwaites in first-team training at senior level.

If we’re talking about a potential solution at left back, perhaps Amass is the guy. The 19-year-old is the most experienced of United’s academy players, and has earned two senior appearances this season.

If Amass starts at left back, Dalot could play more of a marauding role on the opposite wing.

Back to Basics

Understandably, Carrick has sought to evolve his Man Utd team after earning the job full-time. As Lisandro Martínez said during his rant after the defeat to Atlético Madrid: “Every season is different. You can’t stay with what you did last season. The teams knows how you play, they know every detail, if you don’t change next season [it] is a big problem.”

Martínez was primarily referring to personnel, but his comments ring true tactically as well.

Carrick adopted a back-to-basics approach upon his arrival. Man Utd were blocking space in a 4-4-2 out of possession, and maximized their threat with the ball by having Fernandes working in close proximity to the center forward, accompanied by runners.

Let’s not forget that the majority of United’s success post-Sir Alex Ferguson has come when the manager has adopted a counterattack-first approach. They’ve been neither here or there out of possession this season, and given that so many believe they’re no fit enough, perhaps a basic ploy similar to the backend of 2025–26 without the ball would work. Cede control, block space and hit Chelsea in transition.

Without Benjamin Šeško, have Fernandes working alongside Bryan Mbeumo, with Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo operating as runners in attack.