Who's to blame for Man United mess: Carrick, the players ... Ratcliffe?

Manchester United are in crisis — again. One of world football's biggest clubs is enduring its worst start to a season in 40 years, capped by a chastening Champions League defeat in Italy this week. So where does the blame lie? ESPN's Mark Ogden spreads it across the whole club — with head coach Michael Carrick carrying the smallest share.

The Glazers come first, with 50%. The American family has owned United since a controversial leveraged buyout in 2005, and more than £1 billion has since left the club in debt repayments, interest and dividends. Old Trafford, meanwhile, has become a decaying stadium no longer fit for purpose. Everything going wrong at United, Ogden argues, traces back to the owners.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe takes 20%. The lifelong supporter promised to modernize the club but has stumbled through one self-inflicted crisis after another: dispensing with sporting director Dan Ashworth within six months, overseeing more than 500 job cuts, and angering fans with ticket price rises.

The players get 15% — a patchwork squad assembled by six managers over 12 years, with United's running stats among the Premier League's worst. Senior executives Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox, recruited from Manchester City, take 10% after the disastrous Ruben Amorim appointment and a recruitment strategy publicly questioned by defender Lisandro Martinez.

Carrick, the former midfielder, gets just 5%. His early promise has faded, and pointed remarks from captain Bruno Fernandes about the tactics used in the Italy defeat suggest he is losing his grip on the dressing room — even if United's problems run far deeper than one man.