Manchester United
Carrick’s brief Manchester United reign ends after a rapid collapse
Michael Carrick is out after a rapid collapse at Manchester United, with poor results and tactics exposed.
Michael Carrick’s spell as Manchester United manager is over just six months after he was appointed on a permanent basis, bringing a turbulent start to an abrupt close.
The tone was set immediately. A 2-0 loss to newly promoted Hull City in the opening match of the season pointed toward trouble, and the weeks that followed only deepened the crisis. Heavy defeats to Como and Bournemouth, a derby humiliation against 10-man Manchester City, and damaging losses to Brighton & Hove Albion, Atlético Madrid and Chelsea all fed the sense that the situation was moving in one direction only.
Carrick had arrived with momentum on his side after last season’s revival, when United climbed from seventh at his interim appointment to third by the end of the campaign. He simplified the team’s structure, moved away from Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 shape, restored Kobbie Mainoo to midfield and pushed Bruno Fernandes back into the No. 10 role. Those changes worked quickly enough to win trust. This season, though, the demands were greater, particularly with Champions League football added to the load.
Instead, United regressed sharply. Carrick’s final game, the strange 4-4 draw with Aston Villa, reflected the wider problem. The midfield pairing of Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans was exposed again, Diogo Dalot at left back caused more issues, and no substitutions were made until the 66th minute apart from injury-related changes.
The defensive record was especially bleak. Only Lens, who recently shipped nine to Como in the Champions League, had conceded more among clubs in Europe’s top five leagues than United’s 30. United allowed two or more goals in 10 of their 15 matches and in each of Carrick’s final five in charge.
Recruitment also left Carrick with too little balance. The squad was rebuilt in parts, with funds focused on midfield while other areas were left short. Youri Tielemans has not adjusted to the demands out of possession, Andrey Santos is still finding his way, and Carlos Baleba’s injury problems have only added to the strain.
The pressure grew further when voices inside the camp turned critical. Lisandro Martínez questioned Jason Wilcox over recruitment, while Fernandes openly challenged the tactical approach after the 4-1 loss to Como.
“It’s a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave a little space in behind and try to get the ball in the first moment, to wait for them, to give them the ball,” Fernandes fumed.
“But sometimes when you give too much the ball to these teams they get confident, they have so many bodies behind the ball that make you run a lot, make people get frustrated, and then obviously when you recover the ball the legs are, and the brain, much more difficult to make it work.”
Asked to expand on whether United’s tactics contributed to the defeat, Fernandes added: “That’s on the manager and on the staff to see it, it’s not on me.“
AC Milan
Pulisic Keeps Focus on USMNT as Pochettino Heads for Man Utd
Pulisic responds to Pochettino’s exit for Man Utd and urges the USMNT to keep growing together.
Christian Pulisic has taken a calm view of Mauricio Pochettino’s exit from the United States men’s national team setup for Manchester United, choosing instead to underline the team’s own direction.
Back in the squad for the first time since the World Cup after being left out of the September-October window, Pulisic said the departure represents a “big opportunity” for the Americans. But his message was clear: the players cannot afford to dwell on the change at the top.
“We just have to continue as we’re doing, to grow as a team,” Pulisic said.
The AC Milan winger, whose future in Serie A is now secured until 2031, did not always enjoy a smooth relationship with Pochettino. He was omitted earlier this season when the manager opted to assess younger talent, and there was also a public disagreement in 2025 when Pulisic wanted to sit out the Gold Cup.
Reflecting on Pochettino’s time in charge, Pulisic kept his assessment brief. “We had some good moments, he brought a lot of excitement to the team,” he added.
The bigger question now is whether Pulisic and the rest of this USMNT generation will see the next four-cycle through to the end. Since making his debut as a 17-year-old more than a decade ago, the 28-year-old, formerly of Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea, has become the face of a group that has not matched, let alone surpassed, earlier standards.
Regional control has remained elusive at Gold Cup level, with Mexico still dominant, while the chance to reach a first World Cup quarter-final since 2002 was missed.
