The manager is right: this surely IS the worst side in United history

When Ruben Amorim declared this Manchester United side as 'maybe the worst ever' in the aftermath of the Brighton loss, few will have disagreed.
Congratulations to Erik ten Hag, John Murtough and the merry band of men in the corridors of power for assembling surely the worst collection of 'players' (I'm using the term loosely) in the 147-year history of our club.
Yes, United have been relegated before - five times in fact in 1893-94, 1921-22, 1930-31, 1936-37 and, perhaps most famously, only six years after becoming champions of Europe, in 1974. Football began before 1992 and United have spent most of that time in the doldrums. 

The relegation team puts this side to shame

But those teams did not have 600m spent on them. Those sides did not have international players stacked in every position. A United side in those days did not carry the same weight as sides from this era. Back then, United were nowhere near the global superpower they are now and football's hierarchy was different. Sides came and went between divisions more regularly. 

I had not graced the world with my presence yet back in 1974, but I know people that did and the general consensus is this: that side, relegated into Division Two under Tommy Docherty, was better than this current incarnate. 

United lost 20 league games that season (we've already lost ten this time), 16 of them by a single goal. There were 15 draws with seven of them goalless. The team were competitive, it had a backbone and went down fighting  - none of which can be attributed to the vintage of 2024/25.  It just lacked a goalscorer with star man George Best ageing and AWOL. It was a young team with an average age of 25 and would have survived had today's three-points-for-a win system been implemented. Sammy McIlroy's six goals put him at the top of United's goalscoring charts and laid bare that team's main shortcoming. 

The team rebuilt with style and vivacity in the second tier to bounce back at the first opportunity and evolved into one challenging at the upper echelons of the game, almost winning the First Division. 

51 years on and the prospect of United playing Championship football next season remains a mathematical, if remote, possibility. This is a side breaking all sorts of records of the unwanted kind. We've lost six of our opening 12 league games for the first time since the 1890s and only 13 other United sides have a lower points tally at this stage of a season. We've conceded the opening goal in our last five matches at Old Trafford and have lost 10 of our 22 league games - hitting double figures for losses the earliest in a season since 1989-90. 

Stealing a living

Barring the generational talent of the brilliant Amad and the workaholic Manuel Ugarte, this mob are, to put it politely, a disgrace. How a side can go from almost toppling Liverpool at Anfield and knocking Arsenal out of the cup with ten men to what we saw against Southampton and Brighton is baffling. It's not an issue if a team is inconsistent for a time, but it becomes one when players pick and choose when to turn the light on. 

Whilst many of these players are simply not 'it' - an abhorrent and ragtag collection of not-good-enoughs, has-beens and never-weres, their mentality and attitude is disgusting. The collective mental ability of a United side has never been worse. Most of them wouldn't get anywhere near the bench of a team in the bottom half of League One. Internationals they may be, but that does not make them any good - none of them have ever won a bean but have the egos and inflated salaries of serial winners. 

A few can be exonerated. Leny Yoro's United career remains in its fledgling infancy and it is harsh to throw him on the scrapheap. Kobbie Mainoo has yet to hit the metronomic heights of his stunning debut season but a 19-year old just coming back from injury into a sea of mediocrity hardly resembles the biggest problem.

Joshua Zirkzee does a difficult job to the best of his (limited) ability but might as well be in the stands with the spectators such is the chronic lack of any cohesion whatsoever. You can have the best car money can buy but if the engine is broken, it won't get you anywhere. 

Ruben Amorim being thrown to the wolves

You have to feel for Ruben Amorim - United's new head coach parachuted in from Portugal tasked with refloating a sinking ship. He has none of his own players, no money to spend and a group of wasters that don't want to improve. United's penny pinching owners have not given him the tools to succeed - it is akin to sending a solider into a warzone armed with a Mini Cooper and a water pistol. He wanted to take the job in the summer but United said it was now or never. We have the right man in charge and have to get behind him now. This mess is not of his own making and he should be applauded for telling it like it is. I like the fact we've got a manager to afraid to speak the truth and maybe upset a few  - a far cry from the toeing-the-line approach of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, or the lost-in-translation waffle of ten Hag. These players have had it too easy for too long 

Throw in the fact we've not had a left-back for two years, a pair of young strikers that can't score goals and a 50m goalkeeper who couldn't catch a bus and there you have it: uncoachable charlatans with not an ounce of pride or honour between them. 

