Manchester United

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As I say, we'll have Michael Carrick quotes in full for you shortly but another big line on Bruno Fernandes for first.

It seems the Portugal midfielder will remain as captain with Carrick saying "he's an important player for this group. He has been and he will be".

He added that "he's the one that's kind of led the team so well for many a game and many a year, and he'll continue to do that."

Manchester United

Right then, we've heard from Michael Carrick and, after last week's big emotional speech, he played it with the straightest of straight bats this week. To the point and giving very little away.

Asked about his future and whether he'd spoken to his superiors, Carrick had this to say...

"I don’t need any assurances from anyone. I totally get the position."

We'll have the United boss' quotes in full for you shortly.

A slight side point but was Jose Mourinho's issue at Man Utd that he wasn't backed with transfers, Mathew?

Off the top of my head, they signed Paul Pogba for a then world-record fee and Romelu Lukaku for a very big sum just for starters.

Roy Keane
Former Manchester United captain on the Stick to Football podcast

We go back to it, are the players playing for him? Also the players are contracted to Manchester United, they are not contracted to Michael Carrick.

Managers will come and go but if the players aren’t, when people go ‘they care’, they might care but they don’t care enough. They don’t care enough and we talk about stats and we said to people, your stats are important, particularly for goal scorers or whatever.

When he got the job last year, Carrick went in there and people said, we said it from day one, we didn’t think he was probably good enough long term. It’s alright, we said, managing a few games.

All of a sudden then you’ve got to manage the football club and that’s pre-season expectations, recruitment. You are involved in that and they were getting results last year, and when you got results last year, people said you’ve got to give him the job because of the results.

Now they’re not getting the results, oh it’s the board, it’s Wilcox, it’s somebody else. It's all part of the package I get it, all of the culture, the training ground. I’d love to know what happened in pre-season but Michael Carrick, his coaches Johnny, Woodgate, Holland – they are still lucky boys to be involved at Man United, but they have to start getting results, on Saturday get a result at Chelsea.

They kind of had it at Leeds, but we’re hearing lots of stuff coming out, players trained well last week, they're a good group, someone’s apologised, they went to Leeds and after they match, this idea that we’ve got to draw at Leeds, you’re like what is your expectation?

But then I give him a thumbs up, yeah you dug in and got a result and then what happens in Como? They lose 4-1, it could have been six or seven against Como. Setbacks is part of sport, what you want as a manager or a player going ‘we need a reaction’, [then] they lose at home, without getting a tackle on anybody.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport Manchester United reporter

When Michael Carrick spoke to us before Sunday's Premier League game against Bournemouth he started with a five-and-a-half minute monologue, highlighting what Manchester United means to him and what he sees as the fundamentals around the club.

It was stirring stuff and you could tell it came from the heart.

It was suggested he was reading a script but I was sat a few feet away and can confirm that was total nonsense.

Sadly for Carrick, it did not translate to the pitch.

United were beaten 3-0 - remarkably the third time in four years Bournemouth have won by that scoreline at Old Trafford - and Carrick looked destined to lose his job.

It will be interesting how he deals with today's conference, in particular his relationship with skipper Bruno Fernandes and how he views his own job prospects.

Gary Neville
Former Manchester United defender on Stick To Football

We’ve all been in football dressing rooms, and they’re quite brutal places.

When lads start speaking about managers... I didn’t have it with United, because we never had that level of discontent in the dressing room, but with England I did, particularly around Glenn Hoddle, when he turned on Becks, on Teddy, on a few other players.

The toxicity, the sentiment in the dressing room, had gone.

If Bruno Fernandes, the captain of the club, who to be fair has been a great performer for six years in terms of assists and goals, the one outstanding performer... if he comes out and questions the manager’s tactics after a 4-1 defeat in Como, where he’s played like a drain, and he’s been playing like a drain for three months, and the rest of them have as well, that is only 1 or 2% of what they’re actually saying internally.

Manchester United

It was just six days ago that we were sat eagerly awaiting a Michael Carrick news conference.

That one came following the 4-1 loss at Como in the Champions League; a result compounded by Bruno Fernandes' coming out and publicly criticising the team's tactics post-match.

Carrick's response was to come out and deliver a near six-minute monologue in which he spoke about the club's history, the need for the hard work and humility that had brought previous success, before talking any questions.

Well, the message fell rather flat as his side slumped to a 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth.

So, what does Carrick do now?

We'll find out what he's had to say at around 14:00 GMT.

Roy Keane
Former Manchester United captain on the Stick to Football podcast

[Michael Carrick] is in trouble with that group of players isn’t he? He’s in trouble and the problem is he needs the players more than they need him. They got him the job last year, he got a two-year deal on the back of it.

There's now obviously whatever’s happened in pre-season, energy levels, Bruno [Fernandes] is not performing, keepers making mistakes – all these basic things they were doing well last year and they had a bit of momentum, they cant get it this year.

Don’t know what happened in pre-season, did they come back too early? Bruno has come back off the World Cup. Keeper made a big mistake at the World Cup. Have they lost a bit of confidence?

Whatever all the stats about running, I know its not good. Look at the goals [so] far, they’ve won one game. Get beaten by Brighton in the Cup.

It doesn’t look good but I am glad he has been given time and I don’t mean that in a nasty [way]. I would say that for most managers.

If he is getting another opportunity but as soon as the lose another game, if they lose to Chelsea on Saturday, it will be the same conversation on Sunday.

People are watching the TV looking for a manager, a man to lose his job. That’s what you’re waiting for.

Manchester United

If Michael Carrick is to turn things around at Old Trafford, these are the fixtures within which he'll have to do it.

The international break comes between the home game against Aston Villa and the always eagerly-anticipated trip to Anfield. Will Carrick still be in the dugout for that one?

• 31 October, 12:30: v Chelsea (a)
• 3 November, 20:00: v Roma (h), Champions League
• 8 November, 16:30: v Aston Villa (h)
• 22 November, 16:30: v Liverpool (a)
• 25 November, 20:00: v Sporting (a), Champions League
• 28 November, 15:00: v Brentford (h)

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Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher have been speaking about Michael Carrick's future on the Stick to Football podcast, and believe that Carrick leaving the club would be best for his own sake.

Neville said: "Sometimes a manager needs sacking for their own good. I needed sacking at Valencia. I was happy that they put me out of my misery."

Carragher said: "I think he can never say publicly, but I think Michael Carrick would want to be put out of his misery. I really do.

"The thought of going into that training ground now...and trying to do that team talk before Chelsea, when you know the players just aren’t having it at all.

"Those players know Michael Carrick’s not going to be there in two or three weeks. He knows it, they know it, everybody knows it."

Manchester United

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Another thread in all this is the ongoing Bruno Fernandes situation.

Michael Carrick and Fernandes have held clear-the-air talks before the team's trip to Chelsea.

Captain Fernandes, 32, was an unused substitute during United's 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth on Sunday.

The Portuguese was dropped to the bench after he criticised Carrick's tactics following the 4-1 loss against Como in the Champions League.

Sources have told BBC Sport that the pair spoke privately at the club's training ground on Tuesday, with the talks aimed at airing issues.

It is unclear whether Fernandes, who was made club captain in 2023, apologised for his critical comments.

Will we see Fernandes return to the starting line-up at Chelsea?

This is the problem they've had for some time, Graham. But then plenty of of others would say the same.

All clubs would like some stability but getting it - and then keeping it - is easier said than done.

Admittedly, United have managed to make themselves more unstable than most in recent times.