Pulisic started the summer’s home-advantage World Cup brightly, but his campaign was interrupted by injury inside 45 minutes against Paraguay. He missed the following match, never fully regained his influence, and eventually limped out of the painful defeat to Belgium in the round of 16 as well.
Manchester United
Pochettino sets out the reality of a demanding United start
Pochettino has warned that his Manchester United opening will be very intense and unforgiving.
Mauricio Pochettino is preparing for a Manchester United beginning that will leave little room for adjustment. The incoming manager has made clear that the opening stretch at Old Trafford will be demanding, describing it as a “very intense” period.
Once the November international break ends, the English schedule moves quickly while other continental leagues ease into the festive period. Pochettino’s first seven matches in charge are set to be packed into three weeks, beginning with next Sunday’s visit to Liverpool.
Speaking to The Telegraph on Saturday, he was direct about what lies ahead: “it’s going to be very intense.” That assessment fits the shape of the job he is taking on, with pressure expected to remain constant from the outset.
There is, however, some statistical encouragement for a side in United’s position. A recent study found that over the 10 matches either side of a mid-season managerial change, points per game rose from 0.88 to 1.23. The same research also noted that “bad runs mostly end on their own,” showing that teams which stayed with their manager in similar circumstances improved from 0.91 points per game to 1.17.
United will still hope Pochettino can raise those numbers further, and he appears intent on using the qualities around him to do so. While discussing the open-ended nature of the release clause in his USMNT contract, he also said he had only spoken to United’s directors and one owner, rather than the man whose influence has long shaped his view of the club.
His admiration for Sir Alex Ferguson has been well known for years. “When I was young, when I started my career as a manager, he was always my inspiration, my reference,” the Argentina has said before. “And when you can share two hours with a person who was the greatest manager in the history of football , you can only enjoy.”
The two previously shared an expensive bottle of wine 10 years ago, when Ferguson first attempted to bring Pochettino to Old Trafford. Now, with the appointment complete, he is eager for another meeting with the man he has long admired.
“For sure I will have the opportunity after Tuesday,” Pochettino told The Telegraph. “I said many years ago and always I say the same-for me, Sir Alex Ferguson represents everything that I admire from a coach, a head coach, a man, a manager and I think he represents my values. I really admire him.”
Even more than 13 years after retirement, Ferguson’s presence still looms over the club. Michael Carrick regularly called his former manager while Ole Gunnar Solskjær refused to even use his parking space out of respect.
Manchester United
Pochettino’s Final Record Offers Manchester United a Clear Reminder
Pochettino’s final record is mixed, and Manchester United will know why that matters immediately.
Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival at Old Trafford brings familiar questions with it: can he turn strong coaching into silverware, and can he do it under the weight of expectation at a club still rebuilding after years of turbulence? For Manchester United, those questions matter because the new manager’s history in finals is not encouraging.
Across his career, Pochettino has reached seven finals and won only three. All three of those victories came at Paris Saint-Germain, where honours are expected more often than at most clubs. His first success arrived in the Trophées des Champions, when PSG beat Marseille 2-1 in the 2020 edition, played in 2021 because of Covid-19. He followed that by lifting the Coupe de France after PSG beat Monaco in a final played in an empty stadium. A year later, he added the Ligue 1 title before leaving Paris, although PSG had already lost the Trophées des Champions to Lille earlier in that campaign.
Before his time in France, Pochettino had already built a reputation for improving teams without quite crossing the final line. At Tottenham Hotspur, he took charge of sides shaped by Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen, but major honours never arrived. The League Cup final in 2015 ended in a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea, and the 2019 Champions League final brought even greater pain, with Liverpool winning 2-0 after Tottenham’s remarkable run to the last match.
More frustration followed later. In 2024, while managing Chelsea, Pochettino guided them to the League Cup final only to lose to Liverpool after Virgil van Dijk struck in the 118th minute. His most recent final came with the United States men’s national team at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, where Chris Richards scored first, but Mexico fought back to win 2-1.
For United, the pattern is hard to ignore. Pochettino has often taken teams close, but his record in decisive matches suggests the club may need patience as well as ambition.
