The chaos that took Carrick from two-year deal to sacked within 15 games

It was just after 6pm on Sunday, 8 November when the message landed. Manchester United were 4-2 down to Aston Villa, and Old Trafford was resigned to defeat.

The plea came from someone who knows Michael Carrick well, has worked with him and understands at first hand the pressures of life in the United goldfish bowl.

As it turned out, the predicted ending did not come to pass.

United scored twice in stoppage time to salvage a 4-4 draw. Carrick celebrated Patrick Dorgu's equaliser by raising an arm in the air. After that, he walked round the pitch on what has turned out to be a final lap of appreciation.

As the United supporters sang his name, Carrick placed himself in the middle of his players to ensure the fans did not turn on them in the way they had done after the 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth two weeks before.

It was a decision that summed up the 45-year-old - supporting the collective, rather than looking after himself.

That obvious desire to do the best for his club and his players - and his storied past - explains why Carrick's song continued to be bellowed from the stands when just about everyone else involved at United was attracting fury and derision.

To get this far is longer than many envisaged. It seemed there was no way Carrick could survive the Bournemouth debacle.

United took 44 hours to communicate to the wider world they were sticking with him then, though it is understood Carrick was told the day before.

Since then, it has been chaos. United have won one, drawn one and lost one.

Outstanding in the opening 45 minutes at Chelsea, they conceded at the start of the second half before defender Lisandro Martinez was sent off for two bookings in the space of five minutes. They lost 2-0.

Awful and two goals down inside 17 minutes against Roma in the Champions League, they roared back with the kind of thrilling comeback Carrick was part of so often during Sir Alex Ferguson's days to win 3-2.

Then, Villa. Two goals down in four minutes thanks to calamitous goalkeeping, they clawed back to level before half-time. More abysmal defending left United with another mountain to climb - but they emerged from the carnage with a point.

Try picking the bones out of that. Had Carrick's stock increased, or had it merely proven he was not the right man the job? United decided it was the latter.

Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox celebrated Dorgu's stoppage-time equaliser against Villa in the directors' box. But they had a slightly detached perspective.

Within days they were flying to Monaco to tell minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe change was required.

For the third season in a row, United are replacing the man in charge of the team mid-season.

Unlike with Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim, this decision is not a surprise. Not because of what is happening now, but because what is happening now is so at odds with what happened last season.

After 12 wins in 17 games under Carrick and a return to the Champions League, the mood in pre-season was overwhelmingly positive.

There were no signs of splits, young players including JJ Gabriel were part of the group, and senior staff spoke optimistically about the potential of Bruno Fernandes' proposed partnership with Youri Tielemans.

Looking back, the 48 hours before United's season-opening match at Hull were pivotal.

With Benjamin Sesko still trying to ease his way back from the shin issue that ended his previous campaign early, Amad Diallo suffered an ankle injury that would rule him out for seven weeks. It meant Carrick was deprived of his first-choice striking alternative, with Bryan Mbeumo having to play on the right of the attack.

Carrick instead turned to Matheus Cunha, whose preference for dropping deep took him into the spaces captain Fernandes likes to occupy.

It neutralised United's attack on a day they seemed ill-prepared to meet the physical challenge of an opponent motivated by their long-awaited Premier League return.

In his role as interviewer for Nordic broadcaster Viaplay, former Norway and Middlesbrough striker Jan Aage Fjortoft claimed United had lacked passion - something Carrick dismissed as "ridiculous".

The following week, United were losing to Ipswich - another newly promoted side. Only a slip from Marcelino Nunez inside his own half allowed Cunha to tee up Fernandes for an undeserved equaliser. Fernandes, who had just been crowned PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26, went on to complete a hat-trick in a 5-2 win.

After that came a trip to Everton. Twice United led, the second time when Sesko struck two minutes from time after coming on as a substitute. Deep into stoppage time, Ainsley Maitland-Niles drove home from long range to deny the visitors.

Asked how confident he was in his side's ability to react to a disappointing start to the season, Carrick snapped back: "It's not been that bad."

Time and again, United's fitness was called into question. They struggled badly against a Manchester City side reduced to 10 men in the first half before City benefited from an Erling Haaland goal that referees' chief Howard Webb later admitted should not have stood.

Carrick's complaints after the match were justified - but they masked a poor performance from his team.

After taking a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes against Brighton in the EFL Cup, United were outplayed and beaten, thanks to two goals in four second-half minutes.

Carrick's coaching staff - lauded months earlier - could not find an answer.

The head coach said Cunha's injury-time equaliser against a Fulham side who started the game bottom was a positive to build on. But immediately after the international break, United were held to another draw - conceding in injury time to an out-of-form and 10-man Tottenham.

Martinez was at fault for Spurs' leveller, which made his post-match outburst after the 2-0 Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid more amazing.

The Argentina defender criticised United's summer recruitment and placed the blame at the door of "the technical director" - Wilcox.

By the time of Martinez's outburst, Sesko and left-back Luke Shaw were injured. Marcus Rashford has not played since. The rotation at left-back eventually led to Carrick starting five different players in that role.

After conceding in the opening minute against Atletico, Como scored inside the first two in a 4-1 win. Fernandes came out afterwards and criticised Carrick's tactics.

He was dropped for the Bournemouth game, but returned as captain at Chelsea.

There is no doubt Carrick made mistakes. The Hull game - a performance that set the tone for the season so far - was inexplicable.

But it is also fair to wonder how much he was let down by the recruitment side.