Seven games, seven points: Man United are sleepwalking to another lost season

Manchester United are slipping toward another season of irrelevance, and it seems only a matter of time before the Old Trafford malaise costs manager Michael Carrick his job. Ruben Amorim was fired within 24 hours of a 1-1 draw at Leeds United last season -- a dismissal accelerated by an explosive postmatch news conference in which he criticized director of football Jason Wilcox. Carrick is unlikely to suffer the same fate this week after his squad settled for another 1-1 draw against Leeds on Sunday, but after just one Premier League win all season, and no victories in any competition since beating FK Sabah 4-0 in the Champions League on Sept. 10, the 45-year-old is now entering the danger zone. We know this because the United death spiral has been played out several times before, and Carrick is beginning to head the same way as his immediate predecessors, Amorim and Erik ten Hag. A slow start to a season with no sign of improvement followed by a period of drift in the doldrums of midtable, during which the United hierarchy profess their backing for the manager at the same time as hoping that the problem goes away with positive results. But it never happens. Weeks and months are wasted, the players maintain their five-out-of-10 performances, results flatline and eventually, the manager is dismissed and the whole United psychodrama starts again. Carrick still has support within the United boardroom, but it won't last long if results continue to be as underwhelming as they have been this season. It is now mid-October, the season is two months old, and United have won just twice -- against promoted Ipswich and the champions of Azerbaijan. They are also out of the Carabao Cup, falling at the first hurdle for a second successive season. After seven games, United have seven points and are already 14 points behind the leaders, Manchester City. This is United's worst start to a season since 1986, so there are literally no positives for Carrick to cling to. With proven Premier League managers including Eddie Howe, Antonio Conte and Kieran McKenna all out of work and available for hire, United have options should they press the eject button on Carrick, who was given a two-year contract in May as a reward for guiding the team back into the Champions League after replacing Amorim on a short-term basis in January. So how long will the club wait? History shows that United never rush into a managerial change, but this season is already slipping away and it will disappear down the sinkhole unless something changes very quickly. Carrick at least tried to spark a change of fortune by adopting a three-man defense at Elland Road and a more solid midfield with Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba playing behind Bruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans. But while the change made United more compact, it further blunted their already toothless attacking threat. It looked like a damage-limitation tactic, and even after United went ahead through Bryan Mbeumo on 35 minutes, they never looked capable of cutting loose and adding to their lead. The next goal came from the home side six minutes into the second half, when Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored from close range after United failed to clear a corner; the equalizer took the sting out of a game that was already lacking attacking quality. And as the game drifted toward a 1-1 draw that suited neither side, Carrick stood on the touchline like a mannequin, displaying no emotion, passion or tactical instruction, even though his players needed some kind of leadership and motivation from the manager. Considering United's situation, Carrick is too calm, both in the technical area and when speaking to the media. He epitomizes the club's sleepwalking. "We are not accepting that everything's great, but sometimes [when] you do struggle you have to find a way through it," Carrick told reporters. "We have to find a way through it. I understand the situation doesn't look great, but I have no doubts we can go on a good run. "I am encouraged by a lot of things. I think we can still have a really good season." So while the alarm bells are beginning to ring in the background, the mantra from Carrick is "Keep calm and carry on," but something needs to change. United travel to Como in the Champions League on Wednesday and then face Bournemouth at Old Trafford next Sunday, so the games don't get any easier. But they need to start winning. The last time United started a season so badly, they fired the manager at the beginning of November with the team hovering above the relegation zone having banked 13 points from 13 games. In came a manager named Alex Ferguson, and the rest is history. Forty years on, it feels like United are waiting for another savior to rescue them.