Jose Mourinho to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Man Utd have already ‘tried everything’ as Michael Owen questions why ‘weak’ board would want to sack Michael Carrick

Filling the shoes of Sir Alex Ferguson was always going to be an almost impossible task for United, with the legendary Scot heading into retirement during the summer of 2013 on the back of a 13th Premier League title triumph.

He had spent 27 years at the so-called ‘Theatre of Dreams’, with a dynasty being built that saw domestic dominance established alongside a couple of Champions League successes - with a historic Treble win famously being enjoyed in 1999.

David Moyes lasted just eight months as Ferguson’s immediate successor, andnobody has made it to three years in the most demanding of hot seats since then. Solskjaer came closest to hitting that mark when taking in 168 games at the helm.

Carrick, who was initially appointed on an interim basis, has made it through 17 fixtures. He was handed a two-year contract after delivering a top-three finish and return to elite European competition. A matter of weeks later and his head is said to be on the chopping block.

United have experimented with big names (Mourinho and Louis van Gaal), former players (Solskjaer and Carrick) and supposedly up and coming talents (Ruben Amorim), so where do they go next?

The issues at Old Trafford are clearly not managerial, as they have explored various options on the experience and club affinity front, and removing Carrick from his position may end up doing more harm than good - with mid-season resets never guaranteed to deliver a reversal in fortune.

Owen admits as much, with the Premier League title-winning former United striker - who was speaking as ambassador of Casino.org, where UK players can find reliable online casino information - telling GOAL: “I've said that. Exactly those points before. They've tried absolutely everything.

“And the one time that it's actually worked, him [Carrick] last season, got more points than any other manager, average points, etc. The one time when it actually has worked, why would you change things?

“Because they've tried absolutely everything else. I said exactly that, and that was my reasoning for giving him the job. Now, we've only had a handful of games this season, and obviously it's not gone perfectly well, but it is a small handful of games. And if you look back at what he did last season, I think it's hard to justify looking for a new manager. Who's out there anyway?

“Every manager leaves at the end of the day. Every manager gets sacked. So you'll always say, ‘well, see, I told you so’. You might be saying that in two years or 10 years or two months. But just to keep chopping and changing, it's not a good look. It's not good for the club. It doesn't bring results. We've seen that for many, many years now.

“So personally, I think you should let him grow. He's still quite a young manager, but he's already proven that he can go and pick up big, big results, and consistently. I would hate to see Manchester United being weak at board level and parting company. I think there's still plenty of time to go before you start questioning that.”

Carrick is still clinging to the reins at Old Trafford, on the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw with 10-man Tottenham last time out, but is heading into a potentially make-or-break run of away matches.

A Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday will be followed by a visit to Leeds on Sunday and a European clash with Cesc Fabregas’ Como. The Red Devils will also go to Stamford Bridge for a meeting with Chelsea on October 31, with the fate of their current boss seemingly set to be determined on the road.