International breaks are a sacking window in English football. The fortnight without league matches lets a board replace its manager without immediately exposing an assistant to a weekend fixture, and this November’s pause arrives with four Premier League jobs under live scrutiny. talkSPORT named the quartet ahead of the final matchday before the break.
Carrick’s United review is set for the break
Manchester United plan to keep Michael Carrick in post through this weekend’s game against Aston Villa and then conduct a formal review of his position at the start of the international break, according to Football 365’s summary of Laurie Whitwell’s reporting.
United have gone nine matches without a win across all competitions, including a 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth and a 2-0 defeat at Chelsea. They are 17th in the Premier League on 1.38 points per game. INEOS have already sacked Erik ten Hag and Rúben Amorim this cycle, and the current internal line is that the squad, not the manager, is the main problem.
Potential replacements being linked include Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte.
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Sage says he will never give up at Palace
Pierre Sage, appointed in the summer to replace Oliver Glasner, is a very different story. The Frenchman addressed Crystal Palace supporters directly after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Tottenham.
“They can trust in me. I will never give up,” he told reporters after the match.
Palace are in the relegation zone with two wins from seven league fixtures, and Sean Dyche is reportedly the odds-on favourite with bookmakers to take over at Selhurst Park. Sage has been given this weekend’s home game against Liverpool, the last match before the pause, to produce something.
Sunderland publicly back Le Bris
Sunderland have taken the opposite line. The club have publicly backed Régis Le Bris, with the board continuing to back the Frenchman despite the Black Cats dropping to 20th after one win in nine Premier League games.
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Part of the argument is history. Le Bris delivered promotion through the Championship play-offs in 2025 and finished seventh with European qualification last season. Part of it is statistical: Opta’s expected-points model has Sunderland 11th rather than 20th. If the actual results do not catch up to the model, the hierarchy’s hand could still be forced over the break.
Marinakis is running out of patience at Forest
Oliver Glasner left Palace in the summer and finds himself under the kind of owner who does not wait long. Nottingham Forest have won one of their opening six Premier League matches, and a 3-1 defeat away at Palace reportedly left Evangelos Marinakis “personally embarrassed”. The former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness told Football Insider that Marinakis “probably stormed out of that boardroom” after the result.
Glasner has publicly criticised Forest’s recruitment and overall structure, which has not helped. A City Ground redevelopment is in play, and Marinakis is said to want on-pitch improvement before signing off further investment.
Carrick’s United host Aston Villa this weekend; Palace welcome Liverpool.
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