"I expect more from our technical director." Lisandro Martínez said the quiet part out loud after Manchester United's 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atlético Madrid on Tuesday, and the name he put on record was Jason Wilcox.
This wasn't the usual post-match diplomatic fog. The Argentine centre-back was visibly furious, told Amazon Prime Sport that United's summer recruitment was "really poor," and when asked whether he wanted fingers pointed at manager Michael Carrick, he made his position plain: "You can't keep changing, changing, changing the manager. What about other areas? I can't say more." Then he said more. "Tonight it is easy to say the coach, easy to say the players but also we have to see other areas" — with a pointed gesture upward.
Hard to misread the direction he was pointing.
Is he right about the transfer window?
United spent $207.2 million (£155 million) this summer. That sounds significant until you look at where it all went: midfielders Andrey Santos, Carlos Baleba, and Youri Tielemans, plus backup goalkeeper Karl Darlow and the return of Marcus Rashford from an 18-month loan. The three new midfielders started together for the first time against Atlético — and while they weren't catastrophic, it was hardly a statement performance.
Meanwhile, the problems that were obvious going into the window remain untouched. United chased Lewis Hall at left back all summer and ended up with nothing, forcing 20-year-old Ayden Heaven to cover the position against one of Europe's better-organized sides. Up front, Benjamin Šeško is injured, Joshua Zirkzee hasn't started a single game this season, and Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha are both better suited operating in behind a striker than leading the line themselves. United don't have a reliable second striker. They barely have a first one right now.
CEO Omar Berrada said during the window: "We have a plan, we know what we can invest, and we have to stick to that." Nine games into the season — two wins — that plan is looking threadbare.
Carrick's job is in real danger
Last season, United's depth issues were hidden in plain sight. Carrick inherited the club in January and they played only Premier League football. No European nights, no domestic cups stacking up on the calendar. The squad looked functional because it was never fully tested.
Champions League football exposes everything. Rotation becomes essential, and United simply don't have the players to rotate into. The drop-off from their first XI to their second is sharp enough to cost them matches — and it already is.
Carrick said he hadn't seen Martínez's comments before speaking to the press and wasn't going to respond in the moment. Fair enough. But he also said: "Now is certainly the time to be together and work through it. We got a big game Sunday and we've got to prepare for that properly." A manager fighting for his job after two months in the permanent role isn't exactly the stability United thought they were buying when they handed Carrick the full-time position.
Martínez wants the board held accountable. Carrick's odds of surviving the season are shortening with every result like this one. And whoever United's next manager turns out to be, they'll inherit the same thin squad — because the transfer window is shut.
