Manchester United manager Michael Carrick is on the verge of being sacked, and he can have few complaints about the impending decision.

The Red Devils are widely expected to announce the departure of the head coach following the team's 3-0 Premier League defeat against Bournemouth on Sunday.

Carrick is set to become the seventh boss dismissed by the club since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, and supporters are disillusioned by the direction of the team under the guidance of co-owners INEOS, who are led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The billionaire promised a new era for United, but his three-year tenure has been disastrous, and there is an argument that he has been more influential in the downfall of the Red Devils than any manager.

Here, Sports Mole explains why Carrick must leave, but also why Ratcliffe and INEOS deserve more blame for the club's malaise.

Michael Carrick sack latest: The right decision by Manchester United

The Red Devils are currently 16th in the Premier League with seven points, but they are fortunate to have as many points as they do given they have not played well in any top-flight game so far.

United's only victories in any competition this season have come against Ipswich Town in the league, as well as against Sabah FK in the Champions League, but both teams had opportunities.

One of the most concerning aspects of the team's displays this term has been their lack of intensity, though perhaps fans should have expected their players to be outfought after Youri Tielemans remarked that Carrick's pre-season programme was focused primarily on working with the ball.

The Premier League is home to arguably football's best athletes, and failure to prepare his squad physically for the campaign may prove to be costly for the head coach.

United's inability to compete out of possession was exposed against Hull City in matchweek one, though there were also concerns about the club during Carrick's interim spell as boss in 2025-26 despite the fact he guided the team to third place.

The Red Devils struggled in many areas of the pitch last campaign, only for the likes of Casemiro to rescue points from set pieces.

United have failed to score from any dead-ball situation in the 2026-27 Premier League, so it is no surprise that they have routinely dropped points.

Additionally, the critical comments of captain Bruno Fernandes regarding Carrick's tactical choices following the team's 4-1 defeat against Como in the Champions League on October 21 revealed that there was a rift in the squad.

Once a manager loses the faith of his players, irrespective of whether they are justified in their position, it becomes nearly impossible to restore trust, making remaining in charge untenable.

Why Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have thrown Michael Carrick under the bus

When Sir Jim Ratcliffe officially became co-owner of United through INEOS in December 2023, he was broadly welcomed by the fanbase because of the Glazer family's neglect.

The team's principle owners were often criticised for their failure to adequately back managers, their poor transfer policy and lack of direction, especially once they had sacked Sir Alex Ferguson's anointed successor David Moyes in 2014.

Louis van Gaal was seen as a disciple of Johan Cruyff, but his possession-oriented playstyle was then abandoned for the pragmatist Jose Mourinho, only for the current Real Madrid boss to be ousted for the familiar face of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The former player Red Devils star was sacked in 2021 and eventually replaced by Erik ten Hag, who was seen as a disciple of Pep Guardiola, and there were hopes that he would bring the total football philosophy so popular in the Netherlands to Old Trafford.

His time in England was turbulent despite winning the EFL Cup in 2022-23, and INEOS had reportedly decided to part ways with him at the end of 2023-24, but the club's FA Cup success was said to have changed their mind.

United then predictably sacked Ten Hag in October of the following campaign, with disciplinarian Ruben Amorim appointed in November, though he was thought to have been reluctant about taking over mid-season.

INEOS and Ratcliffe saw Amorim guide the club to 15th in 2024-25 and lose the Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur, yet they decided against firing him at the end of the season.

However, the Portuguese would then be dismissed in January 2026, before another former player in Carrick was given the reigns.

INEOS did not have to appoint the Englishman permanently at the end of 2025-26, and they could have instead recognised the worrying underlying numbers from his spell in the dugout, but they made yet another mistake by sanctioning significant expenditure on the head coach.

Ratcliffe has expressed the importance of being shrewd, even going as far as to make hundreds of employees at United redundant, but the club have wasted millions with their foolish managerial decisions.

The truth may be that none of those managers were good enough for United, but each of them should have been able to leave behind strong foundations for their successors to inherit.

Carrick's successor will inherit a broken squad filled with players that are either not good enough or disciplined enough, while they will also have to wrestle with a seemingly restricted transfer budget.

To make matters worse, the Old Trafford crowd has never been so disillusioned, and it may prove impossible to get them back onside under the current ownership.

Ratcliffe promised to restore United to their place at the pinnacle of English football, but the controversial billionaire has failed at every turn.