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Michael Carrick must now deal with more dressing-room unrest after Lisandro Martínez’s attack on the board “Toxic”: this is the damning characterisation of Bruno Fernandes from one highly placed Manchester United source after the captain’s incendiary betrayal of Michael Carrick. There has surely never been a greater anti-leadership act in United’s history than Fernandes questioning the man who trusts him to unify the dressing room and execute his on-field plan. The Portuguese has proved this faith wrong at the precise moment he was required to step up and exude a defiant togetherness. Nothing could be more dysfunctional than civil war between United’s head coach and captain, featuring Carrick biting back at Fernandes for questioning his tactics as matters hit a new low in the aftermath of Wednesday’s pathetic 4-1 loss to Como. A litmus test for any leader comes when the storm arrives. At the Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium, Fernandes failed miserably as he squealed about “the staff” deciding the best tactic was not to press Cesc Fàbregas’s bright, emerging team. For “staff” read Carrick because he decides strategy and bears responsibility for performance. Fernandes is Carrick’s on-field proxy, so his behaviour is the dictionary definition of betrayal. His conduct is not expected to lead to an disciplinary action in the way Lisandro Martínez’s calling out last week of Jason Wilcox as, perhaps, this is a greyer area. Discussing tactics may be more within Fernandes’s remit, as captain, than a defender suggesting the director of football’s recruitment failed. Provided there is no damage to the team. But even if Fernandes issues an apology, some acts are irreversible. There is a case for Carrick to strip the 32-year-old of the captaincy and appoint a senior man such as Youri Tielemans or Harry Maguire. Carrick is expected to hold his pre-game media conference on Friday afternoon and be in charge for Bournemouth’s visit on Sunday, so when the team is announced whether Fernandes has the armband will intrigue. Could he even drop the playmaker? Whatever the decision, Fernandes can have zero excuse for his Como outburst. Fernandes witnessed how Martínez’s criticism of Wilcox became an extra headache for Carrick, whose sole focus should have been on arresting the direst start to a campaign since 1986. Instead, Carrick had to thrash out the most prudent line of action – Martínez is understood to have been fined – then field questions about the episode. Yet still Fernandes rounded on Carrick after one of United’s poorest displays in a European competition. It was a performance the player was part of, having been on the field until Carrick removed him on 67 minutes. Being replaced by Joshua Zirkzee, who United tried to offload in the last window, shows how ineffective Fernandes was, first as a false 9, then, after the interval, in his favoured No 10 role. Fernandes’s comments indicate he is seriously disaffected with team strategy and his role within this. But is there, too, a frustration at still being at the club as his prime years – he was 32 last month – begin to expire? This is someone who voiced disquiet last December, during a jarring interview with Canal 11, the Portuguese Football Federation‑owned channel, at United’s desire to sell him. Fernandes was asked whether there had been an offer from Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid. He said: “Nowadays, the issue of loyalty is no longer seen the way it used to be. I could have left in the last window and would have earned a lot more. “At one point I was going to leave and I would have won many trophies that season. I decided to stay not only for family reasons, but because I genuinely like the club. The conversation with the coach [Ruben Amorim] also made me stay. “But from the club’s side, I felt: ‘If you go, it’s not really that bad for us.’ More than hurting, it makes me sad, because I’m a player they have nothing to criticise me for.” Now the club, and specifically Carrick, do feel let down by Fernandes. But, it is also relevant to ask how Fernandes (and Martínez) have come to feel so at ease with going off-message. These are highly remunerated employees. Their job is to play and maintain a united front – whatever happens – and for Carrick to allow a culture of entitlement to fester shows up a serious fault in his management. For now, Carrick and Fernandes limp on – just like the team. It will be some act for Carrick to save his job – even victory over Bournemouth may not do so – and for Fernandes to rehabilitate himself, before the head coach and fans. But this is football, a world that can be unpredictable and illogical. The measure, though, of the debacle at Como, and the wider malaise at the club, can be found in Fàbregas’s post-victory words when he bemoaned allowing Zirkzee’s added-time strike for United. “I regret the last 10 minutes because I was the one who told the team to slow down the tempo because there’s another match [Sassuolo, on Saturday] and at 4-0 we could manage things a little,” he said. “Their goal hurt me because we dropped our intensity and dropped our defensive block, but it was my fault.” How Carrick wishes this was what he had to contend with rather than a mutinous captain and a ship that seems to be sinking deeper on every matchday.

