CHEI..........Man Utd sack Mourinho after poor start to the season

Manchester United have confirmed the departure of manager Jose Mourinho after the club's stuttering run of form led to their worst-ever start to a Premier League season.

A statement from the club said: "Manchester United announces that manager Jose Mourinho has left the club with immediate effect. The club would like to thank Jose for his work during his time at Manchester United and to wish him success in the future.
"A new caretaker manager will be appointed until the end of the current season, while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager.
Mourinho's relationship with key members of his playing squad appeared to have disintegrated this season, with a public training-ground face-off with Paul Pogba and club captain Antonio Valencia being forced to apologise for 'liking' an Instagram post calling for Mourinho to be sacked.
The former Porto, Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid manager had hoped to stay at United for 15 years, but he has lasted little more than two.
Mourinho leaves United in sixth place in the table and 19 points adrift of league leaders Liverpool.
The Portuguese's final match in charge was a 3-1 loss against United's arch rivals at Anfield on Sunday.
United's next league fixture is away to Cardiff on Saturday evening.

Man Utd have been crawling along on their hands and knees for the last few months. You could see on the pitch how (Jose's) been impacting players, the sacking of Jose is a result of what happened in the summer and the manager not getting his transfer targets. There have been seven years of poor recruitment and poor decisions. The recruitment has been erratic. They've had three failed managerial appointments. They need a reset, in terms of recruitment and in terms of the football club and in terms of what they do next is the right move. That's about making sure the next manager is the right manager. They have to make sure they put the right footballing structure in place.

Will Carrick take charge for rest of season?

With Jose Mourinho departing and United revealing that a caretaker will be installed until the end of the season, the front-runner to take over the reins is Michael Carrick.
Carrick was in attendance last night as United's youth side defeated FA Youth Cup champions Chelsea in the third round. 
Carrick was appointed as Mourinho's right-hand man this season after hanging up his boots at the end of the last campaign.
The 37 is a popular figure at United and enjoys a strong rapport with his former team-mates.