Man Utd are out of the FA Cup after they lost to Brighton at Old Trafford in what could be Darren Fletcher's final game in charge.
Manchester United are enduring another disastrous - and wasted - season(Image: )
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At some point this week, a Manchester United great will ride back into Carrington and look to rescue a season that has hit rock bottom. Surely it can't get any worse than this. Fans of nostalgia will remember Mick McCarthy's iconic response to a press conference question along similar lines. "It can," came the droll response. They are certainly fans of nostalgia around these parts and it's Manchester City and Arsenal up next.
United's cup endeavours are over for another season, embarrassed by a team from the east coast and humbled by one from the south coast. This is a team all at sea. Darren Fletcher's chances of being the white knight are almost certainly over after his team were beaten by a smarter, slicker and more streetwise Brighton. Defeat in the FA Cup third round means United will play just 40 games this season and they have lost at the first hurdle in both cup competitions.
This season is turning into an annus horribilis, but then so do most of them at Old Trafford these days. A trawl through the record books is difficult in the search for easy comparisons, but 1981/82 was the last time they went out of both cups at the first hurdle. At least they were still in a title race in January 1982. In 1970/71, their chances of silverware had gone by January 5, although they did reach the semi-finals of the League Cup. The last time they played fewer than 40 games in a season came in 1914/15.
Whether it is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Michael Carrick who lands the interim head coach job this week, they will have just 17 games to make an impact in more than four months. They are seventh in the Premier League, but could easily be in the bottom half if the games against City and Arsenal go against them.
Returning to former players, both of whom have led the team before, smacks of desperation and everywhere you turn at the moment you are reminded of the past. Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes were sitting next to Sir Alex Ferguson in the directors' box on Sunday. They recently pushed the credentials of Roy Keane to take charge until the end of the season, a theory they were unlikely to float in the company of Ferguson, whose feud with Keane remains as bitter as ever.
Keane himself has raised Eddie Howe as a leading candidate for the job. Maybe this director of football business isn't as simple as it sounds after all. United's politburo is certainly making it look difficult. Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox are in the crosshairs and faith has long since vanished in Sir Jim Ratcliffe. There were two anti-Glazer chants and one aimed at Ratcliffe inside the first 10 minutes at Old Trafford.
Berrada and Wilcox will turn their attention to finalising an appointment until the end of the season at the start of the week. Saturday's Manchester derby looms large in the calendar and United need the bounce a new boss might provide. Solskjaer had a good record against Pep Guardiola during his three years in charge and history is about all there is to cling to at the moment.
Whoever is in the dugout next week will at least have the benefit of having Amad and Bryan Mbeumo back in the team. Fletcher has been hamstrung by the absence of width in his team and as it had been at Turf Moor, that was a problem against the Seagulls.
The failure of Amorim's United to take the game to the opposition, especially at Old Trafford, was a source of concern for the football hierarchy and ultimately led to his downfall. Too often, they would start games at Old Trafford passively, see the atmosphere quiet and allow the opposition a foothold.
Fletcher was keen to set a different trend. Diogo Dalot should have scored inside 90 seconds, Bruno Fernandes went close from a free-kick and United set a tempo that got the Old Trafford crowd engaged.
But it also produced an open game and it quickly became apparent it suited Brighton more. They worked a simple overload against Dalot to allow Danny Welbeck to cross and Georginio Rutter and Brajan Gruda couldn't believe the space they were afforded in front of goal. Rutter's header was cleared off the line by Lisandro Martinez, but Gruda rammed home the rebound.
It extended a dismal run to just one clean sheet in 15 games, and whether it is a back three, four or five, United are making basic errors in defence. Senne Lammens nearly added to the rap sheet when he passed the ball straight to Welbeck. The Belgian goalkeeper's save dug himself out of trouble.
United had been behind after 13 minutes in Fletcher's first game in charge and now found themselves losing after 12 minutes here. The response at Turf Moor was encouraging but the slickness of Brighton's passing and the intelligence of their pressing was too much.
Welbeck is a regular tormentor of his former club, to the point that United have considered making a move for the 35-year-old under their last two permanent bosses. You can see why that temptation is there. The defending from Patrick Dorgu, Leny Yoro and Manuel Ugarte was woeful, but when Gruda's pass found Welbeck just after the hour mark, the left-footed finish was emphatic.
United looked to have run out of inspiration, but Benjamin Sesko's late header did at least set up a grandstand finale. Shea Lacey's second booking and a red card that left the 18-year-old close to tears brought the chance to a fitting endpoint.
This season isn't over yet, but it is already shaping up to be another wasted year.