Michael Carrick is now in peril but Manchester United's problems run so much deeper New York Times (Online) Laurie Whitwell Before the final whistle blew at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Michael Carrick knew what he was going to do. He acknowledged Cesc Fabregas on Como's 4-1 win , then strode across the pitch and held up his hands in apology to the few dozen or so Manchester United fans who had stayed through the rain and an utterly lifeless performance. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did similar when losing by the same scoreline to Watford in November 2021. For Solskjaer, the act very much felt like a farewell gesture — indeed he has said he knew his reign was over at half-time — and it is now inevitable to wonder if Carrick is waving goodbye to United, too. This performance was such an unravelling, so devoid of any urgency, that the creeping concern over Carrick's position has now been propelled into full-blown crisis. What other word is there after such a comprehensive beating, which was followed by Bruno Fernandes, the club captain, essentially questioning Carrick's tactics in his post-match interview? The scoreline actually flattered United, and as the goals rolled in they felt like punches a boxer takes when up against the ropes, with the referee poised to stop the contest at any moment. Fernandes going on TNT Sport to suggest United's passive display was down to the coaching staff's call to not press man-to-man, but instead sit off, could be the concussive moment. For the second week in a row a United player was giving an interview that placed the dressing room at odds with those higher up, following Lisandro Martinez's criticism in Madrid of the summer recruitment under technical director Jason Wilcox. Carrick's eyes appeared to burn with indignity when he was presented with what Fernandes had said about the Como performance. “We actually were half-pressed man-to-man the second half and then conceded a goal from that,” he said. “And there's a little bit on whatever system you play, whatever tactics you play, if you don't run, and you don't run forward, and you don't run back, you ain't going to win.” More detail about that specific instruction would be welcome — it implied a change at half-time — but the comment on players not running sufficiently cuts to the heart of what has been so alarming this campaign. Carrick has previously given short shrift to statistics showing United down the table for athletic output, but here he was raising the issue himself. One crucial question is whether that lack of running is down to tactics, as Fernandes implied; a shortage of fitness, which goes back to pre-season work; a physical incapability of the players, which would owe to transfer policy; or a general disillusionment at the environment and ambitions of the club. It could be an unholy combination of all those factors. Either way, amid a beautiful setting by Lake Como, this was an ugly night for United. What it once again underlined was that even if there is to be a new head coach, the same problems will surface, stemming all the way to the top, where the mood has been set for 21 years by the Glazer family, who have governed United from across the Atlantic at a cost to the club of more than ￡1billion. They are the foundations of this crumbling skyscraper. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is also hugely culpable, with his unique brand of management guiding so much of what happens at Carrington, where he once entered a physio room and offered his opinion on stretching methods having run the London Marathon. In what now seems a questionable attempt to ape the success of Manchester City, whose trophies are now tinged by a deep shade of sham, Ratcliffe hired Omar Berrada as chief executive, who duly brought in Wilcox as the top football executive. Wilcox's previous roles were as City's academy director and Southampton's sporting director. Does he lead, like a person in his position should do? It cannot be overlooked that Dan Ashworth, brought to United at significant cost as sporting director, was dismissed by Ratcliffe after six months. Results since Ratcliffe's INEOS investment into United have nosedived. The only positive sequence came when Carrick brought rocket fuel on an interim basis last season. If Carrick goes, he would be the third mid-season change in the dugout in three years. From Erik ten Hag to Ruben Amorim to Carrick, has the game model Ratcliffe claimed would dictate the club's philosophy ever been written down? Can those tasked with making the decision on Carrick's future point to any record that would generate faith in their foresight? Ten Hag spoke to The Athletic this week about a “toxic culture” he encountered when manager, which he felt went unchecked properly by the current leadership. Carrick said he had not experienced that environment since his return, but the examples are rising to the surface again. That Fernandes, who was substituted in the 67th minute as the third of five eventual replacements, chose to point the blame at Carrick and his staff for United's display was an acute act of insubordination. Matheus Cunha, exchanging opinions with Carrick during the first half, was removed at the break following a limp contribution. There is also the familiar sight of a packed treatment room, with eight players out through injury or illness. There were similar medical issues at the end of Amorim's reign, in the closing weeks of Ten Hag's 2023-24 season, and Ralf Rangnick's interim spell. That is one of the reasons Carrick has gone from the best results in the Premier League across 17 games, collecting 39 points, to two wins in 11, where only promoted Ipswich Town and FC Sabah of Azerbaijan have been beaten. The final humiliation for United at Como came from the mouth of Fabregas, who said he regretted telling his team to stop running, to save their energy for the next game, allowing Joshua Zirkzee to score in injury time. United once ruled Europe through intensity as well as ingenuity. For Carrick, who was part of one of those great sides under Ferguson, to hear that must have been especially painful. His love for United and hurt at the circumstances was clear from his answer to the question of whether players are still playing for him. “Shouldn't be me,” he said. “It's not about playing for me, it's about playing for this football club. It's the responsibility that comes with whether I'm in the position. I'm responsible for the football club and the supporters, I'm giving my absolute best all the time, I care about it. My whole life's wrapped around it. Listen, it might go well, it might not go so well, but I genuinely give everything that I possibly can.” Yes, Carrick is now under huge pressure. But United's problems are much wider and far deeper rooted.