Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at Old Trafford

Manchester United's fans delivered their own verdict on the performance [against Bournemouth] as Michael Carrick disappeared down the tunnel to the dressing room.

After repeatedly singing the former midfielder's name, as soon as he was out of view they turned on the players.

The booing lasted until the last of them, Diogo Dalot, left the pitch. They simply feel they are either not good enough or don't care enough, or both.

But there was more, much more.

The game was less than a minute old when the first anti-Glazer and anti-Sir Jim Ratcliffe songs were heard.

The Glazer family have been public enemy number one among the United faithful ever since their leveraged takeover in 2005.

The debt they initially landed on the club has now grown to over £1.15bn, according to their latest accounts. The amount it has cost in interest is £852m, according to respected football finance blogger Swiss Ramble. In the last financial year, the interest payment was £37m, an increase from £34m the previous year.

The argument is, that money could have been used far more productively to sign better players.

There had been hope Ratcliffe, a boyhood United fan, would change that when he struck a deal with the Glazers to become a minority shareholder on Christmas Eve 2023.

Instead, a succession of decisions have led to major questions over his handling of the club.

Rene Meulensteen
Former Manchester United coach on BBC Radio 5 Live

Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has been speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live this morning and says the "stability and continuity" that Sir Alex Ferguson built has been replaced by "incompetence and inconsistency".

He said: “Everybody that is close to Man Utd keeps saying the same thing over a number of years now and it’s evidently been there since Sir Alex Ferguson left 13 years ago. You can hardly be complimentary of the things that have happened at Old Trafford in those 13 years.

"The stability and continuity that Sir Alex Ferguson built over so many years, the success that goes with it, the culture that goes with it has all disappeared and replaced by some level of incompetence and inconsistency. Everybody can see that now.”

On the ownership: “You need a person with very strong characteristic personality traits who’s got a very clear vision about how he wants things to be run in and around that first-team football thing.

"But he would run into the same problem as Amorim did, as Carrick did, where you don’t have any say in your transfer window, you don’t get the backing you need and so all the managers will struggle no matter who you put in front.

"The main issues are driven by the ownership and as long as the ownership are still there, because they’ve got Man United in a headlock, nothing will change.”

Manchester United

Image source, Getty Images

With so much discussion around what is going wrong at Old Trafford, it's worth looking at who is actually running the show at Manchester United?

• The Glazer family - majority owners - since June 2005

They retain control of the majority of voting rights, having owned United since 2005. Their leveraged takeover, the debit placed on the club and a perceived lack of investment have fuelled years of supporter protests.

• Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS - majority owners - since February 2024

Ratcliffe bought a stake in 2024 and took control of football operations. Intially welcomed by some supporters as a potential solution to the Glazers' ownership, he has since faced crisitcm over cost-cutting, redunancies, ticket prices and sporting decisions.

• Omar Berrada - chief excecutive - since July 2024

He oversees the club's executive operations, linking the boardroom with the football department.

• Jason Wilcox - director of football - since April 2024

He has a central role in recruitment, squad planning and the wider football structure.

Ultimately, until Manchester United address the problems at every level of the club, from the boardroom to the dugout, the question of who's to blame will continue to circle Old Trafford.

When Simon Stone says that a third dismissal in three seasons would not reflect well on "anyone" - who exactly is the "anyone" he is referring to?

Manchester United supporters, of course, know only too well.

But for those not in the know, here is a rundown of exactly who is in charge at Old Trafford...

Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at Old Trafford

Manchester United's hierarchy eventually backed Erik ten Hag after talking with alternatives in the wake of the shock 2024 FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City, spending over £200m on the likes of Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte.

Last week, Ten Hag told the Athletic, external the club went back on a promise not to sell homegrown Scotland international Scott McTominay to fund Ugarte's £50m move from Paris St-Germain. They sacked the Dutchman in October 2024.

After that they persuaded Ruben Amorim to leave Sporting mid-season, when he wanted to wait until the summer.

They stuck with him after an unprecedented 15th-place finish, and again after United lost to League Two Grimsby in the EFL Cup, then sacked him in January when he clashed with director of football Jason Wilcox over the playing style.

That led to Michael Carrick's arrival to the end of the season, which turned into a permanent appointment after he guided the club back into the Champions League after a two-year absence.

A third dismissal in three seasons would not reflect well on anyone.

A number of names have been doing the rounds on the gossip pages.

Antonio Conte felt the need to release a statement on Friday to scupper rumours that he was in advanced negotiations with the board and demanded full control over transfers.

That followed a Telegraph report that former Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann, external would be interested to speak with the club's power-brokers, if the position became available.

And the latest is that former Newcastle manager Eddie Howe would also be open to holding talks, if Michael Carrick was to leave his post.

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United seem to be stuck in a managerial cycle they can't break.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure in 2013, several managers have tried and failed to restore the club to it's former success.

Ruben Amorim was sacked in January, despite losing just one of his final six Premier League games.

Now, 10 months later, Michael Carrick is facing mounting pressure after a 4-1 Champions League defeat to Como and a 3-0 loss to Bournemouth.

United have won just one of their eight league games this season, with only two wins in 12 matches across all competitions. (The United Strand is never going to cut his hair...)