I hope Amorim doesn't change his system, as that would show weakness of his behalf and is an easy way out for these wasters stealing a living as elite footballers. The very reason for bringing Amorim in was because INEOS liked his style, so suddenly changing it makes no sense and it's not like this lot were any good in any other formation or system anyway. 
He was making sure that everyone knows rebuilding United will take years. There is no quick fix if you want to actually get it right. The squad looks horribly unbalanced with gaping holes in major positions and that will take time and several transfer windows to repair. 

Honesty is the best policy

Any United player with a more robust backbone than a jellyfish will take Amorim's hurty words to heart and set out to prove him wrong. 
Any United player who feels upset (poor little mites) by their manager's comments is welcome to hand back the exorbitant wages most of them have pilfered with impunity for two win in ten league games. 
And any United player who dares to murmur a word of dissent - either in the dressing room or on social media, the press, TV or radio, is cordially invited to hand in a transfer request and f**k right off. 

The biggest tell will be how the players respond to what amounts to insulting them in public. Amorim's comments are not a Jose-Mourinho like calling out of his players, but they surely must illicit some kind of respond from deep inside. It is a risk and a calculated one, and done without malice, but could prove costly no matter how much the club want to stick by him. Or it could be the catalyst for change. 

Manchester United channel the spirit of Labi Siffre

 'The higher you build your barriers, the taller I become' .

Not so much the lyrics to a song by 1980s lyricist Labi Siffre, more Manchester United's modus operandi at the Emirates yesterday.

'The further you take my rights away, the faster I will run'. It is a song about going the extra mile, standing up for yourselves and overcoming all that is thrown at you. While the lyrics were largely written about the atrocious apartheid regime in South Africa, they can equally be applied to anyone needing inspiration to overcome adversity.

And it was adversity of an almost impossible nature that Manchester United found themselves facing after an hour of this storming FA Cup third rounder. Diogo Dalot was sent from the field by a referee who couldn't wait to do so, and so the barrier was built. From then on, it was backs to the ball as United dug out a performance of resilience and courage for the ages. 

Man Utd celebrate penalty win

As Kelly Clarkson once sang, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. 

And how the depleted ranks of the ten Manchester United heroes in dark blue stood tall. They dug deeper than they've ever had to dig before. Roared on magnificently by the 8,000 travelling fans, there was no quarter given, every blade of grass covered by a much-criticised group of players whom, this time, looked like they'd rather die than lose this cup tie. Just watching on from home, it was inspiring and uplifting as those players out there refused to be beaten, refused to give in. I was proud of our boys spirit, fight, guts, courage and sheer bloody mindedness. They put their bodies on the line, their hearts and soul and every last drop of energy they had into that match. 

How many times have we been able to say that of late? Now we have said it for two weeks on the spin. 

They did indeed find Something Inside. Something Inside so Strong. For all the wave of anger and ill-feeling directed towards this squad of late, how nice is it to sit here and heap praise upon them? Every single player deserves massive credit, oodles of praise and a round of applause for a performance to remember. Our reward is a fourth round tie at home to Leicester City. Who knows now where this season will go now? We still languish in the bottom half of the league table but are going strong in two cup competitions. We will not give up this defence of our FA Cup trophy without a fight. 

Marshalled monstrously by Messrs Matthijs, Maguire and Martinez at the back, United were immense. In midfield, Manuel Ugarte added the latest exhibit to his growing collection of masterpieces. Back up goalkeeper Altay Bayindir hardly covered himself in glory last time he played in north London, but became inspired here. He should have perhaps done better with the Arsenal opener, but saved Martin Odegaard's penalty and then kept out the decisive spot-kick in the shootout. Captain Bruno capped another totemic performance with a brilliant goal and there were magnificent performances everywhere you looked. 

Away from home against eleven Arsenal players and a corrupt referee, justice was done. A lesson, folks, that cheats never prosper. 

Not so long ago, United would have crumbled after Dalot's sending off, but here it only seemed to spur us on. Was it pretty? No, but there is more than one way to skin a cat - or win a football match. We were forced into the trenches after the sending off but emerged triumphant on the other side. 

Altay Bayindir became an unlikely hero

You don't get a result against this Arsenal side - a side existing at the upper echelons of English football as Man City's cheek-by-jowel challengers - without every player proving his worth. Toby Collyer, the latest product of the Carrington conveyor belt, caught the eye off the bench. The much malinged Joshua Zirkzee almost scored in extra-time and then did score his penalty. He may still not turn out to be good enough for this club, but whatever happens, he will always have that moment.

