A goal from Anthony Gordon, ten minutes into the second half, became Manchester United's undoing in their latest league reverse against the high-flying Newcastle United. Hoping to put a torrid run of form behind them, the Red Devils promised plenty early on but delivered little, succumbing to their tenth defeat of the season already. By doing so, Erik ten Hag's men passed an unfortunate milestone; their tenth loss in their 21st game across all competitions was the earliest they had hit the benchmark post 2012/13, the last season of Sir Alex Ferguson's long and triumphant tenure. (More Football News)
Moreover, upon closer look, the current campaign under Ten Hag stands out ever more, albeit for all the wrong reasons. The second-worst such record, for instance, in the time elapsed since Ferguson's departure is 36 games, which means it took the men's senior team 36 games to suffer ten defeats, 15 more than it took them to reach the same gloomy point in 2023-24. To put things further into perspective, Manchester United lost only nine games in the entirety of the 2016/17 season, by far their most successful year in the aftermath of the Ferguson glory years, which yielded three trophies, including the UEFA Europa League.
This season, on the other hand, the Red Devils are lagging in the Premier League top four race, have exited the EFL Cup, and are rooted to the bottom of their UEFA Champions League group with one game left to play.
That, though, is not a unique proposition. Manchester United have struggled to return to the lofty heights that they frequently occupied under Ferguson. The club last won the Premier League more than a decade ago and their most prominent silverwares since have been claimed through cup competitions.
