Michael Owen proved why Michael Carrick is last of Ineos' concerns as Ratcliffe is in 'unwinnable' position – opinion

Ineos’ hopes for a new era at Manchester United under Michael Carrick have left Michael Owen to drop the most powerful question of all for Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s regime.

Manchester United’s slippery slope of a season took another nasty turn after the Red Devils’ latest Premier League setback under Michael Carrick at the weekend.

Carrick was left helpless during United’s encounter against Bournemouth after the Cherries inflicted a comfortable 3-0 defeat on the Red Devils at Old Trafford.

United’s disappointing performance against Bournemouth put the spotlight on Ineos and Michael Owen’s verdict was a telling warning for Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s team.

READ MORE: Man Utd fans react to Mason Mount’s performance vs Bournemouth after he started ahead of Matheus Cunha

Michael Owen’s position on Michael Carrick losing his Man Utd role does not solve any systemic problems for Ineos

Speaking on Premier League Productions, Michael Owen highlighted that Manchester United fans are clearly on Michael Carrick’s side more than anyone else’s at the Premier League club. Red Devils supporters showed a spine-tingling reception for Carrick after Sunday’s 3-0 Premier League loss, while United fans booed the first-team players before they went down the Old Trafford tunnel.

Owen added that former Man Utd and England teammate Carrick is not the problem at Old Trafford. The 46-year-old former United and Liverpool striker claimed that a change to the United managerial role seems like the “easiest” solution, but he warned that the Red Devils’ upcoming fixture schedule raises the question of how effective a different head coach would be right now.

“If you’re not winning games, the easiest thing to do is change the manager,” Owen said, as per the Premier League’s official website.

“I feel for Michael Carrick; the fans made themselves clear whose side they’re on. For them to be eight games in like this, I’d have never bet anything in a million years on it.

“They’ve got to find ways to win games, and their next fixtures are so difficult. It’s not going to get better. What’s the point of changing right now?”

READ MORE: I’m a Man Utd fan and four of Michael Carrick’s players can hold their heads up high from Bournemouth loss

Owen could not be more right with his assessment, as the Red Devils’ run of fixtures going into November is a daunting sight on their current form. Even before next month’s matches, the Red Devils must travel to Stamford Bridge to face Premier League side Chelsea for the final match of October.

However, the Red Devils would then face Roma in the Champions League at Old Trafford before hosting Aston Villa in the Premier League. The intensity would only continue with United’s visit to Anfield in their Premier League showdown with Liverpool before travelling to Portugal to face Sporting CP in the Champions League.

The Red Devils would close out the month of November by hosting Brentford at Old Trafford in the Premier League, but the fixture congestion shows how boxed into a corner Ineos are right now. Even if an interim head coach came into place for Carrick, there is no assurance that a so-called ‘manager bounce’ would come into play.

One only needs to look at the 2024-25 Premier League season for how the Red Devils’ league form continued to disintegrate after Ruben Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag in the Old Trafford dugout. The fatigue has well and truly settled in for United fans with the constant chopping and changing of managers post-Sir Alex Ferguson.