Just as it did at Anfield, United's gameplan bore the fruits of another full week of training under the tutelage of Ruben Amorim. We have now beaten City and Arsenal and got a draw at Liverpool. Slowly but surely, the cocoon of Amorim's United is beginning to emerge, blinking into the sunlight. 

More than that, we've got those results with a clear gameplan and an identifiable style. 

You felt everything was against us this weekend: we conveniently got the hardest possible FA Cup draw and then, as if this wasn't enough, had a ref just as bad. We cover that here. But I don't want to dwell on that. I want to celebrate and enjoy my team achieving something special. Oh and enjoy the meltdown from those planks on a certain YouTube channel. UTFR!! 

Where do the PGMOL find these donkeys?! (RANT)

Whilst his team mates floundered, one Arsenal player stood tall above the rest. A tall, imposing figure, he did everything he could to drag his side over the line as the FA Cup tie went down to the wire.

That man was Andrew Madley. Yet another referee employed by the PGMOL to screw us over, to ensure his paymasters in the corridors of power at the FA got what they wanted. Another pawn in this match fixing ring engulfing English football. I hope he enjoying sucking off Arteta afterwards. Where do they keep finding these donkeys? That was the worst refereeing performance I can remember, and that's saying something seeing as we get robbed and cheated by these t**ts every week. 

Michael Oliver at Anfield last week, this idiot against Arsenal, some other donkey next time. It gives me no pleasure to sit here and let rip about these officials, but when they are so inept, so catastrophically bad at their one fucking job, where else is there to turn? I don't want to keep whinging about these refs, it makes me look bitter and like I'm looking for sympathy, but if they weren't so crap I wouldn't have to. 

Bring back this man

It's time to change the narrative, overhaul the state of the officials in this country and get some fucking standards back. Best league in the world but the worst referees. No accountability for the same incompetence week after week. Refereeing must be the only career you can consistently be this shit at, and not lose your job. 

I thought Oliver's disasterclass at Liverpool last week was bad, and it was, but Madley was, quite simply, an absolute disgrace. A disgrace. I've never seen that given as a penalty before, nor probably ever will again. What even was that? 

Mr Madley couldn't give it quickly enough and was on the scene of Dalot's second yellow quicker than Prince Andrew at a teenage girl's house party. I'm surprised he didn't make up a law that ensured we lost the penalty shootout, so desperate was he to get Manchester United out of the FA Cup. I thought he might step up to take a penalty for them. 

He must have had a miserable childhood. I never want to see  him in charge of a United game again, just like that twat Oliver, Craig Pawson or Jarred Gillet who robbed us at Chelsea last season. David Coote has gone, now for the rest of these p***s. These wasters with an agenda to appease fans and the authorities who want to see Manchester United suffer and fail. Get in the bin and never ref us again. Thanks for nothing. Are they corrupt, or just incompetent? I'll let you decide that. Yet he'll be out there again next weekend screwing someone else over. Turns out Michael Oliver isn't the worst referee in the country. Not only was the draw fixed to give us the toughest tie possible, but we conveniently get a joke of a referee as well...

We can have little complaints over Dalot's second booking. Plenty of Madley's decisions are under the microscope but that was one he actually got right. But Mr Madley created that situation - he set himself up for a scenario where every tackle was given as a foul. He made a rod for his own back. Dalot didn't even get a warning: Madley was basically foaming at the mouth with glee at a chance to send one of our players off. He'd been itching to do so all game and you can bet he loved every minute of it. He must be fuming at his side's profligacy and Altay Bayindir's brilliance, he must be devastated he'll never see that brown envelope his bosses had waiting for him at ivory towers. Cry me a river. 

Bruno Fernandes was hacked down on the edge of the box and nothing was given. His boot literally came off but the referee had no intention of giving a free-kick. Lisandro Martinez won the ball, Ugarte made a brilliant tackle and I've no idea what law Madley invented to book Harry Maguire. Yet Arsenal were allowed to get away with every little push, nudge, tugback or challenge. Just his master, Pep's b**ch on the touchline has these jokers wrapped around his little finger. 

