There is something appealing about the prospect of just pushing the Antonio Conte button, pulling the Conte lever.

He offers so much that appeals to underperforming clubs: a guarantee of success, or at least of pushing the current squad beyond their limits.

He does not need years to build; his approach works fast. He won the title in his first season at Juventus, Chelsea and Napoli. He does not need technically perfect players in every position and he can adapt to the group as long as they are willing to work.

Above all, Conte’s direct, abrasive style, telling the players exactly what he thinks about them, does sometimes appeal to clubs — and indeed fans — who think their players have gone soft.

Is it time for United to press the Conte button?

Key lines from his news conference:

• Rose confirmed last season's top scorer Junior Kroupi is set to be involved for the first time this campaign, after recovering from a foot injury sustained during a pre-season training session in Austria in late July: "The plan is to take him with us to Manchester and give him some minutes."
• On the 20-year-old's impact in training, Rose added: "He's a funny guy. I really love him. He has a good attitude. He's a special player. We have to take care of him and he has to take care of his next steps. But when we train, he changes every rondo you play. He changes every 5-v-5-plus-one session when he is the floater. It's just a different game then."
• On what impact United's recent struggles could have on the game: "It should not affect us and our work. I hear the voices and the noise around the club, but I don't know if it helps us because everyone in Manchester seems to know now what to do and how to do it. It's up to us to go there, be focused, bring our football on to the pitch and react well to situations."
• More on the Red Devils, who lost 4-1 to Como in the Champions League this week: "I think they're going to be angry, they're going to be intense. We have to face it, make an open game of it and, at the end, we want to win it. You always get to a point where you have nothing to lose any more, sometimes as a manager, as a club, as players. That's why it's always difficult."
• Asked about his team selection after Thursday's 3-0 Europa League win over AC Milan, the Cherries boss responded: "It will not be so difficult because I can play with only 11 players - one goalkeeper and 10 others, and I'm going to pick 11. I'm quite happy that I see everyone wants to show that he belongs to this team, and this is the only thing I demand."
• On possible rotation: "If you do it and maybe you don't play on Sunday, then you play on Wednesday against Aston Villa [in the Carabao Cup]. We have so many games and enough time to give everyone the opportunity to play."

Michael Carrick's Pre-Match Press Conference | Manchester United vs AFC Bournemouth, PL

Laurie Whitwell

Michael Carrick opened his press conference with a stirring monologue invoking resilience of #MUFC as a club, vowing he will come through this. Mentions Giggs, Rooney, Ferguson, Busby, Charlton. Hard work. "I won't let us lose that. It inspires me a lot to live up to that."

Michael Carrick says he is "100 per cent" sure he remains right man for United. "It hurts but that is pure motivation to work for more."

Adds: "I'll hold that umbrella for me to get wet + for everybody else to stay dry. It's a privileged position."

Carrick: "We need to show exactly what it means + respect what it takes to be here. I'm not entitled to be here. Entitlement cannot be at this football club. We've got an incredible history, but that doesn't mean that you're entitled to just win. It takes a lot of sacrifice."

Carrick on Fernandes: "The most important thing is the team, the dynamics in squad."

Consider taking captaincy off him? "I'll always, whatever the situation, do what's best for the football club. If I've spoken to him or haven't, I don't think this is time to go into detail."

Chris Wheeler

Carrick starting off his press conference with a statement. 'Pretty obv we haven't done well enough lately. Wed hurt a lot.'

'My job is to prepare a team the supporters can be proud of and we've gone away from that in recent games. We're doing something about that. We'll get back to (first 5 months). It comes down to being humble and hard-working.'

'Man Utd will always be bigger than any individuals, me or the players. Sir Alex Ferguson the greatest of all time for me, his priority was Man Utd. Sir Matt Busby and the resilience they showed was beyond belief. You can't lose that and I won't let us lose it.

'I'm not entitled to be here. I'm fully aware it takes hard work and sacrifice. We've lost our way a little bit but I'm totally confident we'll get it back.'

Now Q&A - 'It's pretty obvious how we're all feeling. I'll hold that umbrella and get wet so others can stay dry. 100% (I'm still the right man).'

It hurts an awful lot but it doesn't stop me from working more to get us in the right direction. It feels a long way away but it doesn't take much and we can get there.'

Carrick on Bruno: 'It (the robbery) is an awful thing. We're doing a lot to support Bruno and his family.'

'(Dressing-room) is not divided. We're doing what we can to get back to doing what we do best.'

'I don't fear it (cycle of change). Principles and values are so important to the football club and definitely to me. The spirit and togetherness needs to be there, and I'll make sure it's there.'

