THE ROAD TO RUIN! Player rows, public criticism and transfer blunders...how Carrick's Man Utd dream descended into a nightmare

Remember when optimism filled the Old Trafford air? Yeah, me neither.

No club does a crisis quite like Manchester United, but these last six months have been something to behold. Think back to May 26th of this year.

The ink was still drying on Michael Carrick's contract, Bruno Fernandes had broken the single-season Premier League assist record, United had finished third in the Premier League, Champions League football was back on the agenda, a transfer window of promise was on the horizon and some fans were even daring to whisper the words 'Project 150'.

Less than six months on, Carrick has been unceremoniously sacked, Fernandes is only just back in the team having been dropped for criticising his manager, United are in the relegation zone, it's not inconceivable they could finish outside of the top 24 of the 36-man Champions League table, they don't have a fit senior left-back or striker in the squad (Joshua Zirkzee will never be a striker) and there's more chance of them winning the Championship than there is of them winning the Premier League in 2028.

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Even by United's standards, the last six months have been bonkers.

But how did it all unravel so fast? These are the eight steps that led to Carrick being on the brink of being shown the exit door:

With hindsight, it's easy to point out the cracks that were appearing early on in Carrick's reign.

The caveat to United's strong finish last season was their lack of involvement in competitions away from the Premier League, with free midweeks a staple of the calendar from January onwards. That, of course, would all change this season as Champions League football returned to Old Trafford, so how would Carrick fare with his Tuesday and Wednesday nights no longer free and less time on the training ground? Not good, if last season's midweek form was anything to go by.

Carrick only dropped points in two of his first nine games in charge (a 1-1 draw with West Ham and a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle), and both games were midweek matches where Carrick wasn't afforded a week to prepare.

With United set to add around 20 games to their schedule on top of the meagre 40 they played in 2025/26, the early warning signs were there.

In most people's eyes, this one was the biggest catalyst of them all.

What a dreadful transfer window. Revamping one section of the squad each summer is a naive approach to transfer business, and United were always going to need more than the midfield overhaul they had planned this summer.

Their failure to buy a striker when Benjamin Sesko was nursing an injury and Zirkzee, a self-confessed '9.5 rather than a No.9', was the only other option was indefensible. Similarly, not buying a back-up left-back when the injury-prone Luke Shaw was their only senior option always looked a huge gamble. A deadline day loan enquiry was made for Rayan Ait-Nouri, though Manchester City insisted on an obligation to buy being included in the deal and the move was off.

15 games into the season and Shaw has missed 10 of 15 games through injury and Sesko will start his first Premier League game of the season in January at the earliest. Who saw that coming?

"Two newly-promoted teams in our first two games - nice six points early doors!" Don't pretend you didn't say it, or at the very least think it.

Hull were always going to be up for it in the early kick-off at home to United on their first game back in the division, but it was United's performance that was as alarming as the defeat. Flat, lifeless, lethargic and just not good enough.

An early season blip or a sign of things to come?

Reading about long-standing records that United have just lost seems to be a staple of matchdays for fans lately.

The defeat to Brighton in the Carabao Cup was a chastening evening. Early goals from Shea Lacey and Mason Mount had United on course for an uplifting win before it all went horribly wrong.

Granted, Brighton are a good side and so losing to them shouldn't be cause for concern, but no team should come to Old Trafford and leave with the win having been 2-0 down inside 10 minutes.

There's no disgrace in losing away from home to Atletico Madrid, and United put up a good account of themselves. Let's get on that plane home with our heads held high and prepare for the next game. Oh wait, not before Lisandro Martinez has decided to publicly tell his boss that he's useless at his job.

Martinez's outburst as he criticised Jason Wilcox was the last thing Carrick needed. The defender was actually trying to defend Carrick, but in doing so told the entire world that the dressing room was not a happy place and that the problems ran far deeper than a few poor performances.

For a man who gave his all to defuse tension and present a united front when cameras were pointed his way, Carrick really didn't need this.

Carrick should have been relieved of his duties after the Como and Bournemouth disasters.

Back-to-back defeats by three goals left Carrick on the brink and yet somehow he was handed a stay of execution. Even with the 'backing' of the hierarchy it was clear Carrick was a dead man walking and could be shown the exit door at any point. Another dreadful decision from the Ineos brains trust.

Midway through of the aforementioned week was Fernandes' criticism of Carrick's tactics.

"It's a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave a little space in behind and try to get the ball in the first moment, to wait for them, to give them the ball," Fernandes said in the wake of the defeat to Como.

Carrick hit back in his post-match press conference, saying: "We half pressed man-to-man in the second half and ended up conceding a goal from that. Whatever tactics you play, if you don't run back, you ain't going to win."

United's main man was dropped for the defeat to Bournemouth. Things were starting to get very messy.

We'd reached the point now where a half-decent performance in a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea was being lauded as some sort of success.

United showed plenty of fight in their comebacks against Roma and Aston Villa, but the simple fact was those comebacks were a necessity because of dreadful defending earlier in the games, a theme of United's campaign.

No team has ever won a title or qualified for the Champions League by coming from behind every week. United looked badly coached, there were no clear patterns of play, and passion and raw emotion were being relied upon to pull them out of sticky situations.

You need much more than heart and character to build a successful team. Carrick will always be a United legend but it was time for him to go.