Former Premier League manager Sam Allardyce believes Michael Carrick’s dismissal at Manchester United has all but ended his coaching career, while accusing the Old Trafford dressing room of 'shafting' their former boss.
Carrick was relieved of his duties on Thursday after a dismal opening to the 2026/27 campaign had left Man United sitting 18th in the table with just one win in 10 matches.
Speaking to Boyle Sports and Footy Accumulators’ No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Allardyce suggested the 45-year-old has neither the financial need nor the appetite to step back into a dugout following consecutive difficult exits at Middlesbrough and Old Trafford.
Allardyce: 'Carrick has been shafted'
“I don't think Michael Carrick will manage at all again – I think this will have finished him,” Allardyce said. “I think he'll be saying, 'I'm not bothered with any of this now.'
“It wasn't great, what happened at Middlesbrough, was it? And Michael Carrick, in his position, doesn't need another job in management, financially. He'd only need to do it if he wants to go out and prove people wrong if he gets the opportunity again. But he may well just choose to slip away quietly.”
While Man United’s hierarchy pulled the trigger to pave the way for Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment, Allardyce insists the board showed patience and instead has laid the blame at the feet of the squad.
“The Manchester United board gave him as long as they could. But the players have shafted him,” he added. “You can't play for that man as well as you did last season and then give up on him for whatever reason.
“I don't know what's caused the turnaround, but he'll have an idea why the squad is not as good as when he finished last season.”
Allardyce also identified what he believes were issues in Carrick’s midfield setup, arguing that playing summer signing Youri Tielemans alongside Kobbie Mainoo left the team far too easy to bypass in transition.
“Tielemans and Mainoo can't play together because they can't run,” Allardyce explained.
“They can run, but not quick enough. That brings criticism from all the punters. But I'll tell you why they don't do more: because they can't. They physically can't.”
Pochettino will inherit a fractured squad next week ahead of a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool in what will be his first game in charge.
Allardyce’s verdict highlights the scale of the overhaul awaiting the incoming Argentine, and ultimately the heavy toll the Old Trafford job may have taken on Carrick.
