Manchester United fans are divided after another painful week at Old Trafford. Some want Michael Carrick sacked immediately. Others insist the manager is not the real problem and that the club has been damned by its owners.
United’s 3-2 Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton on Wednesday, after leading 2-0, marked the first time in 50 years the team had lost at home from such a position. Combined with the derby loss to Manchester City, it left Carrick with two wins from six games and four points from four Premier League matches.
Carrick insisted he does not feel under pressure: “That doesn’t bother me one bit.”
The former United midfielder took responsibility for the second-half collapse against Brighton and said the only thing that matters is winning matches again. Board sources have indicated he retains the full backing of INEOS for now.
Yet the fan reaction reveals a deeper split.
One group of supporters points directly at the dugout. They argue Carrick’s side has already shown the same fragility that has plagued the club for years and that patience is running out. Another group — reflected in detailed correspondence circulating among supporters — places the blame higher up.
They list a familiar set of structural problems: poor summer recruitment, a midfield rebuild built around players with limited longevity or proven Premier League quality, an academy pipeline that appears broken, and a long-term inability to sell well or buy consistently. Several players are singled out for repeated decision-making errors under pressure.
The sharper criticism is reserved for ownership. The Glazers, still majority shareholders, continue to be accused of extracting value while the stadium ages and the squad is undercapitalised. INEOS, which took operational control, is charged with repeating the same pattern of big-brain strategy that failed to deliver at Nice and of failing to back the manager properly in the transfer window.
Some fans argue Carrick is not the limiting factor. The deeper rot, they say, sits with the Glazers and INEOS.
In this view, changing the manager again would simply restart the same cycle. The club has already been through multiple rebuilds without addressing the financial and structural constraints that limit every coach.
Carrick himself has stayed measured. He has repeatedly said the focus is on results and the feeling around the group. Whether that message can hold the dressing room and the stands through the next run of fixtures will decide how long the current debate lasts.
The next test comes quickly. United travel to Fulham on Sunday looking for a response that can quiet the growing noise.
The split among United fans is clear: sack Carrick now, or accept that the owners have already damned the project.
ring Manchester United’s Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton
