Paul Merson Says Michael Carrick Is ‘in Trouble’ and Names Emery, Howe and Conte as Replacements

• Paul Merson wrote in a Sky Sports column that Michael Carrick is “in trouble” at Manchester United.
• United face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday and Leeds United on Sunday 18 October, and Merson said he does not expect them to win either game.
• Merson said United should have gone for Unai Emery, and named Eddie Howe and Antonio Conte as possible replacements.

Merson: Carrick Is Facing the Test He Wanted to See

Paul Merson has put into words what many Manchester United supporters were thinking after Saturday’s draw. In an exclusive Sky Sports column, he said Michael Carrick is “in trouble”, and he set out who he thinks the club would turn to if the head coach loses the job.

Merson wrote the column on Tuesday morning, a few days after United drew 1-1 with 10-man Tottenham at Old Trafford. Dominic Solanke scored a late equaliser for Spurs. United have failed to win five of their last six games in all competitions.

Two Games Merson Does Not Expect United to Win

The week ahead is the problem. United visit Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, then travel to Leeds United for a 2pm kick-off on Sunday 18 October. Merson said he “couldn’t think of two worse games”, and he does not think United will win either one.

On Atletico, he was blunt about the opposition: “They’re hard to beat, a very difficult team to play against and beat.” He also called the Atletico trip “a big, big, big football match”.

Leeds are a separate worry. They have just lost their unbeaten record to Arsenal, and Merson said for a Leeds fan after the weekend, “you’d be shocked if Man Utd beat them at Elland Road.” His words carry no hedging: “I haven’t seen any signs with Man Utd at the moment.”

The Carrick Question

Merson said his view of Carrick has not changed. “I’ve always said the same thing about Carrick,” he wrote, and he laid out the test he wanted to see the head coach face: “what I wanted to see was how he’d react when they go three or four games without a win.”

His verdict on that test was not kind. “It doesn’t seem like he is coming up with the ideas to get out of it,” Merson said. He went further on how Carrick got the job: “If he was like this last season, he wouldn’t have got the United job permanently.”

Merson did not call for a sacking. “I hope he doesn’t get the sack, but he’s in trouble,” he wrote. He also said “This is a hard job.”

The sequence is simple to state. United drew at home on Saturday, play in Spain on Tuesday and are at Elland Road on Sunday 18 October. Merson judged that run on where he thinks the team stands now, and his view was that nothing in Saturday’s game suggested a turnaround.

The Names Merson Put Forward

The column does not stop at Carrick. Merson said “United should have gone for Unai Emery.” He then looked ahead to who might come in if United change course.

“Eddie Howe is probably the man they’d go for,” he said. He added a second option: “Antonio Conte could go in, he’d steady the ship.”

Merson finished that thread with a comment aimed above the dugout. “I don’t know what the Man Utd owners want,” he said.

What Merson Saw in the Draw With Spurs

The column also looks back at the game that started the week’s worry. Merson said Tottenham dominated at Old Trafford. In his words: “Tottenham played well at Old Trafford. They dominated, but just don’t look like scoring a goal at the moment.”

He was not impressed by the Spurs forward line either. On the scorer, he said “Dominic Solanke is better than alright. But he’s not yet an actual goalscorer.” Of Omar Marmoush, he said he “isn’t going to give you goals.”

Merson said Spurs needed a proper centre forward in the summer and did not sign one. “I can’t believe Spurs didn’t go for Nicolas Jackson,” he wrote. He praised Sandro Tonali, but that did not change his opinion of the attack.

A Week That Could Settle the Argument

Merson’s column is one of several verdicts on United this week. Jamie Carragher warned on Sky Sports that “If they don’t up their intensity very quickly, this could get very messy for all involved.” A separate Sky Sports analysis of a viral clip from the Spurs game argued that United’s press was beaten far too easily, and noted that United have taken six points from six Premier League games, their fewest at this stage of a season in 40 years.

That analysis picked out a 10-second clip from the 57th minute in which Spurs passed through the United press. Six United players were left behind the ball, the four defenders sat on the halfway line and a large gap opened behind them. Sky Sports also noted that Matheus Cunha was too far from Archie Gray, and that Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo could not get back in time.

Those numbers give Merson’s pessimism a base. United face a Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid, then a league game at a Leeds team that has just taken its first defeat of the season. The two results will either quiet the questions about Carrick or give them a louder voice, and Merson has already said which outcome he expects.

Carrick has the week to answer Merson. The Atletico game comes first.