It's time to end this away-day nightmare
Players and staff clap the fans before Newcastle's game against Marseille
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West Ham away was must win. We didn't. Brentford away was must win. We didn't. Everton away is must win. So what now?
They say football can be habit forming. Well in that case Newcastle are the walking dead. We were ahead against the Hammers and lost. Ahead away to the Busy Bees and lost. Ahead in Marseille on Champions League duty midweek and lost. That isn't the sort of consistency Eddie Howe was craving.
United have got to get real before it is too late. Manchester City was sensational but only remains so if it is not devalued in the next league outing. One-offs are not good enough. The Mags must forget about the Champions League and Carabao Cup - temporarily - and start picking up a full quota of Premier League away points before it is too late and history repeats itself.
The last time we played in Europe's top competition - and basked in thumping Paris Saint Germain 4-1 - United didn't qualify for continental football in any shape or form. It'll be the same again the way things are going. That isn't a step forward, it's a step back.
So here we are again. We play more catch up than a cow's tail only we never do catch up.
Even the away Premier League results - no wins in six - have been a stark contrast. In the first three United's didn't even concede a goal with a trio of 0-0 draws but then over the next three inexplicably allowed the floodgates to open. Three defeats 1-2, 1-3, and 1-3 meant leaking an incredible eight goals. Dare we sense a pattern here that might actually produce a ray of hope? Can three draws and three losses be followed by three wins?
I know, I know. On all the evidence available that's Fantasy Island stuff. Yet it can be done. Has been done . . . by us! United won SIX away games on the bounce in all competitions as recently as last season including four successive PL victories. That with a lot of the same players we have now. Three of those wins were back to back at Manchester United, Spurs and Arsenal (in the Carabao Cup) over just eight days. Surely the next run of league games at Everton, Sunderland and Man U are not as tough as that trio. They are of course if you play with all the resilience of a chocolate fireguard.
The Toffees are more defiant than they once were, a combination of David Moyes' stubborn grit and the lift of a spanking new stadium. Only one home defeat has come along in six matches. That overall organisation was highlighted at Man U earlier this week when they won playing with 10 men for the vast majority of the game.
Everton's talismen are Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye backed up by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Their top pair create chances right enough but without a natural finisher at No 9 the team can struggle. Neither Thierno Barry nor Beto are PL class. Barry is raw and is trying to settle into a new country while Beto works hard but is far from lethal. Any goals output will be a trickle not a steady stream.
United have had their own centre-forward problems this season of course with Alexander Isak going on strike, Anthony Gordon used as a false nine, Yoane Wissa not kicking a ball, Will Osula likewise injured, and Nick Woltemade having more often than not to carry the burden alone.
His job is to get back on the scoresheet after a barren spell and that means beating a keeper, Jordan Pickford, who kept a clean sheet throughout England's World Cup qualifiers which is quite a record. As for our keeper I've already had my say.
He shouldn't start (but probably will) and neither should Gordon who seems forever twitchy on his return to where he is no longer liked and who is strangely listless anyway. Loyalty can be an endearing trait but at what price? Loyalty ought to be earned.
This match is all about us not them. It's about which United turns up. About squandering leads, shoddy defending, missed chances, and brittle confidence. About poor decision making and little resistance when the cosh drops.
Really it has to stop. Reputations depend on it. From Eddie Howe downwards. Each and every one of them. If players and staff basked in deserved plaudits when a trophy was won then equally they must square up when they repeatedly fail to produce, especially when one of the ingredients that is missing is bravery.
Everton are the Toffees but we're the ones in the claggy right now. Apologies are cheap, empty words easily spoken in excuse. Only actions count. For goodness sake end this nightmare!