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Bruno Fernandes followed Lisandro Martínez in revolt after his team’s 4-1 defeat to Como in the Champions League You have to credit Manchester United. Your local rivals have turned the Premier League into an almost meaningless farce. We are questioning the validity of anything we’ve seen over the past 20 years; wondering how many goals Erling Haaland will get in the Championship. We are looking at the league table from second position down and wishing we’d invested in inflatable bananas a month ago. And yet here comes the Old Trafford machine: from players to the captain to the manager to the director of football, to the director of the director of football, to a minority owner who feels the UK is being “colonised by immigrants”, to debt-leveraging majority owners who take vast sums out of the club and are collectively saying hold my Ineos-sponsored high-performance wellness immune boost smoothie. Yes, it’s time to dust down the Manchester United bin-fire article. Read this and compare and contrast. From 11 August 2022: “Reds rinse and repeat: will we ever break the Manchester United crisis cycle?” There are others. It is some feat to be more newsworthy than Manchester City, even for an evening. The defeat in Como wasn’t surprising. We’re getting to the stage where the large pieces of furniture Barney Ronay keeps comparing Harry Maguire to are fighting back. @19thCenturyArmoir: “mate i’m a hundred and sixty years old, of course my legs have gone.” @CoffinFridge69: “#BeKind Ronay, appliances have feelings too.” Everyone knows the problems at Old Trafford lie deeper than the defensive line held by Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt on Wednesday. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before Bruno Fernandes’s constant on-field complaining spilled off the pitch. An exercise in throwing his manager under the bus, where presumably Michael Carrick found Jason Wilcox, still lying in hiding under the 250 to the Trafford Centre after Lisandro Martínez’s post-match intervention in Madrid. Carrick did push back on the criticism: “Whatever system you play, whatever tactics you play, if you don’t run, and you don’t run forward, and you don’t run back, you aren’t going to win. ” But it’s hard to throw someone under the bus when you’re already under the bus you’re trying to throw people under. Poor Carrick, who may well be gone by the time I finish this tram ride, never mind by the time you get around to reading this. It was one of those funereal press conferences: Carrick being as earnest as it is possible to be, while journalists take it in turn to sound even more earnest, as if they’re questioning a man who’s just failed to blow up the asteroid coming to destroy the Earth. At this rate, that meteor will arrive long before United have recaptured past glories. Ineos presumably has a big blame pie chart constantly updating on a PowerPoint. Spin the wheel – who’s to blame today? Maybe the players? Does anyone genuinely know any more whether any United player is good? I have analysis paralysis when trying to work out whether Fernandes is world class or why Youri Tielemans never lumbered at Aston Villa. How bamboozled will we be when Joshua Zirkzee has 25 goal involvements for Real Sociedad next season? As for Carrick, while most of us (me included) felt he’d earned the right to manage the side this season, a more ruthless and efficient ownership would have made a different call. It wouldn’t have been popular. He may turn out to be a world-class manager – he may not. Football decides pretty quickly about these things. But if he is sacked, there is a path to redemption. Daniel Farke has moved beyond “only good in the Championship”. Frank Lampard could reasonably expect an apology from anyone who comments on the game for his achievements at Coventry. But at this stage it is fair to say Carrick doesn’t have the tactical ability or experience of almost all his competitors in the division. Above him, is Jason Wilcox good? Perhaps the last time someone yelled at him like Martínez, it was Mike Newell after an overhit cross at Ewood Park in 1991. What will Omar Berrada’s CV look like after the independent panel delivers its punishments? It is fair to say that barring the odd All or Nothing documentary, I have almost no knowledge of what happens behind the scenes. But £1bn spent by United to create this squad over the past five years, plus the randomness of Rangnick/Ten Hag/Van Nistelrooy/Amorim/Carrick, gives us limited evidence to suggest high performance. And at the top, what does Jim Ratcliffe care about? Apart from enjoying the tax rates of Monaco while opining about the fallen British empire. The good old days where you could just colonise and get a pat on the back, eh Jim. And then there’s the Glazers. Even for someone whose brain shuts down as soon as they hear the words “leveraged debt” the fact they have extracted about £1bn out of the club since the takeover in 2005 is an outrage. Perhaps if they had overseen a period of sustained success, but it is the opposite. So when you add bad (maybe bad?) players, bad (or at least disrespectful) captain, bad (not great yet) manager, bad technical director, bad chief executive, bad minority owner, bad majority owners – apologies if I’ve missed anyone – it is, well, bad. So what’s the best plan of action now? Did someone say Antonio Conte? For the wind and the rain make it happen. As Paul Watson said on the latest Guardian Football Weekly, he might resign during his unveiling. Lots of us who lived through the Fergie success can’t help but enjoy a Manchester United crisis, but it’s possible to laugh and at the same time sympathise with powerless United fans under that dripping roof in the East Stand.

