Just five games into the 2026/27 Premier League season, and there are already murmurs that Michael Carrick's job as first-team manager could be on the line if there's not an immediate improvement in results.
New players need time
The same Michael Carrick who turned United's season around just a few months ago, after the tortuous tenure of Ruben Amorim.
Whilst it's true that the Red Devils haven't started the current campaign in the best way, and already find themselves 10 points behind leaders Manchester City, to even consider that the manager's job may already be at risk would appear to be the biggest of knee-jerk reactions.
The likes of Youri Tielemans, Carlos Baleba and Andrey Santos need to be given time to bed in at the club, with former Brighton ace Baleba still not having made his debut for the club after injuring himself in pre-season.
With United having scored eight goals and conceded eight so far in the Premier League, earning just five points thanks to one win, two draws and two losses, according to reports in Italy, former Napoli manager Antonio Conte has been sounded out regarding his availability.
Conte chase would be unwise
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the board of the club have made some contentious decisions already since being handed the reins of the footballing side of the business by the Glazer family, but if they were to remove Carrick from his post, that's a decision that could top the lot.
Ratcliffe has already shown on more than one occasion that, just like the Glazers, he's never been one for popularity ratings, but surely even he can see that there's no logical reason why he would need to relieve the club's former captain of his managerial responsibilities so soon after offering him a permanent contract.
Has football really fallen that far down the abyss that clubs are hiring and firing personnel at will because of the lack of immediate success? That's a very dangerous road to go down if that's the case.
Since Carrick took over, he's won 14 and drawn five of his 24 games, as well as losing five more.
10 home wins, 47 goals scored, and a win percentage last season of 70.59% all point to the Geordie being a worthy holder of his position.
United board's poor track record
If Ratcliffe et al are seriously considering replacing him with Conte, does that suggest, in fact, that they've made yet another mistake?
Dan Ashworth, Erik ten Hag, Ruben Amorim... It's not a great track record so far, is it?!
Conte has more than made his mark in the Premier League after his two previous stints at Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
Who can forget his infamous rant about how his players didn't want to play under stress, and why Tottenham's story had been the same for two decades or more?
In fact, that outburst overshadowed the fact that he did manage to guide the Lilywhites to a top-four finish whilst at the club.
Conte's 78.72% win percentage at Chelsea
During his time at Stamford Bridge, he won the FA Cup and the Premier League, too, and the 57-year-old has generally been a success wherever he's managed.
Looking just at his time in England at both London-based teams, he oversaw 182 games in all competitions, winning 110 of them, drawing 29 and losing 43. His worst win percentage was 50% whilst his highest was 78.72%.
His managerial excellence clearly isn't in question, even if his spiky personality and penchant for just walking away from jobs often leave a sour taste.
The real issue is why United would be putting the feelers out so soon after believing that they had the right man at the helm in Carrick.
He's had less than a quarter of a century of games to get his ideas across and be able to build the team in his own image, something that he would readily admit hasn't happened as yet.
Carrick is Man United
How on earth are any clubs meant to get any sort of continuity and consistency if they're just going to sack their managers at the first hint of trouble?
Conte has pedigree, yes, but he doesn't have the knowledge that Carrick possesses regarding just what it means to be a Man Utd stalwart.
That has to count for something in this day and age, and at the very least, the manager should be given another six months to continue building his empire.
If United do tempt fate before then and look in a different direction, that would only strengthen the notion that the current board know as much about football as the Glazer family does.