Carrick's opening statement in full

https://www.manutd.com/en/news/read-michael-carricks-opening-statement-press-conference

He said: "I'll start today, I just want to say a few things. I think, recently, we haven't had a good time, I think that's pretty obvious, so I totally accept that, what we're going through at the moment.

"We had five months of relative success in a spell where I was happy with things that I was seeing and what we we're doing as a team. We haven't done well enough lately, I think that's pretty obvious to say. We've had a spell we're really not happy with.

"Wednesday was a bad night, it was a bad night for a lot of reasons. It was a bad night and that hurt a lot. It obviously hurt me to see us play like that, to see how the game panned out. It was, as I said after the game, it was really unacceptable for us to play like that and to be like that. The supporters are a huge part of this football club for me, the supporters have to make the effort and spend the time and the money to come and support us on Wednesday. And to have the feeling that we all felt after the game was a tough moment. I think that's pretty obvious.

"My responsibility is to get a team on the football pitch that represents this football club, represents the supporters, and [one] they can be proud of with the identity we showed. We have gone away from that, just recently in certain games, which I'm totally, fully aware of and definitely doing something about. So I think it's important that we all recognise that, I certainly recognise it, and our supporters are [of] the utmost importance to me and the football club. And, for them to feel like they've felt for five months at the start of the year, to have that connection and vigour, intensity and enjoyment and passion, that we all felt through that period, was something we need to get back to and we will get back to it, and I fully believe that, and I think it's important that we recognise that we haven't been doing that.

"The foundation of this football club and the values of this football club have been etched for many years and I totally understand and get every one of them. And it comes down to humility, it comes down to being humble, it comes down to being hardworking, and being really proud to work hard and being proud to them values. There's a resilience about this football club that's been shown for a long, long time, whether that's bouncing back from adversity, whether that's comebacks, whether that's late goals, whether that's success, whether that's sustaining success. There's a resilience in this football club that runs very, very deep and I've seen it with my own eyes, I've felt it.

"I'm aware of some of the individuals and know them closely who have been part of that history," he added. "I said it after the game, Manchester United's always bigger, and always has been, always will be bigger than any single individual. Bigger than me, bigger than any of the players, and it always has been, you know? I'm fortunate enough to know some players and played with some myself, you know, Ryan Giggs, arguably one of the greatest to play for this football club. It was never about Ryan Giggs, it was about Manchester United. Wayne Rooney was top goalscorer of this football club, his biggest thing was playing for the team, sacrificing for the team and what was good for Manchester United.

"Sir Alex Ferguson, the best manager of all time, the greatest, for me, and working with him, and his main priority was Manchester United. And going back to Sir Matt [Busby], Sir Bobby [Charlton], the resilience was beyond belief for what they showed and the way they rebuilt this football club. Again, it was based on being humble, having humility, and hard work, and we can never lose that, and I won't let us lose that. We've had it for a spell. I feel very strongly about that. It inspires me a lot to live up to that, and keep driving to that with the players and the group, we showed [it] for a good period of time and that we're capable of it.

"At the moment, yes, we're in a moment where it's not gone well, so we need to show exactly what it means and, you know, respect this football club, respect what it takes to be here, respect what it takes to win, what you have to do to win. I'm not entitled to be here, entitlement cannot be at this football club. We've got an incredible past, an incredible history. That doesn't mean you're entitled to just win. I'm fully aware that it takes hard work, it takes a lot of sacrifice, you've got to invest yourself in the football club and you've got to do a lot of things that maybe aren't so nice, but you've got to do it for each other and you've got to win. I think it's important we live up to that and it's important to push those values and it's important for our supporters to feel that moving forward.

"We've had it, we've kind of lost our way a little bit, if I'm totally honest, and we'll get it back. I'm totally convinced we'll get it back. I respect this football club, I respect what it takes, because it's very, very important to me."

EVERY WORD FROM PRESS CONFERENCE - Q&A SECTION

https://www.manutd.com/en/news/carrick-i-understand-what-we-can-achieve

Hi Michael, that's hard now to follow that [opening statement] but obviously there's naturally been a lot of talk over the last 24 hours, 36 hours. Who have you been speaking to in the club hierarchy and how have you spoken to the players after the disappointment at Como?

“Yeah, we spoke, obviously, there's those conversations going on. I think it's pretty obvious how we're all feeling. It’s pretty obvious how we’re all feeling, the reaction from me. The responsibility for me to be in this position is to lead, you know. It is my responsibility for whatever goes on the pitch and what we are as a group and what we look like and what we feel like, if anything. I'll hold that umbrella for me to get wet and for everyone else to stay dry, you know? That's the position I'm in and it's a privileged position. Discussions going on, getting the players in a good frame of mind and well organised to put in a good performance on Sunday.”