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Manager apologises to fans after 4-1 defeat in Como Captain criticises ‘decision from the staff’ not to press Michael Carrick’s future as Manchester United manager is in the balance after a humiliating 4-1 Champions League defeat by Como on Wednesday night. Before Bournemouth’s visit to Old Trafford on Sunday his future may be discussed by Jason Wilcox, the director of football, Omar Berrada, the chief executive, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the co-owner who controls sporting policy. On a torrid night an “angry” ­Carrick insisted afterwards that he had not given his position any thought and was forced to defend himself against Bruno Fernandes after his captain questioned the manager’s tactics of not pressing against Cesc Fàbregas’s team. Carrick also criticised his side for not running. The defeat by Como in the third Champions League group game leaves United with only two wins all season from 11 games. ­Carrick’s side are in 13th place in the Premier League and were eliminated from the Carabao Cup last month. The 45-year-old was asked if he fears for his job. “Listen, I’ve not given my own position any thought,” he said. “[My thoughts are] for the supporters – I was one of them watching that and I wasn’t happy at all.” Carrick was then asked if he could walk away following the latest defeat in Europe. “No. It’s not about me right now and my feelings in that regard,” the manager said. “It’s more of as a team and as a football club, what we want to look like, what we should look like. And as I said, the results can come and go at times, but you got to do it in a certain way. And that wasn’t it.” 700 United sup­porters travelled. At the end around 200 remained and Carrick went to ­apologise to them, noticeably ­ignoring his players. After United conceded Nico Paz’s second-minute goal, Carrick’s men were unable to mount any resistance. By 57 minutes Como led 3-0, due to Tasos Douvikas’s strike and Paz’s second, before Jacobo Ramón completed the scoring for the Italian side on 76 minutes. Joshua Zirkzee netted in added time for the visitors. Fernandes openly challenged ­Carrick’s strategy during the match. “It’s a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave space behind and try to get the ball, wait for them, but sometimes when you give space to these teams they get confidence,” he said. The captain was asked if Carrick’s tactics were wrong. “That’s on the manager and staff to see, not me,” he said. “Sometimes you have to be more brave under pressure, take the risk of pressing high and making them uncomfortable. As you saw with them, the centre-back was coming to mark me in my own half. We need to do that as a team but we were unable to.” Fernandes’s criticism was put to his manager after the match. “We actually half-pressed man-to-man the second half and then conceded a goal from that,” Carrick said. “Whatever system you play, whatever tactics you play, if you don’t run, and you don’t run forward, and you don’t run back, you ain’t going to win.” Carrick was asked how he can raise the mood before Bournemouth’s visit. “I’m bitterly disappointed, I’m frustrated; more than frustrated, I’m really angry. But you’ve got to move on. You got to deal with what’s next and see what that looks like. “At this moment in time, there’s a lot to do before that next game to get the team ready because that was a difficult night for everyone. I have to apologise to the supporters.”

