Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes agree on only 3 out of 11 possible Man Utd replacements for Michael Carrick

Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt have given their snap verdicts on possible successors to Michael Carrick at Manchester United.

With Michael Carrick on the brink, Manchester United supporters are facing up to the possibility of a new head coach being appointed.

Former players Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes have been asked for their verdicts on a number of potential replacements for Michael Carrick, if the current boss is fired. United have only managed seven points from eight games to start the 2026/27 season.

In a segment for The Good, The Bad & The Football, Butt and Scholes could only agree on three possible managers to replace Carrick out of 11 names suggested.

BOTH AGREE

• Unai Emery
• Roy Keane
• Kieran McKenna

BOTH DISAGREE

• Eddie Howe
• Cesc Fabregas
• Daniel Farke
• Julian Nagelsmann

The pair returned split verdicts on Antonio Conte, Gareth Southgate, Fabian Hurzeler and Mauricio Pochettino.

Manchester United supporters wait for news

It would not have been a surprise at all to see Michael Carrick sacked hours after Manchester United’s defeat to Bournemouth. Many of us woke up expecting to see a notification from the club early this morning.

But none of that has transpired so far, with United keeping their cards close to their chest.

Most likely, this is because they a still firming up a replacement. Nobody wants to have to appoint another interim or caretaker for this weekend’s match against Chelsea.

United should have prepared for this, but we have been here before under Ineos recently.

When Ruben Amorim was fired earlier this year, United had no plan and turned to Michael Carrick out of desperation.

Everybody has split views on what happens next, and the lack of agreement between close pals Butt and Scholes shows how diverse the thinking could also be inside Manchester United’s boardroom.