The pressure on Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has been growing since the start of the season, and it may have reached an unsustainable level after Sunday’s disaster at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils were well and truly beaten 3–0 at home to Bournemouth to extend their winless run to eight games across all competitions—five draws and three losses—and leave United 16th in the Premier League table.

Since the start of the century, United have never gone nine matches without securing a victory, with Carrick tying the miserable eight-match run endured by Louis van Gaal across November and December 2015.

Interestingly, Van Gaal actually survived that run. The eighth of those matches was an entertaining 0–0 draw with Chelsea that seemingly convinced those upstairs to give him more time, and a 2–1 win over Swansea City to start 2016 sparked enough of an upturn in form to let the Dutchman see out the season.

Whether Carrick will get the same chance will soon be decided. His side have their own meeting with Chelsea coming up next weekend which, given the Blues’ awful performance against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, could easily provide the sort of boost Carrick and United are desperately searching for.

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Man Utd Forced Into Uncomfortable Carrick Decision

Analysis by Tom Gott

The brutal nature of this game is that there is effectively nothing United can do to change things other than fire Carrick.

United need results now. Immediately. As a matter of urgence. Is there still belief that Carrick can produce those results? Considering the dreadful nature of recent performances, the former midfielder will not have too many supporters above him in the food chain.

The Red Devils have so many problems to address, and the board should be aware of that. Unfortunately, at this stage of the season, not a whole lot can be done to turn things around. The ownership need to settle on a direction, the recruitment team need to address their priorities and the team needs to be rid of a toxic culture that is only sending things spiraling further, but of all that takes months—if not years.

Many fans want accountability from the owners, but a sale of the club would be a hugely complicated, lengthy process. CEO Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox are both under pressure but firing, and then replacing, two of the most powerful people in soccer is another process that would take a comparative eternity.

The calendar does not wait for United, who are back in action next week against Chelsea. Next come Roma, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Sporting CP and Brentford. On current form, United’s winless run could almost double if nothing changes.

While Van Gaal used his draw against Chelsea to offer some hope, Carrick oversaw perhaps the worst of the worst against Bournemouth. There is no reason to suggest this will get better soon, and that will be the crucial factor when deciding his future.

Structural changes may come further down the line, but for now, it feels like Carrick’s time is up.