{"id":819,"date":"2026-11-12T16:40:47","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T16:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/12\/manchester-united-axe-carrick-after-disastrous-start-pochettino-poised-to-take-charge\/"},"modified":"2026-11-12T16:40:47","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T16:40:47","slug":"manchester-united-axe-carrick-after-disastrous-start-pochettino-poised-to-take-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/12\/manchester-united-axe-carrick-after-disastrous-start-pochettino-poised-to-take-charge\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester United Axe Carrick After Disastrous Start, Pochettino Poised to Take Charge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Manchester United have pulled the trigger on manager Michael Carrick following their worst-ever start to a Premier League season, with former Tottenham and Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino widely tipped to step into the Old Trafford hot seat.<\/p>\n

The decision comes after United collected a meagre eight points from their opening 10 league matches, leaving the storied club dangerously close to the relegation zone\u2014a position unthinkable for a team of their stature just years ago.<\/p>\n

Carrick, who returned to United in January and initially impressed by guiding the team to third place last season with 12 wins from 17 games, has been unable to replicate that form. His final match was a wild 4-4 draw against Aston Villa last Sunday, a result that epitomized the chaos surrounding the club.<\/p>\n

“After a disappointing start to the season, the club has come to the extremely difficult conclusion that a change is necessary in order to achieve our ambitions,” United said in their official statement confirming Carrick’s departure.<\/p>\n

The former midfielder’s fate was reportedly sealed during a high-level meeting in Monaco on Wednesday involving co-owner Jim Ratcliffe, chief executive Omar Berrada, and director of football Jason Wilcox. Despite Carrick’s insistence after the Villa match that he wouldn’t walk away, the club’s hierarchy decided immediate action was required.<\/p>\n

United have managed just three wins from 15 matches across all competitions this season, a catastrophic run that has exposed deep problems within the squad. Carrick faced mounting challenges, including a public spat with captain Bruno Fernandes, whom he dropped after the midfielder criticized tactics following a humiliating 4-1 defeat to Champions League newcomers Como. Defender Lisandro Martinez also openly questioned the club’s transfer strategy and lack of quality signings.<\/p>\n

Enter Mauricio Pochettino. The experienced Argentine manager, who currently leads the United States national team, has reportedly reached a verbal agreement in principle with United, according to Sky Sports. Pochettino brings extensive Premier League credentials from successful stints at Southampton, Tottenham, and Chelsea, plus experience managing Paris Saint-Germain.<\/p>\n

His appointment would require navigating his current contract with the US national team, which he extended just three months ago through the 2030 World Cup. However, the lure of managing one of football’s biggest clubs may prove irresistible.<\/p>\n

Pochettino inherits a club still searching for its identity 13 years after the retirement of legendary manager Alex Ferguson. United haven’t won a Premier League title since Ferguson’s departure and have watched rivals Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal surge past them in the pecking order.<\/p>\n

The new manager’s first test could hardly be tougher: a trip to face bitter rivals Liverpool at Anfield on November 22. For United’s massive global fanbase, including millions of passionate supporters across Pakistan, the hope is that Pochettino can finally restore the Red Devils to their former glory.<\/p>\n

The clock is ticking, and the pressure is immense. Can Pochettino succeed where so many others have failed?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Manchester United have pulled the trigger on manager Michael Carrick following their worst-ever start to a Premier League season, with former Tottenham and Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino widely tipped to step into the Old Trafford<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3,5,4],"class_list":["post-819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-ai-consensus","tag-ary-news","tag-journalist-ai"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/manchester-united-axe-carrick-after-disastrous-start-pochettino-poised-to-take-charge.png","read_time":"3 min read","source_name":"Goodforfree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}