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Head coach insists ‘we can still have a really good season’ After a week in which Michael Carrick had “the headphones on” to quieten the noise, Manchester United’s head coach claimed Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Leeds “felt like a fresh start” and insisted that the season can still be a good one. Carrick’s team have seven points from seven Premier League games and have won only once in the competition, against Ipswich in August. Sunday’s draw followed the previous weekend’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham. Yet after a week in which United lost 2-0 at Atlético Madrid, after which Lisandro Martínez criticised the recruitment of the director of football, Jason Wilcox, Carrick was relieved at the point against Daniel Farke’s team. “[It’s been] quite quiet inside [the club] – the headphones have been on this week. It felt like a bit of a fresh start today – where we’re at and accepting it and doing something about it,” said the manager. “That didn’t surprise me today. We’re not getting too carried away because we haven’t won the game, but if you keep doing the right things for the right reasons then you get what you deserve in the end.” “It definitely shows that the boys are desperate to do well for each other as much as anything else and how much they appreciate playing for this club, because there was a real purpose to the group over the last couple of days and they took it on the pitch. There was an edge to the game, an intensity. I spoke to the boys this morning about the history and what it means to the supporters, the club, to us coming over here into the territory.” Carrick admitted that United’s league position is disappointing but believes the campaign can still be rescued. “If we keep doing the right things, we can still have a really good season. We’re not accepting it as everything’s great by any stretch, so I’m realistic with that. But sometimes you do struggle,. “We’ve got to find a way through it. We have to be stable enough to keep doing the right things and we’re more than capable of winning matches. I understand the situation doesn’t look too good if you look at it from a certain way, but I have no doubts that we can go on a good run. I’m encouraged by a lot of things.” Bryan Mbeumo’s first-half goal was cancelled out by Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s strike after the break, leaving Farke disappointed not to take all three points. “We took it as a compliment that we have done many things right over the last month that we were seen as favourites against Manchester United,” said the Leeds manager. “But we have earned this. We wanted to prove the comments right. We were the dominant side, but we couldn’t capitalise as we lacked quality in and around the box. It is still difficult in this league to win points. You have to be clinical and be very, very effective, but we have to keep going.”

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What next for Michael Carrick and Manchester United? Game-wise the answer is Wednesday’s trip to Como yet after failing, again, to double the campaign’s league wins tally to two you have to wonder where this already flatlining team are heading. Sunday afternoon’s display was the latest unconvincing outing under the 45-year-old. It featured an odd formation, zero rhythm or control, and the same prevailing sense that the wheels could clatter off anytime. Bryan Mbeumo’s first-half opener was answered, inevitably, by Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s equaliser after the interval for hosts who were not markedly better but did not need to be so fragile are Carrick’s cadre. Elland Road was the scene of Ruben Amorim’s last stand, Carrick’s predecessor reacting to January’s 1-1 draw by demanding his colleagues in the recruitment department “do their job”. The result? Being sacked two days later. For now Carrick avoids a similar fate but for how long? United remain stuck on a solitary league victory – back at the end of August, versus Ipswich – and so Como, in the Champions League, becomes the next must-win fixture. Five days after his scathing diatribe aimed at Jason Wilcox – for the director of football’s iffy recruitment – Lisandro Martínez was selected by Carrick, the defender’s Thursday apology enough to clear the way though his day ended at the interval. Daniel Farke’s team, unchanged for a fifth consecutive game, were roared on by a crowd who delighted in Martínez’s first contribution, a stray pass hoofed out of play. The visitors lined up in an “Amorim formation” of 3-4-3, a lesser-seen Carrick configuration. In this, Bruno Fernandes was fielded as the nominal central forward, curtailing the captain’s ability to pull strings from midfield, though his was a free role. The noise from a febrile home support was dialled up when Carlos Baleba sent Anton Stach to the turf and Darren England saw no infringement. When Fernandes ran though and a clumsy touch caused him to scythe down Tarik Muharemovic, England did act – booking Manchester United’s captain when play next paused, to the delight of Leeds fans. Gabriel Gudmundsson was also shown a yellow card – for clipping Andrey Santos – in a contest that was blood and thunderous but lacked regular goalmouth incident. Gudmundsson, the left wing-back in Farke’s 5-2-2-1, did splay the visitors’ defence with a cross that wrongfooted Harry Maguire but it found no teammate, before Jayden Bogle, the right wing-back, repeated the act as Leeds exerted momentary control. Stach’s free-kick, from the right, had Nico Elvedi flying at the ball to fashion a header Senne Lammens had to be quick to repel. At last, the match was alive. Carrick’s men carved a clear chance when Youri Tielemans dropped the ball onto Mbeumo’s head at close-range but he missed – badly. But next Mbeumo struck via a quick move that sundered Leeds. Along the right Tielamans found Amad Diallo who returned the ball and the Belgian’s cross was slid home by the forward. Martínez’s removal for the second half brought Noussair Mazraoui to the fray as 45 minutes stood between Carrick and a morale-boosting victory. They held firm for five. A Mazraoui header sent Bogle’s cross out for a corner on the right. When this was swung in Mazraoui was bested by Muharemovic whose flick came to Calvert-Lewin: he outmuscled Mbeumo and crashed home. With the crowd propelling them forward, Ao Tanaka boomed a volley just over and Farke’s men pinned back Carrick’s side, who lacked ideas: Baleba’s unconvincing long-range effort summed them up. Better was Fernandes’s turn and shot that spun narrowly wide but he followed this with a weak attempt that the Leeds goalkeeper James Trafford clutched simply. On 73 minutes Farke took off Noah Okafor for Lukas Nmecha and Carrick removed Baleba for Mason Mount but none of the changes could spark a winner.