I have had enough of these referees, these corrupt, ruinous, power hungry minions intent on making some of the biggest clashes in the game all about them. Just when you think you've had a bad one, up pops another to ruin your weekend. They are all two cheeks of the same arse. None of them are fit to referee. How many more times do we have to put up with this? Brighton, Villa, Spurs, Liverpool twice and now Arsenal. HOW MANY MORE!! It is every week now and I am tired of it. I am tired of our boys having to contend with this agenda every time we go out there. I am losing faith in football, falling out of love with the game and it's all because of days like this where an official makes it so upsetting. Thank goodness that penalty didn't knock us out or I would have a restraining order by now...

Considering how most people feel United had preferential treatment from refs during the days of Sir Alex, it says a lot when rival fans are saying we've been shafted. But the performance of the man in the middle somehow united the world of football in United's favour. That takes some doing. 

Five things we learned from thrilling Anfield draw

And so it was United headed to Anfield for the 216th competitive meeting between the Reds of Manchester and Merseyside. 
One at their highest ebb, one at their lowest: one side gunning for a record-equalling title, the other breaking records of the wrong sort. 

Yet come full time in the latest epic in this long and grueling struggle for supremacy, United had restored pride. We had almost snatched victory with the last kick of the game through Harry Maguire, but there was lots to be positive about.

We take a look at what we learned from a generational all timer at Anfield.

United were good... very good

This was not the first time United went into a game against one of our traditional rivals fearing the worst. Yet this side have an uncanny knack of raising their game when the occasion demands it. Just as we were before May's FA Cup final against the mob from across the city, United were written off. No one gave us a chance against the best side in the land, a team storming towards...no, I can't bring myself to admit it. 
Where has this United team been all season? We matched this mighty Liverpool side shot for shot, step for step. Manuel Ugarte totemic in midfield. Lisandro Martinez imperious in defence, Amad the man for the big occasion again. Kobbie Mainoo pressing and harrying for all he's worth. Even the much-maligned Diogo Dalot was a player transformed. United were brave, committed and played with a spirit and desire conspicuous in absentia all season. It begs the question... why can't we play like this every week?

Amorim's full week of training reaps rewards

For the first time since Ruben Amorim was appointed, the United manager had a full week in training with the players. There was no midweek game and six days between the Newcastle and Liverpool matches. The additional time spent at Carrington was firmly in evidence at Anfield. There was a structure, a blueprint, and everything United did seemed better. Quicker. Sharper. Less fear. More organised, more in tune with the manager's ideology. It's clear Amorim needs time more than anything else - to cook like that in the old enemy's backyard after only a week takes some doing and shows we may finally have the  right man for the job. It was a far cry from the rudderless, confused mess this lot have served up in recent weeks. 

Consistency is key

Having upset the odds with our finest performance of the season against the Scousers, United have to build on this. This cannot be a 'raise our game for Liverpool' type-performance, this cannot be yet another false dawn. It has to be the norm, the standard by which these players are judged. They have made a rod for their own back now. Our magnificent, uplifting heroics at Anfield need to be the catalyst for a strong run of form. We go to Arsenal in the FA Cup next Sunday then it's three homes games - against Southampton, Brighton&Hove Albion and Rangers, all winnable and the perfect opportunity to build momentum. Amorim said he was 'mad and upset' despite this brilliant draw because the team have not shown anywhere near the same level in other matches - a sentiment echoed by United fans up and down the land. It was the same after the win at the Etihad - now we kick on and move forwards.

Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte shine

United's ramshackle midfield was damningly and brutally exposed by Newcastle United last time out. Without suspended string-pullers Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte, ageing and laboured duo Casemiro and Eriksen were torn apart. There was a yawning imbalance and a huge lack of energy and intensity, but Amorim solved that problem by restoring Kobbie Mainoo and Ugarte to his side at Anfield. 

Not only did we look immediately more solid and disciplined, but we had as much of the ball as Liverpool and we seemed much more structured. United have found their new long term midfield pairing.

Martinez immense but de Ligt must improve

It has been a difficult season for Lisandro Martinez, but United's butcher was back to his immense best here. He put us ahead and into dreamland with a superb finish, and kept Mo Salah quiet at the back. It was one of his best games in a United shirt, and like his colleagues needs to be the catalyst for consistent improvement.
Speaking of which, two clumsy moments from Mathijs de Ligt proved costly. The Dutchman did not have a bad game overall, but jumped into a challenge to allow Cody Gakpo the equaliser. He can consider himself unlucky for the penalty as the ball deflected on to his elbow from two yards away but - with the impressive Leny Yoro knocking on the door - de Ligt is under pressure for his place. 

