United sit 13th in the league and have had a shocking start to the season which has left many questioning the club including the squad and the manager but Carragher says it is something else holding the club back.
Writing in his column for The Telegraph the former Liverpool man opened up about the crisis occurring at his former rivals.
"Forget Erik ten Hag. Forget the Glazers. Forget the expensive signings. And forget the previous years of underperformance.
"If Manchester United fail to massively improve this season, the ultimate responsibility lies with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos. The latest mess is on their watch, with United already struggling to convince they are equipped to qualify for next year’s Champions League.
"There is no point sugar-coating it. The new United hierarchy have made a deeply unimpressive start to their Old Trafford reign with one of their worst decisions being the most important any board can make. Above all, you must ensure you have the right manager. Retaining Ten Hag is proving the catalyst for another wasted campaign and possibly another £200million down the drain."
The club handed Ten Hag a new contract at the end of the last season after his FA Cup win over Manchester City which Carragher says shows a lack of authority and ambition.
"I know whenever I talk or write about United, the immediate reaction is: 'this is just an ex-Liverpool player putting the boot in and taking pleasure from our problems'.
"Let me assure you, my view on United is based solely on an understanding of how the football industry works. If Ineos was so certain it had the right man in charge, there would have been no approach to anyone else.
"It is obvious there were serious doubts about Ten Hag’s ability to lead the rebuild. Those concerns were justified so whenever a board starts looking elsewhere, it is the beginning of the end of their relationship. It is not even that the trust has gone – it was never really there to begin with."