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Manchester United head coach produced a masterclass in dialling down emotion before a tricky trip to Leeds Michael Carrick returned his most impressive performance precisely when required as he took questions in the midst of the first crisis engulfing him as Manchester United’s manager. His team are bombing in the league after the club’s poorest start since 1986 and out of the Carabao Cup, and after Tuesday’s Champions League defeat at Atlético Madrid Lisandro Martínez showed up ruptures at United by calling out the director of football, Jason Wilcox. All of this two months into a first full campaign piloting United after last term ended so rosily for the former United midfielder. On the final day of last season, United won 3-0 at Brighton and Carrick secured an impressive third-place finish, 48 hours after agreeing a two-year deal to continue as head coach. By last Saturday, United had six points from the first six games after drawing 1-1 with Tottenham at Old Trafford, placing Carrick’s job in jeopardy as the walls closed in on him a fortnight before the clocks go back. A game at Leeds in January proved to be Ruben Amorim’s last in charge at Manchester United after he greeted the 1-1 draw by demanding his colleagues in the recruitment department “do their job”. With an uncanny circularity Carrick heads to Elland Road on Sunday after Martínez made similar comments. Amorim’s team were sixth going into that game; Carrick’s start the weekend 13th. On Friday, though, came a masterclass from Carrick in dialling down emotion as Martínez’s explosive comments about Wilcox – “I expect more [investment], 100%. I expect more from our technical director” – were addressed and he repeatedly referred to the “really good feeling” at the club. “It’s really not a drama for us as a group,” he said. “The boys have trained really well. This morning there was a really good feeling around the squad … so we’ve moved on pretty quickly.” If this seems less than credible, and almost certainly a stance coached by United’s PR mandarins, what else would Carrick be expected to say? More obvious was how the zen-like performance required from the club’s leader was being delivered. Even when he broke from the script to interrupt an inquisitor this strengthened the sense of Carrick being in control – hardly easy given the heightened glare on United since Tuesday evening. When the positive vibes trope was challenged by a questioner saying: “We’ll have to take you at face value”, Carrick’s interjection came with a smile. “I’m telling you the truth when I say that,” he said. “Do you not believe me, no? The players totally believe me. I’m telling you the truth. The squad today was in a fantastic place, better than I’ve seen it for a while, actually, and that’s it, plain and simple, you know? We’re emotional, we’re passionate, we care a lot.” When signing on to be the permanent United manager, Carrick had overseen only 21 games at elite level – in two caretaker spells at the club. United had 17 league games to play when he replaced Amorim, and Carrick has shown signs of faltering this season when having to compete on four fronts. Elimination by Brighton at the earliest stage of the Carabao Cup was not a great calling card regarding an ability to juggle competitions, and there was a surprising reaction from him after the 2-0 opening-day loss at Hull. He bridled at the suggestion United had lacked “passion” during a first-half horror show. “Oh come,” Carrick said. “That’s ridiculous.” A faulty United rearguard is hampering an attack that is functioning far better and has the most shots (125) and most touches in the opposition box (205) in the Premier League. Nine goals from six matches is not paltry but greater ruthlessness would transform a promising front six into a potent one. Carrick has to find the right blend from Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Marcus Rashford, Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba. Baleba has sparkled in his first two appearances – against Spurs and Atlético – and might have provided the shield from the No 6 berth to ensure a less leaky defence had he not arrived injured. This has to be the hope for Carrick. Playing Tielemans at No 10 at Atlético suggests the manager may doubt the 29-year-old’s legs, and questions have been raised about whether United are putting in enough of the hard yards. Their 671.4km distance covered in the league is the fifth-lowest (Arsenal’s 716.2km is the highest), and their 581 sprints the fourth-lowest (Brentford’s 765 the most). The trip to an always febrile Elland Road that saves a particular welcome