Totemic Ugarte United's shape shifter

Manuel Ugarte had three options in the final throes of this instant Premier League classic at Anfield.
With 39 seconds left on the clock, Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk thumped the ball into the snowy Merseyside stratosphere. Ugarte pulled it out the sky, took a touch and looked around.

Manuel Ugarte has been a driving 
force in United's midfield

United's kindred spirit shines

He could have safely shunted the ball back to goalkeeper Andre Onana. He could have put into touch or flicked to Amad, in space and available for a pass. Each option was at the lower end of the risk scale. But unusually for a player in his position, that of the archetypal destroyer whom makes a career out of the safe and the steady, Ugarte chose an option not available to order. One not on the menu. One that players tasked with his own, niche, very specific job barely ever even attempt, never mind execute effectively. 

With his back to goal and on the half turn, Ugarte hooked the ball into the path of Bruno Fernandes and United had turned defence into attack in an instant. 

The ball was threaded through the eye of the proverbial needle, between Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez, spinning behind Alexis Mac Allister into the path of our buccaneering captain. It was the breakaway chance which would culminate in Joshua Zirkzee's square ball to Harry Maguire with the last kick of the game. Maguire got under the ball and sent it high into the stands, missing his chance of a place in United folklore like his defensive cohort John O'Shea with THAT winner in front of the Kop in 2007. 

Reds strike gold with transfer gem

It was a moment encapsulating everything good about United and Ugarte - the Uruguayan's final act in a metronomic man of the match performance. The summer signing from PSG, as per BBC Sport, mixed grit and guile, devilment and quality, to provide a platform for a much better performance than we expected. If anyone still doubted Ugarte's importance, this was a match in which he silenced those critics. There were a number of eye-catching individual showings in this thrill-a-minute draw, notably Lisandro Martinez, Amad and Fernandes. But Ugarte was above them all, a totemic, man of the match performance in the face of Liverpool's fierce and feted engine room triumvirate. 

Ugarte seemed to tip every 50/50 into a 60/40 in his favour, winning three of his four tackles with a pass completion rate of 87%. This was his best display in the Red (or white, on this occasion) of United so far. Coming as it did in the pressure cooker of Anfield was a feather in the cap of a player who was widely criticised for a shaky start to life at Old Trafford. But he has looked every inch the player we hoped we were getting. United's recruitment has rightly been criticised during the dark days of the post-Ferguson existential, but INEOS have got this one right. Ugarte and Noussair Mazraoui represent our best pair of signings for many a year. 

It's true he was at fault for Liverpool's leveller when he lost the ball to Ryan Gravenberch who then set up Cody Gakpo, but that was his only blemish. He balanced defensive diligence with attacking intent to brilliant effect, putting out fires everywhere one moment then popping up on the edge of the Liverpool penalty area the next. He dropped into the back three when needed, too, allowing Maguire and  Martinez to push forward and stride into the attacking third. 

Ruben Amorim deserves credit, too, for stiffening United's midfield. Ugarte and the youthful zest and vigour of Kobbie Mainoo offered an instant upgrade on ageing veterans Casemiro and Christian Eriksen - whose lack of legs and energy were so brutally exposed in the abhorrent surrender against Newcastle United. Save for the occasional deployment when rotation is required, Casemiro and Eriksen have no future at United now. How we missed the suspended Ugarte against the Magpies.

Ugarte and Mainoo pointing the way to a brighter future

Mainoo and Ugarte, literally and metaphorically, have to be our way forward. 

They offer everything their senior colleagues cannot - press resistance, strength, ability on the ball, intensity, energy and positional discipline. 

Casemiro's days at United are numbered

As the only player in this squad to have played for Amorim before, at Sporting, it is no surprise Ugarte fits his manager's system like a glove. He, more than anyone else, understands the unique demands and expectations the Portuguese coach sets out for his sides. 

He is still easing into his United career, still adapting to the fire and ferocity of the English game. This was only the fourth time he has completed 90 minutes since that £41m move from Paris. The now departed Erik ten Hag was very cautious when it came to Ugarte, to the point where you almost wondered if he had wanted him at all. Maybe it was because we had to sell one of ten Hag's most loyal lieutenants, Scott McTominay, to be able to afford the purchase. Either way, the decision to bring him in now looks inspired and will have long term benefits for both the team and a player still only in his early 20s. 

