Michael Carrick equals abysmal Premier League record at Man Utd as sack claim made
Michael Carrick has equalled an unwanted Premier League record at Manchester United after the 1-1 draw against Fulham.
United were heading towards their third league defeat of the season when a Lisandro Martinez own goal put the hosts ahead with less than half an hour left on the clock, before Matheus Cunha rescued a point for his side in the 89th minute with a deflected strike.
Gary Neville slammed Man United players for "walking" in the 15 minutes after the interval and claimed it was the "worst" he's seen the Red Devils play since he started supporting the club. A poor performance at Craven Cottage hasn't done supporters' fading optimism any favours ahead of a three-week international break.
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Man United equal abysmal Premier League record vs Fulham
United have now collected five points from a possible 15, and unfortunately, that has seen Carrick equal an abysmal record.
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As per Opta, this is Man United's joint-lowest tally at the start of a Premier League campaign, also picking up five at the beginning of 2014/15.
After losing to 10-man Manchester City in last weekend's huge showdown at Old Trafford before suffering a humiliating Carabao Cup exit to Brighton in midweek, another loss hasn't done Carrick any favours in convincing the fans he is the right man to lead the club forward.
Although the Englishman was arguably let down by INEOS in the summer after failing to sign a new left-back, winger and striker, the former Middlesbrough boss has been scrutinised for his decision-making.
In the draw at Craven Cottage, he didn't make his first substitution until the 77th minute, when replacing an ineffective Marcus Rashford with Joshua Zirkzee, while his refusal to change shape was another reason for the criticism.
Carrick wasn't helped by his players, who ran 6km less than Fulham in the match and have covered the least ground of any team in the Premier League this season, according to FotMob.
Unsurprisingly, a lack of effort from his players and questionable tactical decisions have prompted talk of Carrick losing his job at Old Trafford - even after just five Premier League games.
Former Arsenal forward Perry Groves was one high-profile figure to question his long-term future at the club, telling talkSPORT: "I'm looking at this and I said Man United are a half-and-half team.
"When they close down, they do it half-heartedly. When they drop deep, they don't close the ball down when it's in their own final third.
"I can't see Michael Carrick lasting half the season."
Michael Carrick has already addressed Man United future
A disappointing performance and result against Fulham will only ramp up speculation, though Carrick has already said it would be "ridiculous" to start thinking about how long he has left in the job after a couple of bad results.
"I know the club, I know the role, I know what's expected here in terms of playing to a certain standard and achieving certain things on the pitch," he said on September 18.
"I get all that. In terms of future and ownership and how long I've got in the job, that's totally not in my thinking. It's ridiculous to think that way in the position I'm in, that's just not on the radar.
"It's two or three games. It's two or three games too many because I really hate losing, but that doesn't mean the world caves in. In some minds it does, it can't for us."
Man United host struggling Tottenham Hotspur after the break, in what is a must-win game to shut down any talk of him being dismissed.
Topics: Michael Carrick, Premier League, Man Utd
Thomas Griffin