for their cross-Pennines rivals presents a stern challenge. Leeds are ninth and have lost once. “It’s a great rivalry,” Carrick said, who was full of praise for his Leeds counterpart, Daniel Farke. “There’s big history between the clubs, the areas. That’s what makes these types of games special. You’ve got to embrace the history, what it means. “I’m sure it will be a fantastic atmosphere on Sunday. It brings an intensity and it’ll be a little bit extra again, on Sunday against us … Of course, we have to be ready, and the boys will be.” Carrick requires a positive result, though in denying this, he again sounded the right note. “I don’t need results, we all need results,” he said. “It’s not about me. Manchester United is a lot bigger than any individual, bigger than me, bigger than any player, anyone else who works at this club. It’s not about me, so please … “I don’t go into every day at work, in this situation, this game, thinking about me. It’s about what we stand for, what we live for, the history, the things that we need to live up to, and that’s what drives us. So whatever’s best for the club and for the team on Sunday is the most important thing.”

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Manchester United coach accepts defender’s apology ‘He’s realised he’s made a mistake and that’s enough’ Michael Carrick brushed off Lisandro Martínez’s failure to offer Jason Wilcox a public apology after the defender criticised Manchester United’s director of football in the wake of Tuesday’s defeat at Atlético Madrid. Martínez referred directly to Wilcox after the 2-0 Champions League loss, saying: “I expect more from our technical director.” On Thursday Martínez issued an apology that did not mention Wilcox or withdraw the essence of his outburst: the need for more squad investment. “The frustration of the defeat led me to express how I felt at a time and place that perhaps were not the right ones, and for that I want to apologise,” he said. Carrick was asked whether he respected Martínez for not saying sorry to Wilcox. “He’s released his statement, he’s realised he’s made a mistake and that’s enough for all of us to move on with,” United’s manager said. Carrick was pressed on whether it would have been better if Martínez had apologised to Wilcox and for his wider comments about investment, rather than just saying sorry for the timing and location of his interview. “From our point of view, the acknowledgment of what’s been done has certainly been enough, we’ve moved on and we’re definitely not looking back at it now,” he replied. Carrick said Martínez was available for Sunday’s trip to Leeds, where Manchester United go having taken only six points from their opening six league games. They were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton last month and have one win and a defeat in the Champions League. Poor form has increased the pressure on Carrick, who was asked whether Martínez’s comments were an unwanted distraction that had annoyed him. “No, I understand emotion at times,” he said. “We ask for passion, we ask for emotion, we ask for fire and we ask for players to care. There’s a way of doing that, and that’s already been acknowledged, but we need to carry that intensity and that willingness and that togetherness and that spirit. As a group, we need to use it, and we’ve got to use it in the right way.” Wayne Rooney, United’s record goalscorer, claimed Martínez’s comments “will rip the dressing room apart”. It was put to Carrick that they may have an opposite, unifying effect. “There’s a lot of things that can affect the group in all sorts of different ways,” said Carrick, who went on to highlight his players’ reaction to conceding inside a minute at Atlético. “It’s one of the toughest places to play in the Champions League, so to go a goal down so early, and the way we responded shows an underlying belief and spirit and a togetherness,” he said. He indicated that events on and off the pitch this week had brought the squad together. “Certain situations can galvanise the group, and it’s certainly galvanised the group as this week’s progressed. The boys are in a really good place right now.” Carrick was asked why anyone outside the club, including former players such as Rooney who have criticised Martínez, should believe there is unity. “There’s a lot of people that say a lot of things, and ex-pros or not ex-pros, it doesn’t necessarily mean you understand what’s going on here,” he said. “I’m telling you the truth. The squad today [Friday] was in a fantastic place, better than I’ve seen it for a while.” Carrick said Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo faced fitness tests.