Update, 13 November: Manchester United confirmed on Friday that Mauricio Pochettino will become head coach from 18 November. Read the fan reaction.
Manchester United have sacked Michael Carrick. The club confirmed on Thursday morning that he "has departed his role as men's first-team head coach", ten months after he walked back in and six months after he was handed the job full-time. Manchester United fan YouTubers went live within minutes, and almost nobody was surprised. Most were angry about how it was done, and at who is still in the building.
Manchester United's statement: the legend line and the missing names
The statement credits Carrick with third place last season, 12 wins from the remaining 17 games, and calls him "a Manchester United legend". It also says a change was "necessary in order to achieve our ambitions". United are 18th with one league win in 10 after Sunday's 4-4 with Aston Villa.
UnitedStand read it out and shrugged. "We all knew this had already happened." The anger was about the week before it. Carrick took training every day after the decision had leaked: "Imagine going into work every single day and everybody knows you've been sacked."
UnitedViewTV spotted what wasn't in the statement: no quote from Omar Berrada or Jason Wilcox. The verdict on Carrick himself was blunt: "This is the right call." A great player, but not "good enough to be the Manchester United manager". The hierarchy got it too: "when you lay down with dogs... you can't be surprised when you get fleas."
Stretford Paddock and the toy that stopped working
Stretford Paddock took the analogy route. The sacking was "like having a C-section": you know it's coming, but it's still a surprise when it arrives. The interim spell was the toy you loved at a mate's house. Bring it home and the batteries die. The real target was the people who made him permanent: "Either back him because you like him or don't sign him permanently in the first place."
Webby & O'Neill: three days of madness, one poll
Webby & O'Neill opened with relief. "3 days of madness is over. Carrick has finally left the building." The room called the process "a total farce" but backed the decision. So did the chat, by 66% to 34% in their live poll. On Mauricio Pochettino, they were careful: "it's not all signed, sealed and delivered."
They are right to be careful. The Press Association says a framework is in place for Pochettino, who is still the USA head coach, and AP says United are finalising a deal. Nothing has been announced.
SaeedTV: "What ambitions?"
SaeedTV read the statement line by line and stopped at "our ambitions". "What ambitions? Tell us." Carrick got sympathy, "He's still a club legend", and Berrada and Wilcox got the rest. He thinks the next manager will be sold the same story and sacked the same way. "Rinse and repeat."
TheRedmenTV: Liverpool lose their easy afternoon
Liverpool, United's next opponents after the international break, took it personally. TheRedmenTV admitted he was "a little bit disappointed". He had been looking forward to playing a United side in terrible form, and now Liverpool face a new manager bounce instead. He still hopes they "just dog walk Man United".
Spill The Tea Lou: the one person who saw it coming
Spill The Tea Lou gets the last word, because she called it weeks ago. Her clip is a montage of herself telling the chat, stream after stream, that Carrick would survive until an international break and not much longer. He was sacked during one.
The rooms don't agree on Carrick, but they agree on this: firing him was the easy part. The people who hired him are picking the next one.