It took a while to take him out of the microwave but Ruben Amorim was cooked as soon as Manchester United were knocked out of the Carabao Cup at the first opportunity last season.
Man United were beaten by Grimsby Town on that occasion. Their third round exit from the same competition on Wednesday night was a major blow to Michael Carrick as he seeks to give lie to the idea that a football club should never appoint a caretaker manager on a permanent basis.
Losing to Premier League opposition in a cup game is just a hazard of the job, but throwing away a two-goal lead at home against Brighton & Hove Albion and not even getting to penalties was a bitter pill to swallow after a less-than-stellar start to the league campaign.
Next permanent Manchester United manager odds
United won just one of their first four league fixtures, the kind of drop in run-rate from the second half of last season that’s bound to attract scrutiny after the Red Devils invested heavily to reinforce the midfield.
Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans both started the Carabao Cup game at Old Trafford but were powerless to halt United’s collapse from 2-0 up to 3-2 down. Consequently, Carrick is having one of those days where it’s best to avoid the internet.
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As the bookmakers slash the odds on Carrick becoming the first Premier League manager to face the sack this season, related markets on who would replace him as United’s next permanent manager have gone into overdrive.
Based on an average of the various markets already available, the favourite is former Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe at 6/4 – an English boss with lots of Premier League experience but likely to be a divisive choice among United fans.
England manager Thomas Tuchel is available around 7/2 in the betting but not, the FA would say, available to move back into the club game after previous spells that included Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.
Somewhere around 4/1, you’ll find another manager whose most recent job was in international football. Julian Nagelsmann left the Germany job after the World Cup this summer and remains out of work, but is a less attractive offer following his performance over the summer.
Antonio Conte is listed around 9/1, while Gareth Southgate and Kieran McKenna – both available – are at odds of 15/1 on average.
Darren Fletcher leads the inevitable group of former Red Devils players, with 20/1 on offer if you think he’ll get a chance to reprise his caretaker role on a permanent basis.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney are also on the list along with former United managers Ralf Rangnick, David Moyes and Erik ten Hag. Their odds are appropriately long.
Other potential candidates with marginally more convincing odds include Carlo Ancelotti (20/1), Fabian Hurzeler (25/1), Mauricio Pochettino (25/1) and Diego Simeone (50/1).
