Neville accuses United players of conning Carrick as sacking looms after 3-0 Bournemouth loss

Gary Neville has accused Manchester United’s players of deliberately deceiving head coach Michael Carrick, warning that the same group has been responsible for ending a succession of managerial tenures at Old Trafford. His comments came after United were beaten 3-0 at home by Bournemouth on Sunday, with goals from Rayan, Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson completing a wretched week that also included a Champions League defeat at Como.

“This group of players who’ve been getting managers sacked for a number of years now and underperforming… they’ve teased him, haven’t they? They’ve conned him for a few months. They have. They’ve conned him,” Neville said on The Gary Neville Podcast.

Neville drew a direct line between Carrick’s current predicament and the fates of Ruben Amorim, Erik ten Hag, Ralf Rangnick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, arguing that the warning signs were visible and that Carrick had fallen into the same trap. “Michael’s still very early in his managerial career and people like Van Gaal and Mourinho have been eaten alive here,” he added.

The criticism is particularly pointed given how convincingly United appeared to have turned a corner under Carrick. After Amorim’s removal, United lost just twice in the second half of last season, winning five of their final six Premier League matches to secure third place and a Champions League return.

Neville singled out captain Bruno Fernandes and Lisandro Martinez, both of whom have spoken publicly in ways he characterised as a “direct attack on Michael Carrick.” Neither started against Bournemouth. Neville noted that both players have lost the vocal backing of the Old Trafford crowd in a way Carrick himself has not, and suggested their public comments represent only a fraction of their private dissatisfaction.

Carrick himself has been candid about standards within the squad, hinting that certain first-team players are failing to meet behavioural expectations off the pitch.

The results tell their own story. United have managed just two wins in 12 matches across all competitions this season — against Sabah in the Champions League and Ipswich Town in the Premier League. With fixtures against Chelsea, Roma, Aston Villa and Liverpool to come, Neville expects the club to act, even as he makes clear where he believes the real fault lies.