MANCHESTER, England — No manager, no chance of a trophy and no real hope.
Manchester United have seen some low ebbs in the 13 years since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. In falling at the first hurdle in the FA Cup with a 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Sunday, they reached a new one.
There have been so many bad seasons since Ferguson departed in 2013 that it’s difficult to single out one in particular. The 2025-26 campaign will take its place among them after Brighton ensured any chance of silverware has been extinguished by early January.
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Throw in the Carabao Cup defeat to League Two side Grimsby Town in August and Ruben Amorim’s sacking, and this has already been an utterly disastrous season. The only thing left to play for over the next 4½ months is the desperate scramble to get back into Europe. On this evidence, it’s far from a given.
Not since 1981-82 have United been knocked out so early in both domestic cup competitions. They played 60 games last season. This season — after playing just one match in both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup — it will be 40. Not since 1914-15 have they played so few in a full campaign.
“That is where we are at — we can’t hide from that,” a visibly hurt and emotional caretaker boss Darren Fletcher said afterward.
“We have to face that and deal with that.
“It is not Manchester United level or what is expected,” he said. “We have to take a step forward by qualifying for the Champions League. The Champions League is important for a lot of reasons.
“It’s important for the players and attracting players. I keep saying the players have to step up, they have to come together and they will.
“You have to grind out ways to win games,” he said, “and from there you can build confidence and momentum.”
United’s board faces a decision this week about who will act as interim boss between now and May. There have been conversations with a number of candidates, including Fletcher, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Michael Carrick and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
But whoever takes the reins will come in to lead a club that appears lacking in any real direction. Amorim was sacked with no contingency plan in place, and Fletcher had to be drafted from the Under-18s. There are too many players not up to scratch and too many gaps in the squad waiting to be fixed.
Things could yet get even tougher with Manchester City the visitors to Old Trafford next weekend, and a trip to Premier League leaders Arsenal coming seven days later.
Shea Lacey, who at least offered some thrills and spills in the 2-2 draw with Burnley on Wednesday, won’t be available against City after he was sent off against Brighton. The 18-year-old was shown a yellow card — his second in two minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute — for dissent after smashing the ball into the turf as the clock ticked down.
Frustration in the stands had boiled over long before then, and when the final whistle blew, there were scattered boos from all four sides of the stadium. For others, the response was closer to apathy as they drifted out into the Manchester rain. They’ve seen plenty of results like this. Too many to count, even in the past 18 months.
Still, it’s only the third time in the past 42 years that United have exited the FA Cup as early as the third round.
“We’re bitterly disappointed because it’s the FA Cup,” Fletcher said, his voice occasionally cracking in his postmatch news conference.
“There’s still a lot to play for this season.
“These players have the ability to qualify for the Champions League and that should be their mindset,” he added.
“The players have to get together, find a way of improving quickly and don’t waste the season.”
Fletcher, a midfielder here under Ferguson, knows the responsibility that comes with playing for the club, and his demand that the squad find motivation is a timely one. Whoever is in charge for the City game, there’s a danger that the season spirals even further from this point. Things could yet get worse.
With an interim manager coming in to replace the caretaker, it’s hard to escape the feeling that the entire club is stuck in a holding pattern, flying aimlessly around in circles, waiting for a plan. It probably won’t be until the summer — when a new permanent manager is unveiled, and further investment is made in the squad — that hope will return.
Until then, this season will trundle to its conclusion with another 17 games while traditional rivals Arsenal and Manchester City battle it out for trophies.
For United, 2025-26 might end up being memorable only for having more managers (3) than cup games (2). In an era of low points, they’ve somehow found a way to reach another.
It’s at times like this that fans have usually comforted themselves with the belief that the only way is up. At Old Trafford, however, you can never be sure.
