United's back four for the first home game of the season was the same as for the first home game under Erik ten Hag in 2022.
The tally has come in a season in which leads have slipped, points have been dropped late and long-standing problems in the squad have gone unaddressed.
Rotation at left-back eventually led Carrick to start five different players in that role. His coaching staff, lauded months earlier, could not find an answer.
Immediately after the international break, United were held to another draw, conceding in injury time to an out-of-form Tottenham side that had been reduced to 10 men.
A player who had started only five games is now out for an extended period with a hamstring problem. Carrick subsequently admitted he would be out for a"long time", a spell thought to last at least until January.
After the Bournemouth debacle, it seemed there was no way Carrick could survive.
United took 44 hours to tell the wider world they were sticking with him then, though it is understood Carrick was told the day before.
Fernandes, who had just been crowned PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26, went on to complete a hat-trick in a 5-2 win.
Fernandes later came out and criticised Carrick's tactics.
Carrick's desire to do his best for the club and his players, and his storied past at United, explain why his song has continued to be bellowed from the stands while just about everyone else involved at the club has drawn fury and derision.