Manchester United mark a big anniversary later this week: it's 40 years since they last made the right decision on a managerial appointment.

They have become the club that always gets it wrong. Jürgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel have all spoken to the United hierarchy in recent years. But, for one reason or another, they have all taken their coaching talents elsewhere.

As current boss Michael Carrick lurches from one bad result to another and with United hovering one place above the Premier League relegation zone having won just once in the league all season, Friday's anniversary of Alex Ferguson's arrival at Old Trafford in November 1986 might just coincide with the club's latest roll of the managerial dice.

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Sources have told ESPN that Carrick, who signed a two-year contract in May after guiding United to UEFA Champions League qualification as interim manager last season, is likely to remain in charge for Tuesday's European game against AS Roma and Sunday's Premier League meeting with Aston Villa. But there are no guarantees after a nine-game winless run.

The 45-year-old's job is hanging by a thread and, with an international break looming after the Villa game, it is difficult to see the former Middlesbrough manager still being in charge for the trip to Liverpool on Nov. 22. But can United be trusted to fire Carrick and replace him with a manager capable of bringing order, stability and most importantly, results, to soccer's most chaotic super-club?

Since Ferguson retired in 2013 after winning 28 major trophies in 27-and-a-half years at United, the club has hired seven permanent managers and none has come close to winning a Premier League or Champions League title.

ESPN has spoken to several people who have worked at United during the post-Ferguson years and been involved in managerial appointments. Each of the seven hires have been, in varying ways, flawed by the decision-making process at Old Trafford.

When United hired David Moyes to succeed Ferguson, it was claimed that he was hand-picked by the man he was replacing. The reality is that the Everton manager was the seventh choice and Ferguson's intervention was simply a desperate move to find somebody with Premier League experience to take over.

Sources have told ESPN that United approached Klopp, José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, Diego Simeone and Laurent Blanc before turning to Moyes. Mourinho, Ancelotti, Guardiola and Blanc had already agreed to take other jobs, while Klopp and Simeone were not interested.

When Moyes was fired 10 months into a six-year contract, United hired Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal, despite the former Ajax and Barcelona coach having been out of club management for three years. Prior to appointing Van Gaal, United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward was rebuffed by Atlético Madrid coach Simeone again and famously failed to hire Klopp after the future Liverpool manager was unimpressed by his sales pitch of United being "an adult version of Disneyland."

When Van Gaal was sacked in May 2016, United hired Mourinho, who ultimately delivered two major trophies, a Premier League runners-up finish and a 58% win rate. But sources have said that Mourinho was hired despite co-chairmen Joel and Avram Glazer being urged by senior figures to appoint Pochettino. The future United States coach, then building a Tottenham Hotspur team that would challenge for Premier League title and reach the Champions League final, would miss out on the United job on two further occasions.

Sources have said the Mourinho hire was driven by the Glazers' determination to match Manchester City's move for Guardiola the same summer, but when Pochettino was the No. 1 choice to replace Mourinho two years later, a reluctance to engage in an expensive compensation battle with Spurs, combined with Ole Gunnar Solskjær's remarkable results as interim manager, prompted United to take the easy option and hand the job to their former player on a permanent basis.

If you are a spotting a theme with United's recruitment process it is simple: draw up a list, miss out on the favoured candidates and hire somebody else.

Things changed slightly when Erik ten Hag was hired in the summer of 2022 after Woodward left and was replaced by CEO Richard Arnold. United installed Ralf Rangnick as interim coach while they underwent a "thorough recruitment process" to find the new permanent manager. Luis Enrique, then in charge of the Spain national team, was high on United's list but ruled out due to his reluctance to leave the Spain job until after the 2022 FIFA World Cup, so Ten Hag and Pochettino became the final two candidates.

Sources have said it was a close call, with Ajax coach Ten Hag regarded as a rising star and Pochettino, under contract at Paris Saint-Germain but facing a summer exit, likely to cost an eight-figure compensation package. Pochettino had his supporters within the United hierarchy, but the compensation figure tipped the process in favour of Ten Hag, who turned out to be another failed hire, despite winning two major trophies before being fired in October 2024, four months after being handed a two-year contract by the new sporting hierarchy led by minority investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Rewind to the end of the 2023-24 season, when Ten Hag only survived due to the supporters publicly backing him at Wembley after the FA Cup final win against Man City. At the time, United were openly speaking to candidates to replace him including Thomas Tuchel, Kieran McKenna and Roberto De Zerbi. Tuchel, who would become England manager in October 2024, spoke to United's senior figures more than once at that stage and sources have said he was close to being offered the job before a decision was made to retain Ten Hag.

When Ten Hag was fired in October, he was replaced by Sporting CP coach Ruben Amorim, another rising star with no Premier League experience. Dan Ashworth, then sporting director, was dismissed during the process having earlier suggested Newcastle United's Eddie Howe for the job.

Amorim oversaw United's worst-ever Premier League season and had a win rate of just 38% when he was fired in January and replaced by Carrick. The former United midfielder was rewarded with a permanent contract this summer following his success in securing a third-place finish.

But Carrick was the latest inexperienced and inexpensive hire. Since Mourinho, United have not hired a manager with a proven Premier League track record -- Solskjær had six months at Cardiff City and was relegated -- and they have also ignored the clear trends that rival clubs have tapped into.

Spanish and German coaches have dominated the Premier League and Champions League over the past decade -- Guardiola (City) and Klopp (Liverpool) have won both, Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain) has won back-to-back European crowns, Tuchel (Chelsea) and Hansi Flick (Bayern Munich) also won the Champions League and Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) won the Premier League.

United have never hired a German or a Spaniard as permanent manager and their last four appointments have been Premier League novices. Their hiring blueprint is deeply flawed.

So if Carrick goes, will United finally learn their lessons or make another mistake? The answer to that will make-or-break the club's future.