Carragher calls sacking Carrick 'ludicrous' despite Man United's joint-worst start

Jamie Carragher has dismissed calls to sack Manchester United manager Michael Carrick as “ludicrous”, insisting the club should allow him to steady the ship despite a dismal opening to the 2026/27 Premier League season that has left United sitting 12th.

Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, the former Liverpool defender argued that Carrick was brought in precisely to provide calm during a turbulent period, and that pulling the trigger now — or at the next international break — would be counterproductive.

“I think it would be ludicrous to get rid of Michael Carrick,” Carragher said. “I almost feel like he’s in there doing a job for the club to get them through a rocky period and then passing the baton on. I don’t think the idea of changing Michael Carrick now or at the next international break makes sense. It just needs to be relaxed, just let him get on with it.”

Carrick’s appointment last season proved transformative. United had been struggling under Ruben Amorim when the former midfielder stepped in as interim boss, guiding the club to a third-place finish and a return to the Champions League. The goodwill generated by that revival is now being tested.

Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage extended a run that has equalled United’s joint-worst start to a top-flight campaign — matching both last season’s troubled opening under Amorim and the 1992/93 campaign under Sir Alex Ferguson. Earlier results included a defeat at Hull City, a home loss in the Manchester derby — controversially decided by an incorrectly awarded goal despite United facing ten men for much of the match — and a League Cup collapse against Brighton, in which United surrendered a two-goal lead at home.

Carrick has pushed back on suggestions that fitness is a root cause of the poor form. After Fulham’s Matheus Cunha claimed the hosts “put in more energy” at the start of the second half, the United manager was unconvinced.

“It didn’t look like that to me,” Carrick said. “I was quite happy with the way we finished the game. I thought we finished the game really strongly actually and we kept pushing. So I don’t think that’s an issue, no.”

United now have a three-week international break to regroup before hosting Tottenham Hotspur on 10 October.