His persistence with the ill-fitting Casemiro and Eriksen was one of the main reasons why the Dutchman lost his job at Old Trafford. But in Ugarte, ten Hag has left United with a very welcome parting gift. 

Amad ending to a mundane derby

As soon as moonlighting left-back Matheus Nunes aimlessly connected with the twinkling toes of Amad Diallo, the 196th Manchester derby flipped on its head.

United should have had a penalty earlier in the tie when Ruben Dias sent Rasmus Hojlund sprawling to the turf, so this time justice was done. Even Anthony Taylor could not find a reason to overturn the award of a spot-kick this time around. 

Up stepped United captain Bruno Fernandes to stroke past Ederson and bring United level - deservedly so. It was the 88th minute and the Reds were good value for their point. Even against this pale imitation of a Manchester City side past the peak of their considerable powers, a draw at the Etihad should not be sniffed at. 

Last May's FA Cup final win over the champions will never be forgotten, and nor should it. But considering where we are at this point in time, with our recent record at the Etihad and everything that's happened since that day, our 81st triumph over our nearest and dearest will live long in the memory. 

The Diallo derby

Yet there was more to come. Lisandro Martinez - as good here as he was poor against Nottingham Forest - looked up and clipped the ball into the path of our jet-heeled Ivorian. Amad still had a lot to do, sandwiched as he was between the advancing keeper and two City players on the goal-line. Yet that did not matter for this generational talent, a man criminally ignored by the now departed Erik ten Hag. 

Amad glided beyond Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, leaving them for dead to clip the ball over Ederson and roll into the net from the tightest of angles. How City failed to clear their lines with four players in close proximity I will never know but, as Clive Tyldesley once said: "With the greatest respect, who cares" 

Yet again, Amad was the instigator of Manchester United's latest act of derring do. Twice now in 2024 he has struck last gasp, ice-cold winners against our two most hated rivals. Whatever else this lad goes on to achieve, he has already done enough to go down in the annals as a folk hero at Old Trafford. Our biggest task now might be keeping hold of him. To think Omari Forson was chosen ahead of him. Marcus Rashford's time at United may be nearing its end, but - in Amad - United have a player to run with the baton - a 22-year-old Ivorian in the form of his life with his stock soaring through the ceiling. 

As he once again shot United to their rip roaring zenith, this was the undoubted nadir of Pep Guardiola's season. Surely even his entire managerial career. Watching his City side stumble and then fall down the cliff face into oblivion has been as baffling as it is enjoyable. 

Ailing City out of time and steam 

It says a lot that, even at 1-0 down with five minutes to go, I never feared for United. City's opener, a deflected mishit which fell kindly to Gvardiol, was fortuitous. A Phil Foden shot aside, they barely created anything. This a team which, much like United used to do, have had opponents beaten before a ball is even kicked. But here, City melted away like an ice cream in the desert and United needed no invitation to feast on their banquet of ineptitude. 

Now this finest of footballing sides look cowed, vulnerable, terrified of their own shadow and a fading collection of ageing and battle weary superstars on their last legs. Guardiola's runaway, all-conquering juggernaut has officially run out of steam. The express train has hit the buffers. Everything has a 'best before' date. This is not simply down to the absence of the metronomic and irreplaceable Rodri. This is a side with tired minds and battered bodies that has been allowed to grow old together in Guardiola's relentless pursuit of perfection. The threat of unprecedented sanctions in the wake of their 115 charges hangs heavy over the Etihad and the nucleus of their side are all the wrong side of 30. 

With one win in eleven games (eight of those are losses), this is worse than even the depths of our post-Ferguson days. It is not simply a blip, more a fully blown crisis. Any other manager would have been sacked by now. Not only that, but Guardiola looks lost and a man at odds himself in a position he's never been in before. 

Ruthless Ruben takes tough stance 

For Ruben Amorim, United's dapper Portuguese gaffer, this was a superb early feather in his Old Trafford cap. In only the seventh game of his fledgling United tenure, he has gone where his predecessor did not. ten Hag's record away to City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal - indeed, even the likes of Villa, Newcastle and West Ham - was just one of the many reasons why he had to be moved on. Amorim has prevailed in his first crack at one of the big boys on his derby debut. He has beaten Guardiola twice in the space of a month. This time with a United team still finding our feet and restoring our confidence in these tentative early days of transition. For this manager and his side to go to the Etihad and win whilst still learning on the job is extraordinary. 