You've spoken about the club being more than one person and the ability to fight back from adversity. Are you still confident that you can be the manager that does it?

“Yeah, 100 per cent, yeah.”

Michael, how much is this hurting you, the situation right now? The speech that you just gave there at the start of the press conference clearly came from the heart. You spoke very openly and very honestly about how you felt after the game the other night as well. You've been through a lot with this club, you’ve won a lot of things. How much is this hurting you, and how much pride have you got to sort this out, not just for yourself, but for everyone else as well and to move on from what is undoubtedly a very difficult moment?

“Yeah, it hurts an awful lot, but it doesn't stop me. There's a big difference. That hurt is used as pure motivation for an inspiration, if anything, to want more, to expect more, to work for more and to get us going in that different direction. It feels at times that it can be a long way away, but it doesn't take too much to flip the other way and we're more than capable of doing that, I totally believe that. And we will. We’ll win football matches, we've got a very tough one on Sunday, a very good team that we're playing against on Sunday and I'm not suggesting that, all of a sudden, that becomes an easy game because it doesn't. You've got to respect the game, you've got to respect what it takes to win.”

Do you get the sense that everyone feels the same way that you do? As deeply as you do?

“Yeah, I do. Yeah, 100 per cent do. And if you don't, this is not the place for you.”

Michael, you talk about getting the players in the right frame of mind. I just wanted to ask you a few questions about Bruno Fernandes. First of all, how is he and his family after the news about his home being burgled?

“Yeah, I mean, it's an awful thing to hear about and to go through. We're obviously doing a lot of work to support Bruno and his family. Thankfully, they weren't directly affected, even though it's an awful situation, so I'm not playing it down in any way, but we're doing everything to support them.”

Off the back of Lisandro [Martinez]'s comments, Bruno's comments after the game, have you had some honest conversations with him, the rest of the squad around tactics, the direction of the club? Because on the outside, it does feel like the change room is maybe divided, maybe that's not the right word, but all isn't well at the moment in that dressing room…

“It's not divided, no, it's not divided. We just need to get back to doing what we do best and we will.”

Michael, the club has continually changed manager since [Sir Alex] Ferguson went. There's been some short-term bounces, but the reality is the club has just ended up being mired in the same cycle. You're obviously clearly under pressure, but can you just talk about why you feel it is so important at this moment that the club break that cycle, they might have to go through some pain to move forward. Do you fear that if there's obviously more change, this cycle is just going to keep repeating itself?

“I certainly don't fear it, no. Not at all. I understand what we can achieve. I know what it needs to look like to get to the stage where you're winning enough football games to get through that spell as well. But principles, values are so important to the football club, definitely to me. We can win games, we can lose games, maybe, hopefully not, but at some point we're going to do it. It's how you do it, a little bit, and what it feels like is important. And that spirit, that unity, that togetherness needs to be there. And it is there and it will be there. I'll make sure it's there anyway. So, I'm just looking for the solutions to move us forward. That's plain and simple as that.”

Just on that togetherness and emotions and the values and stuff, Dan's mentioned it there, like Lisandro Martinez coming out last week. Bruno made some pretty pointed comments. Does that have to stop? Have you spoken to the players and said, look, ‘We're killing ourselves in public here. We've got to come together and stop this sort of behaviour.’

“We need to move forward in the right direction, for sure. We need to do things to enable us to do that, so it's pretty clear.”

Michael, in your speech just then, you used some words humble, humility, sacrifice, hard work. You spoke about great players of the past and what success has been built on. Obviously, talent is another thing. On Wednesday, you said that if you don't run forward and you don't run back, you won't win football matches. It seems a fairly basic thing to do. How do you persuade these players, these group of players who your job rests on ultimately, how do you persuade them that they need those four things that you spoke about, the humbleness and humility, as well as talent to achieve what you need?

“I think it's pretty clear as day. I'm not telling you anything new. I haven't definitely invented anything new. That's the make-up of any good football team. You have to earn the right to be better than your opponent. You have to do more than your opponent to win a game. That's as simple as that. It doesn't change. It never changes. That's what we need to do to win more games.”

Michael, you obviously love this club, you’re in it for the right reasons. I think we all assess you as a really good guy. Isn't this then what made Bruno Fernandes's questioning of your tactics, basically your authority, so invidious and then divisive and actually this is the man, the player you trusted as the captain, the leader who shows an example and he goes and does that. I mean, how do you solve that? Would you consider taking the captaincy off him, dropping him? The collective, as you just said, he there himself has basically gone against that, right?

