The club stood by Carrick after a 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth on 25 October. Club sources were adamant they wanted to give him and his players a chance to turn the situation around. It was also felt that a two-week international break in November offered a better chance to assess the start of the campaign.
Manchester United's power brokers meet in Monaco on Wednesday to decide whether Michael Carrick will remain as head coach.
On this occasion, the main issue is Carrick's future and what should happen next. Sources have stressed that the choice of location was not shaped by the debate over his position. It has simply become the most important item for discussion.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's home is in Monaco, and his company Ineos has offices in the principality. Sources say the meetings used to be held every six weeks, although in more recent times they have been less frequent.
There is daily contact between senior executives. If the gathering were purely to decide Carrick's fate, it could be done by video conference. The need to travel to Monaco is not the reason a decision has yet to be taken.
It is not a situation Ratcliffe can have expected to find himself in again, less than three years after purchasing a minority stake. He bought 28.94% of the club for just over £1bn and has been criticised for many decisions since.
United are heading towards sacking a manager in mid-season for the third successive year, having backed the previous regime in the summer and spent millions on new players. Sources are adamant that Ratcliffe still retains faith in Berrada and Wilcox. If he were to decide otherwise, it would raise serious questions over their future.
As with any employee, Carrick will continue to do his job until told otherwise. So far, there has been no conversation to that effect. He gave his players a day off on Monday and scheduled training for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
If the discussions go as anticipated, replacing Carrick will be a key element. Instead of a change of head coach, another option under consideration is additional coaching support to assist the current team.
The decision to sack United's previous two managers was not made in a meeting in Monaco. Amorim was summoned to the principality after the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham in 2025.
Ratcliffe has form for a drawn-out process. In 2024 the club spent £5m hiring Dan Ashworth as sporting director from Newcastle, then waited for the 55-year-old to spend five months on gardening leave before he could start work.