Man United key voices 'questioning' Michael Carrick - 'I'm not sure he's the right manager'

Michael Carrick is facing plenty of questions over his ability to lead Manchester United forward.

That is according to experienced former Aston Villa, Tottenham and Everton scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.

Pressure on the 45-year-old is increasing significantly amid a hugely disappointing start to the season that has seen the Red Devils win just one from five in the Premier League and be knocked out of the Carabao Cup.

Carrick was appointed in the summer after guiding Man United to the Champions League as an interim manager, winning 11 of 16 games in charge last season.

Yet it has become clear that transfer chiefs have left the former midfielder short in certain areas of his squad, while Bruno Fernandes has been unable to recreate his exceptional form so far.

Managers have come and gone at pace for Man United in recent years, and decision-makers will be keen to give Carrick every chance to steer the ship towards safer waters.

'Gary Neville and Roy Keane have been very critical'

The situation does not get much more positive for Carrick and Man United after the international break.

A key clash against Tottenham will be followed by trips to Atletico Madrid, Leeds United and Como, with Bournemouth and Chelsea after that.

"We've got that situation where last year, Michael Carrick came in and did a fantastic job for 16 games, which warranted him being given a contract for a couple of years," King told Football Insider.

"I'm not too sure he's the right fella to lead the football club. He was a very good player. Whether this job is a job too far for him, I'm not sure, but I know a lot of people in England have questioned it.

"Gary Neville and Roy Keane have been very critical about the way Manchester United have started this season. I believe Keane went on record as saying that 'physically and mentally' they're weak.

"The signings they made in the summer were average. I don't personally think that they've got enough real quality in the football team. They've got a couple of very good players in the football team. You don't win matches with two very good players.

"Manchester United were always a team of quality. That's why they won the championship so many times, and the European Cup and the FA Cup and every other cup, because they had a very strong manager. 

"I'm not sure Michael Carrick has got the same strength as what's needed at Manchester United at this moment in time."

What have Keane and Neville said?

Keane's comments blasting Man United as "physically and mentally weak" came last year, but they continue to ring true.

The ex-midfielder has continued to be critical of his former team this season, and the same can be said of Neville.

"I've watched Manchester United since the age of five and that's the worst 15 minutes I have ever seen them play," he said after Sunday's 1-1 draw with Fulham, which saw Carrick's team go behind through a bizarre Lisandro Martinez own-goal.

"Absolutely pathetic. They have walked for 15 minutes and you get what you deserve in a football match." He added: "Maybe there will be a reaction but I've never seen a lack of effort for 15 to 20 minutes like I have just seen there.

"What must he [Carrick] be thinking? He probably cannot believe what he has watched in that last 15 or 20 minutes. He's got to act now."