“Yes, the most important thing for me is the team, first and foremost, is the squad, is the dynamics in the squad and again, it's about the football club. I always do what's best for the football club.”

So, would you consider taking the captaincy off him?

“I'm just saying, whatever the situation is, I'll always do what's best for the football club.”

Michael, just on Bruno again, have you spoken to him about what was said? Because obviously that caused a lot of noise that came after the difficult situation as it is, it poured a bit more fuel in the fire…

“Yeah, if I've spoken to him or haven't spoken to him, I don't think this is the time to go into too much detail.”

Just on a similar thing to what James [Ducker] was asking earlier, those values about self-sacrifice, humility. Do you think the players understand that? How important is it that they do understand that?

“That's vital that they do, yeah, they have to. That's what I'm saying. We have done it and we've shown a spell and it's there, you know, they've felt it as a group, and they know what it takes to win certain games. I know you can question things about last season and, the run, amount of games we played and all that. The fact of the matter is we went on a really good run, the best run in the league out of everybody at that point. So it's there. We've got to find it individually. We've got to find it as a team and I've got to find it for everyone.”

Starts at 14:50

Manchester United’s training ground looked serene on Thursday, though mostly because the players and staff had a day off after arriving back at 1am from Italy. There were no crisis summits, though. Executives were elsewhere, too, although the urgency of the situation is clear and they were fielding calls.

The Athletic has spoken to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation in compiling this article. They all spoke under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships.

The call United have made in the immediate term is that Carrick will continue as head coach. He will face the media again on Friday at 1.30pm local time, before taking charge of the club’s Premier League game against Bournemouth on Sunday. But nobody is making any predictions beyond that point.

The parasitic Glazer ownership has bled and broken the club, putting a financial noose around it.

In 2024, Sir Jim Ratcliffe talked a big game about a “three-year plan” to rival and outdo Manchester City and Liverpool. But the decision-making under INEOS’ charge of football operations has not just been woeful, but costly too. There is zero accountability for expensive mistake after expensive mistake.

There is still no clear direction on club identity, including style of play, which leads to profiling the right signings and manager. That was a major promise made by Ratcliffe, which hasn’t been kept.

To borrow his own words: “There have been a whole series of coaches, some of which were very good. And none of them were ­successful, or survived for very long.
The only conclusion you can draw is that the ­environment in which they were ­working didn’t work.”

It still doesn’t. It never will as long as the people who own and run the club betray Manchester United and what is required to be successful in the modern era.

You can harp on about structure, vision, and sell fanciful projects, but you will never have the right operation with the wrong people.

Our understanding while there is some disappointment in the club re: his comments after the game - wider feeling is that he was voicing an understandable frustration and anger at the manner of the defeat.

No doubt Carrick to be asked about it again tomorrow ahead of Bournemouth

[Nathan Salt] Bruno Fernandes to Sky Italia:

“At this club, there’s too much focus on what’s been done in the past, but we’re not those people anymore.

“The club and the players need to understand that.

“Unfortunately for us - especially when it comes to the players - those who join expect to win trophies, win games, and reach the highest level, but unfortunately, that's been very difficult at this club in recent years. That's the situation.”

"No, I mean it's all about occupying the right spaces at the right time with the right rotations and having an objective. I don't like passing the ball just to pass the ball. I need to pass the ball at the right time.

If they press in a certain way, we know where the two-on-one is. If they play man-to-man, we know that this is where the space is. And we try to work on this, and we try to attract players in a certain way to get them out of position to then try to hurt them. This is the football that we believe in.

Today we had a lot of possession, especially in the first half, but it was because they were not coming man-to-man; they were always leaving a plus one at the back. So we felt more comfortable trying to do the overloads, either with the two center-backs against their striker, or when one was trying to jump as a center-back, then our fullback was a little bit more free.

So we try to always plan the game depending on what we study from the opposition and where we think we can hurt them. But this, everyone does it today. It worked very well, and as I said to you, the most important is to have an objective of how to try to play forward and how to hurt the other team."

Fàbregas concludes by emphasizing that the "future of football is "relationships" between players, noting that maintaining shorter distances (7-10 meters) allows for a more effective, fluid positional game.

Hurzeler, Nagelsmann, Conte, Howe, McKenna.

There are some intriguing possibilities. Brighton's Fabian Hurzeler is known to have admirers at Old Trafford, but it will not be cheap to extract the German from the Amex Stadium after he signed a new contract in June.

It cost Chelsea £20m in compensation for Graham Potter and his coaching staff in 2022. United are £1billion in debt and cannot keep paying out compensation to change managers.

Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte are both available, as well as two young British options in Eddie Howe and Kieran McKenna.