How Michael Carrick learned he was sacked at Manchester United – and the real reason for INEOS’ “delay”
Carrick was sacked by Manchester United on Thursday morning after less than ten months as manager.
Trent Alexander Arnold is pressured to leave Madrid
Michael Carrick was informed that he was fired at Manchester United by CEO Omar Berrada on Thursday morning. – and the Moroccan is said to have wanted to deliver the news personally.
Manchester United announced the sacking of Carrick at around 10.30am on Thursday, quicker than Crystal Palace’s sacking of Pierre Sage and confirmed that the club intended to appoint a permanent successor “as soon as possible”. Mauricio Pochettino will take over at Old Trafford and leave his job as head of country sales for the United States men’s national team (USMNT) next week.
Videos of Carrick driving away from United’s Carrington training facility for the last time as head coach surfaced on social media. After four chaotic days, new details have emerged about what happened behind the scenes surrounding the sacking.
How Michael Carrick was sacked at Man Utd
According to The Athletic, it was Berrada who informed Carrick that United would immediately part ways with him, and the Moroccan wanted to break the news face-to-face. That was probably the least Carrick deserved, given the significant criticism that followed after co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe – who rarely speaks publicly – held a meeting about Carrick’s future from his primary residence in Monaco instead of travelling to Manchester.
It is claimed that Ratcliffe was in Monaco for the biannual INEOS CEO summit, held on Tuesday, which the billionaire said was “inflexible to events” at United. It is said that this eventually led to a delay in the decision-making process around Carrick.
Sporting director Jason Wilcox is said to have wanted to see improvements in the set-piece game. Former head coach Ruben Amorim was critical of Wilcox before he was eventually sacked, mentioning the former Blackburn midfielder on the list of people who “needed to do their job” in his latest press conference.
The mood at the training facility is said to have been “subdued”, and several internally are said to have expected Carrick to leave the club.
Next Man Utd manager: This is how the club’s next step will be
Pochettino will lead his final two games for the USMNT when they face Haiti in a two-leg quarter-final of the CONCACAF Nations League, before travelling to Manchester ahead of United’s tough away game against Liverpool on November 22.
Reports of United’s interest in Pochettino came only after Sunday’s 4-4 draw with Aston Villa, which turned out to be Carrick’s last game as manager. Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann had been among the leading candidates to take over. The Athletic reported that Berrada and Wilcox had named Howe as the favourites, but the Glazer family, who remain majority owners of the club, chose instead to persuade Pochettino to make the transfer.
BBC Sports’ Simon Stone reported on Thursday that the U21 team’s head coach Adam Lawrence took training on Thursday, which included four first-team players while the rest are either recovering from injury or are on international duty.
Crystal Palace are at the bottom of the Premier League table with only 7 points after 10 games, Sunderland and Manchester United have one point more.
Crystal Palace sack Pierre Sage after only 16 games
The Eagles are bottom of the Premier League after winning just one of ten games this season, and suffered a 3-1 defeat at home to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
The loss came on top of a string of poor results under the Frenchman since he replaced Oliver Glasner in the summer, and the board at Selhurst Park have now had enough and believe that a change is needed.
In a statement on the club’s official website, Crystal Palace writes:
Crystal Palace Football Club can confirm that Pierre Sage has left his position as manager.
Three members of Pierre’s coaching staff – Jamal Alioui, Damien Della Santa and Sandy Guichard – have also left the club.
The club would like to thank Pierre and his staff for their efforts during their time in South London, and wish them the best of luck in the future.
An update on the process of hiring a new manager will come at a later date.
Sage got the job on a three-year contract after leading Lens to a second-place finish in Ligue 1 last season, behind only Paris Saint-Germain, while they also won the Coupe de France.
But at Selhurst Park, he has struggled to execute his style of play, and the 30 goals the team has conceded in all competitions is more than any other team in Europe’s top five leagues, on par with Manchester United.
Palace saw Glasner leave the club after two and a half successful years at the helm, winning the FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League, but Sage had to see Maxence Lacroix and Daniel Munoz sold in the summer, while Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta also pushed to leave.
The club brought in ten new players to support the manager and help the transition, including Dwight McNeil, Axel Disasi, Quentin Timber and Anan Khalaili, but they find themselves at the very bottom of the Premier League when the international break starts, one point behind safety.
GIVEMESPORT understands that a number of candidates are being considered to replace Sage, including Thomas Frank, Sean Dyche and Vitor Pereira. Tony Popovic has also been discussed and has been approached in the past, but his lack of Premier League experience could speak against him.
