Merson Puts Man Utd's Transfer Policy Under the Microscope, Not Carrick

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has placed the blame for Manchester United's poor start to the season on the club's transfer strategy rather than on head coach Michael Carrick. In Merson's view, the problems begin with how the squad was assembled, not with the training ground or the touchline.

It is a pointed argument, and it runs against the usual instinct to judge the manager first. When a team struggles, the head coach is the quickest target, particularly at a club as closely watched as United. Merson's position is that a coach can only work with the players he is given. If the squad has gaps in the wrong places or lacks balance, the manager inherits the consequences of decisions made by others.

That raises the question of who really owns the rebuild. Recruitment is set by the club's football leadership, shaped by budgets, targets and the timing of deals. If signings have been reactive, or have left the squad unbalanced, then whoever is in charge on the pitch has to solve problems that were built into the team before he arrived.

The criticism also leaves United with a difficult choice. Replacing the coach would make the easiest headline, but it would not address the structure Merson believes is at fault. The real test will be whether the club looks at its recruitment process as closely as it looks at the dugout. For Carrick, the argument does not settle his future either way. It does shift the spotlight toward the people responsible for bringing players to Old Trafford.