Manchester United’s recurring managerial upheaval points to a deeper problem: the people choosing the managers have yet to show that they can build a stable football operation. Michael Carrick is under pressure after an eight-game winless run, capped by Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth. But dismissing him would leave the central question unanswered: what has the club’s leadership learned from its recent appointments?
Three appointments, no settled direction
Since the current leadership structure took shape, United renewed Erik ten Hag’s contract, then dismissed him months later. The club next brought in Ruben Amorim from Sporting Lisbon during the season, paying substantial compensation, before parting ways with him less than 18 months later. Carrick took over as interim manager and then received the permanent job. Now, only months into that role, he faces the prospect of being removed.
Each manager should be judged on results. Carrick’s record is no exception. Yet the executives who select a manager, define the role and set the football strategy should face scrutiny too. Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox have overseen a sequence of decisions that hasn’t produced stability. If Carrick’s appointment fails, they need to explain why they considered him the right choice. If Amorim had to go despite the cost of bringing him in, the appointment process deserves examination. And if extending Ten Hag’s contract made sense, what changed so quickly?
These choices carry consequences beyond the touchline. A new manager can redirect recruitment, reshape the squad’s development and trigger another tactical reset. Repeated dismissals can also suggest that the club hasn’t established a clear plan for the team in the first place. United can’t treat each departure as a separate episode while leaving the decision-making behind them unexamined.
Project 150 needs evidence behind it
Berrada gave the club a public measure of its ambition in September 2024, when he set out “Project 150”: winning both the men’s and women’s league titles by Manchester United’s 150th anniversary in 2028. The target fits a club accustomed to defining itself by major honours. But as 2026 draws to a close, the ambition looks increasingly distant from the results on the pitch.
With fewer than two years left, supporters need to see a credible plan and measurable progress. Berrada has effectively invited them to judge the leadership against the 2028 goal. That makes an honest account of the club’s progress essential. Another coaching change won’t answer whether United’s executives have a workable strategy or whether the club is moving towards the targets they set.
The need for clarity reaches beyond the first team. United shared a masterplan for a potential new stadium in 2025, but hasn’t made a definitive commitment. Infrastructure may matter to the club’s future, yet stadium proposals offer little reassurance if the football operation remains unsettled.
Supporters are still waiting for stability
For fans who have long opposed the Glazer family’s ownership, the latest uncertainty follows a familiar pattern. The family’s leveraged takeover in 2005 left the club with hundreds of millions of pounds in debt and deepened resentment among supporters who wanted United’s resources directed towards its football future. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority investment in 2024 raised hopes for more professional, accountable management. Changes to the football hierarchy and further managerial churn have done little to fulfil those hopes.
United need stronger performances, smarter recruitment and a long-term football strategy that can survive a change in manager. They also need accountability throughout the organisation. If Carrick goes, his successor will inherit the same club, expectations and structural challenges. Unless Berrada and Wilcox can show what they’ve learned from the decisions so far, another appointment is likely to bring only brief relief. The club’s next test is whether its leadership can turn its stated ambitions into a consistent plan on the pitch.