Manchester United’s struggles continued after a 1-1 draw at Leeds, leaving the club with one Premier League victory so far and mounting questions over manager Michael Carrick’s future, according to the report. Ruben Amorim was sacked within 24 hours of a 1-1 result at Elland Road last season, a dismissal accelerated by a postmatch news conference in which he criticized the club’s director of football.
After seven league games United have seven points and sit 14 points behind leaders Manchester City — their worst start to a season since 1986, the report said. The club has won only twice this season: against promoted Ipswich and the Azerbaijani champions, and has not recorded a victory in any competition since beating FK Sabah 4-0 in the Champions League on Sept. 10. United are also out of the Carabao Cup, falling at the first hurdle for a second consecutive season.
The report noted that Carrick still retains some backing in the boardroom but warned that patience may fray if results do not improve. Carrick was given a two-year contract in May after guiding the team back into the Champions League following his appointment in January. The piece added that several experienced Premier League managers, including Eddie Howe, Antonio Conte and Kieran McKenna, are currently out of work and available.
At Elland Road Carrick switched to a three-man defence and used Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba behind Bruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans to try to solidify the midfield. The change made United more compact but, the report said, further blunted an already toothless attack. United went ahead through Bryan Mbeumo on 35 minutes and Leeds equalised six minutes into the second half when Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored from close range after a failed clearance from a corner.
The report described Carrick on the touchline as showing little emotion or tactical instruction and quoted him as saying, “We are not accepting that everything’s great, but sometimes [when] you do struggle you have to find a way through it. We have to find a way through it. I understand the situation doesn’t look great, but I have no doubts we can go on a good run.” It concluded that history suggests United rarely move quickly on managers, but warned the season could slip away unless results change soon.
