INSIDE THE DOWNFALL! Man Utd and Ineos' five shocking decisions as constant failure set to cost Carrick his job

Since Ineos came on board at Manchester United back in 2024 they have made bad call after bad call and, even if results have been poor, Michael Carrick is poised to pay the price for those continued failings.

A summit in Monaco involving all of the Red Devils' senior figures on Wednesday is likely to conclude with Carrick being relieved of his duties at Old Trafford.

The club sit in the bottom three having won just one of their 10 Premier League games with the club sinking to new lows. Carrick has been unable to find the winning formula but, as many continue to point out, he has not been set-up to succeed in Manchester.

A lot of the issues that are rearing their head long pre-date Carrick's arrival and, even if Ineos arrived with a glimmer of hopes following the longstanding Glazer issues, the direction of travel in Manchester has not changed.

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Sir Jim Ratcliffe is now being viewed much the same as the club's majority owners over in America. His lieutenants are also hugely unpopular with their number of poor decisions stacking up and up.

We take a look at the calls made by Ratcliffe, Ineos and co that have ultimately done nothing to make United the force they hope they can be, instead landing them in a possible relegation battle.

This was the first sign of the United hierarchy not sticking to their guns. Before the FA Cup final of 2024 they were looking at their options with Erik ten Hag presiding over a poor domestic campaign. All the signs pointed to him getting the sack. Yet a shock win over Manchester City caused a u-turn.

In reality that result at Wembley should not have caused such a shift and, after handing Ten Hag a new deal, he lasted just nine games of the following season before he was sacked. Ratcliffe and those alongside him should've had more conviction come the end of 2023/24.

I mean this felt doomed from the start and the fact it went on so long seems purely down to the fact Ineos didn't want to admit they got their first managerial appointment wrong. Ruben Amorim won just 24 of his 63 games in charge, all whilst playing a style that was never going to suit United.

His tenure come with a series of entertaining soundbites, which included him calling his side the worst Manchester United team ever and telling the board they need to sack him if they want to see a different playing style. He would ultimately get his wish 14 months after being appointed.

Ratcliffe previously claimed that United were in danger of going out of business before his cost cutting measures were undertaken, not sure anyone particularly agreed with him there. But he and Ineos have excelled in PR disasters, which has bought them no goodwill from supporters.

From the cutting of hundreds of jobs to the removal of concession ticket prices to threatening to remove season tickets from those they wrongly accused of reselling their tickets. If Ratcliffe and Ineos are unpopular, then it is largely a situation of their own making.

You can say United's results from the New Year onwards were impressive, and they were, but it is the club's job to take a closer look at things. Had they done that they would've seen that Carrick's United conceded more than a goal a game across his 17 outings.

That was with a defence that hadn't seen a major signing since Leny Yoro, and even then he is seen as a player for the future. Otherwise it is made up of signings from several years ago and the club opted to plough £155m into their midfield in the summer.

So few can be surprised that United have now conceded more goals than any top flight team in a major European league this season with a backline that includes the likes of Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw - the latter being signed when Louis van Gaal was at the club.

It was mentioned earlier about the club's bosses sticking to their guns - or not. Well ultimately hiring Carrick was never part of the plan, he was a makeshift solution until the end of a troubled season. But wins over Arsenal, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Liverpool made the man hard to ignore.

What wasn't hard to ignore was the fact United had no European football and no domestic competitions to worry about. That meant Carrick was working with a fresh squad and had ample time to prepare for games. That was ultimately unrealistic and not a fair reflection of what was to come.

If Carrick wasn't the man long-term in January, then a few statement wins shouldn't have changed that. But it did, and we find ourselves where we are today.