Looking back at previous managers, David Moyes lasted less than a season, while Louis van Gaal was dismissed shortly after winning the FA Cup.

Jose Mourinho's time ended after poor results and tensions with players and the club.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was also sacked after a disappointing run.

Erik ten Hag also paid the price for a poor start to the season, despite winning two trophies.

Amorim's exit came after increasing public tensions with the club's leadership, in particular Jason Wilcox, and their apparent desire to move him away from his preferred 3-4-3 system.

If Carrick is the next to go, the club must ask whether another manager will solve the problems that have always seemed to haunt them.

That's Sir Alex to you Steven.

Just joking. Your point does beg the question of what Harry Maguire is supposed to call his manager?

I guess 'gaffer' is tried and tested, but how long does a manager need to be in the job before they rise to that elevated status?

The problem at Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure is that no managers have been around long enough to find out...

Steven, Glasgow: One telling thing from Harry Maguire's post-match interview is him calling his boss Michael. You wouldn't have seen any players from the Fergie era calling him Alex.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at Old Trafford

On Friday, as he looked back on that 4-1 loss to Como and ahead to Bournemouth, Michael Carrick said: "We'll be a different team on Sunday. We have to be a different team on Sunday."

Sadly, they weren't.

Carrick could not answer if he will still be in charge for next Saturday's trip to Chelsea. He does not know.

"The responsibility is mine," he said. "What else can I say really right now? I totally understand the situation. I'm not expecting anything either way. I love this place and I'll always do what I feel is going to be the best for the football club."

Whether the players at Manchester United are up to the task is one question.

Another is whether head coach Michael Carrick is the right person to lead them?

And the final poser is whether the people running the club are up to the job?

We are going to look at the management and hierarchy questions next, but we would also love your answers to all of these questions...

Just click 'Get Involved' to have your say.

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United's latest defeat raises another familiar question: Is the squad actually good enough?

Sunday's 3-0 loss to Bournemouth was another damaging afternoon for Michael Carrick, but the statistics make uncomfortable reading for the players too.

United registered five shots on target but failed to create a single big chance. They are averaging just 1.3 goals per game this season, highlighting their struggle to turn possession into an attacking threat.

Their wider record isn't great either, according to Opta, since the 2023-24 season, no Premier League side has lost more home games by a margin of three or more goals in all competitions than United, with seven.

Bournemouth also outworked their opponents, while experienced players including Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Diogo Dalot and Bryan Mbeumo struggled to make an impact.

Carrick can only work with the players available to him. If United continue to deliver these sort of performances, how much of the problem lies with the manager? And how much lies with the squad itself?

Ashley Young
Former Man Utd player on Sky Sports

It's disappointing to see Michael Carrick like that. I wish there were players who knew and had the love for the club that he's got.

The players might look dejected, but I think Michael knows that the writing is on the wall.

There have been different managers [in recent seasons] but it's the same players. There have been a few changes in players but they're just not showing anything.

You could tell today that it was like they'd given up - they're not running for this manager and they're not wanting to fight.

The fans deserve so much more, you can tell they want more and they know he's been let down by those players.

Image source, Getty Images

Michael Carrick said in his post-match news conference on Sunday that he did not know if he would be staying in charge of Manchester United, but took responsibility for the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth:

Emotions after the game: "Really mixed emotions, I didn’t really expect that off the supporters but I have always felt the support and that connection with them, you are probably sick of me saying it the amount of respect I have them but it meant a lot and to go through such a difficult period, it is hard to take.

On what he said to the players: "It is not something to discuss in the changing room there is a lot of emotion in the dressing room, a lot of disappointment, a lot of the boys quite hurt. It is not that they don’t care. This is a position we find ourselves in. The ones I have spoken to it is affecting them a lot, the way it is not going our way. There is only so much, the way the game ended the atmosphere, the dynamics."

On whether he expects to stay in charge: I don’t know. I take the responsibility of course I do. I accept the responsibility, whatever happens results wise. The responsibility is mine.

On whether director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada will say anything: "It is not for me to say who speaks or when they speak. I know my role to speak to you guys and represent the football club as best as I can. The feelings of frustration and support, it gives me really mixed feelings. It was a difficult day for sure."

On whether he expects to be sacked: "I totally understand the situation. I am not expecting anything, I am carrying on as normal, I love this place, always carry on doing what I think is the best for the football club."

On whether he is shocked at how poor this season has been so far: "Certainly to get to this point there is a lot of questions to find the answers to but last season to finish third was a really good achievement in the circumstances, to get to where we did. We understood where that left us and what needed to improve and where we were at. We definitely knew we hadn’t cracked it and there was a lot of work to be done but it didn’t have to go this way

On reasons why: "Probably a number of things. If I really had the answers I wouldn’t have let it happen. I have tried to do everything I can to not be in this position but for a number of reasons we have not been able to stop that happening

"Consistency and getting a level of consistency going forward and striving for more. Consistency is everything. There is a number of things you can look at."

Plenty for us to Google there Jon, sidestepping the tried and tested Roman Empire for the Assyrian and Mali.

It's not every day you see Manchester United's proud history likened to that of the Qing Dynasty, but I will certainly preserve your right to do so.

Whatever comparisons you make, United head coach Michael Carrick says their current demise is "hard to take"...