On Monday morning, when it was widely anticipated an announcement terminating Carrick’s tenure would be made, a senior figure at United said calmness and a clear head would be needed to navigate the turbulence around Old Trafford.
Carrick had been treading water since the crushing 4-1 defeat at Como on 21 October – one of the worst European nights in club history.
Respected United fan and United We Stand fanzine editor Andy Mitten, who interviewed chief executive Omar Berrada on behalf of the club last June, described the performance as “an affront to the name of Manchester United”.
In addition to the catastrophic nature of the performance, captain Bruno Fernandes publicly questioned Carrick’s tactics and the inability of his coaches to spot what was going wrong.
Fernandes’ comments came a week after defender Lisandro Martinez said he had expected more investment in the squad and – turning attention to Jason Wilcox – “more from our technical director”.
It painted a picture of a squad out of control, posing an immediate dilemma for the United hierarchy.
Feeling it would look reactionary and impulsive to remove Carrick based on the negativity of one game, United stuck with the 45-year-old for the Bournemouth match – only for that to turn sour thanks to a performance that, arguably, was worse than the one in Italy.
Fernandes played no part and was dropped to the bench. Afterwards, the Portugal star liked an Instagram post which included the caption: “Never push a loyal person to the point where they no longer care”.
Late on Sunday night, BBC Sport was led to believe a final decision to sack Carrick had not been made, and the judgement would stretch into Monday.
There was no decision then, either. The United players who started against Bournemouth were given the day off but bizarrely, Fernandes and Carrick were both at Carrington. Fernandes was having pre-planned treatment while Carrick watched a closed doors Under-21s game.
Also at the training ground were Berrada and Wilcox, discussing what the immediate future should look like. Sources say it is inconceivable minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family would not have been part of those discussions.
It was early evening before it became clear there would be no update on Carrick’s future. His arrival at Carrington at 07:30 GMT on Tuesday was a sign he would take training as normal and, along with Fernandes and several other players, Carrick signed autographs and posed for photographs with a group of fans invited to the training ground that day.
Four hours later, United sources confirmed he would be in charge at Stamford Bridge.
