Quintin Jardine's blog

As a Man U fan, I was appalled by what I saw last night. Change is needed at the top and I don’t mean Michael Carrick. He can only work with what he has, and he doesn’t buy the players. That is down to the CEO, Berrada, a mercenary pure and simple, and the ‘Director of Football’, Jason Wilcox, who only assumed that role after Jim Ratcliffe sacked his original choice, Dan Ashwotth, a man he had been so keen to recruit that he waited for him to finish his gardening leave from Newcastle.

Wilcox builds the squad, he oversees the summer signings. Of this year’s crop, one arrived injured. Two played last night; one was off form and the other, a youngster was out of his depth even in a second string game. The defence? There wasn’t one. Our only left back is injured, his replacement took a knock early but couldn’t be replaced. The centre backs were two relative novices, good individually but not together.

Yes, Carrick could have played McGuire and Martinez in central defence, started with Mainoo in midfield, and won the game hands down, but with Premier League and Champions League commitments, the Caribou Cup (that’s as near as I can get) has Mickey Mouse status. He should have a second string that is capable of delivering at that level, but he hasn’t. The man responsible should be fired, not him.