Ruben Amorim thinks so, but other managers have faced similar struggles. Here is a trip down memory lane to some of the worst crises at Old Trafford …
If United’s current state feels like a lost decade, then the 1930s were its progenitor, much of it spent in the second tier, fans yearning for the early 1900s glory years under Ernest Mangnall, one of only three United managers – with Matt Busby and Alex Ferguson – to win the league title. United finished last in the First Division at the end of the 1930-31 season, winning seven games, losing their opening 12, conceding 115 goals, the manager Herbert Bamlett, better known as a referee, sacked with six fixtures to play. The previous owner, John Henry Davies, who had funded the Mangnall years, had died in 1927, stretching finances. According to the author and broadcaster Eamon Dunphy, the final game, against Middlesbrough, drew 3,900 to Old Trafford, marked by an “uncanny atmosphere” with “the shouts of derision echoing through the empty grandstand”. United would spend the next couple of seasons fighting off relegation to the Third Division North.
About Author
More Stories
Cucurella and Madueke get Chelsea back to winning ways against Wolves
Aston Villa turn down second bid from West Ham for Jhon Durán
Ibrahima Konaté reveals he is latest Liverpool star still to sign new contract