Man Utd lost to Bournemouth at Old Trafford 0-3 and there was plenty of stuff learned from the game.
1- Michael Carrick’s legacy will haunt the next manager
Regardless of the result, it was crystal clear that the success last season as interim for Michael Carrick was largely driven by taking over a very fit team.
For all his tactical faults, Ruben Amorim had the team extremely fit after coming through a period of injuries, but Carrick has burnt through that quickly.
Be it by design or unintentionally, this United team is extremely unfit, is second to most loose balls, and the difference between them and Bournemouth on the day was stark.
The next manager has a monumental task to undo Carrick’s legacy, which is an unfit team.
2- Dressing room lost before kick-off
If the performance failed to inspire confidence, it shouldn’t have shocked anyone, because the dressing room is clearly done with Carrick.
A day after Carrick said he trusts the players, which Fabrizio Romano said is not true, there were numerous team leaks of the starting XI.
The intention was clear, as disgruntled players let the media know about who’s starting and who’s getting dropped, which is a sign of a toxic dressing room.
Carrick is far from the biggest problem at Old Trafford, but he needs to go at this point.
3- Amad is a building block
The true characters in the team only emerge when things are the hardest, and it was not a surprise that Amad was the only one trying to make things happen.
It was the same case against Como midweek when he didn’t let himself get bogged down under the team’s malaise and kept going.
That’s the sign of a model professional who is more concerned with doing his best rather than falling victim to what’s happening around him.
Carrick won’t be Man Utd manager for long, but whoever is next, they need to put Amad at the front and centre of their project.
4- Harry Amass and Shea Lacey’s spectre
For a man who gave an impassioned monologue about knowing what Man Utd means, Carrick has the spectre of Harry Amass and Shea Lacey hovering above him.
Diogo Dalot repeatedly fluffed crosses due to them being on his weaker left foot, while Mason Mount was a pointless presence on the left.
Despite these two problems that everybody saw coming, Amass wasn’t even in the squad, while the likes of Joshua Zirkzee came on ahead of Lacey.
The courage and success have been missing from United’s game this season, and Carrick hasn’t trusted the youth either.
Lacey came on late but that was largely a statement Carrick made about Bruno Fernandes, snubbing him completely, rather than a chance for Lacey. Academy players have been reduced to pawns in a larger political game.
5- Old Trafford sent a clear message beyond Carrick
As Bournemouth scored their third to leave Carrick ashen-faced, Old Trafford made no efforts to hide that they knew Carrick is only a part of the problem.
Carrick’s song was sung in defiance after the third goal, and they immediately switched to a rendition calling out Ineos and the Glazers.
Every manager will be failed by this regime, so Carrick’s failure isn’t entirely of his own making. The axe will fall on Carrick, but he shouldn’t be the only one facing the music.
Jason Wilcox, Omar Berrada, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and the Glazers are the true cause of this mess.