He did so without Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho (article as per Sky Sports). Two of United's leading lights, two of this side's big names and two lads for whom omission from this game would have been unthinkable. Their absence sent out a clear message: no one is too big to be cast adrift. Finally it seems we have a manager not afraid to get tough and make difficult decisions if needed. No one can criticism him for it either. We won. It worked. No one is safe under Amorim and that's exactly how it should be. 

In a parallel universe, Amorim could have been heading for the opposite dugout as Guardiola's successor in the summer, but United's decision to bring him in looks to have paid dividends. It's still early days, there's a long way to go and we've seen this film before, but the green shoots of recovery are beginning to sprout through the surface. 

Ch-ch-ch-changes 

This was a statement win of the highest order. United were far from perfect but we are improving. Much better both with the ball and without it. Braver, stronger, more organised. Patterns of play developing, a style forming. Results might have been up and down but at least now we can see a clear way of playing. 

Harry Maguire was simply colossal in the middle of the back three, forcing Erling Haaland to the fringes. Mathijs de Ligt had his best game in the Red of United and Martinez was superb. In midfield, Manuel Ugarte shone like a diamond in a galaxy of stars. In the exalted company of Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva, Ugarte was the best player in the middle of the park. Hojlund got no service but linked play superbly and teed up Fernandes for the one on one he should have buried. Kobbie Mainoo was good off the bench and Noussair Mazraoui once again a shining light at right wing-back. 

When Fernandes equalised, I knew we could win it. Back in the old days, even as recently as last season, if City did not batter their opposition, they saw games out. A shirt pull here, a tactical foul there, or summon their 60m reserve striker from the bench. But even this United side - a side that has endured our worst ever start to a Premier League season, had City rattled at the gentlest probing.

How often can you say you've gone to the Etihad and had as much of the ball as City? Not only that, but even had better chances than a Guardiola side? Amad was unlucky with a header, forcing a good save from Ederson. Fernandes should have scored having been put through by Hojlund and Mainoo fired wide. 

What now for Amorim's United?

This brilliant win at the Etihad - even against a City team in this shape -  cannot be merely a flash in the pan. We have to build on this now. United travel to a strange and unpredictable Spurs team in the cup on Thursday, then welcome high-flying Bournemouth to Old Trafford in the last game before Christmas. Too often, wins like this have come to nothing so we've got to kick on. Prior to the City game, we had our lowest ever points tally at this stage of a season in the Premier League era. But, for all our travails, we head into the penultimate weekend of the year only five points behind. 

UTR!! 

Opposition in profile: FC Twente

There will be no room for sentiment when Manchester United and manager Erik ten Hag welcome Eredivisie side FC Twente to Old Trafford.
The United boss still holds a torch for his former employers but will cast those feelings aside as his Reds team face the side he represented as a player when they come to M16 on Wednesday. 

And so it begins

United earned a spot in the new-look Europa League by virtue of winning the FA Cup and find ourselves in the first season of the competition's new format. We will face eight sides (four at home and four away) and need to finish in the first eight to progress straight through to the knockouts. 
A first ever competitive meeting with the Enschede-based Eredivisie side provides the Reds with a tricky early test and one which should provide an early examination of our European credentials. On paper, this a relatively kind looking encounter ahead of tougher tests to come at Porto and Fenerbahce, led by a certain Jose Mourinho.
Beyond that, Norwegians Bodo/Glimt (yes, an actual football team not a Wi-Fi password), PAOK and Rangers visit Old Trafford with trips to the Hungarian capital Bucharest and another new opponent in Czech side Viktoria Plzen.
But first things first, let's take a look at tomorrow's opponents who come to Old Trafford with no pressure and nothing to lose

Twente times, Twente times...

FC Twente are the last side from outside their country's traditional 'Big Three' (PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord) to win the Dutch title. We may not have ever played them before, but that's not to say there aren't links between the two sides. As already mentioned, ten Hag plied his trade for the men from Enschede in the early 00s, and their manager in that title winning season of 2009-10? Once of this parish, now departed for the sunnier climes of the Caribbean, Steve McClaren, who served as our number two under first Sir Alex and then ten Hag. Football really can move in mysterious ways sometimes...

This current crop have impressively muscled in on their nation's football status quo, blooding the noses of the Eredivisie's more established order. A third placed finish last term opened the door for a European return, and only a narrow 5-4 aggregate loss to RB Salzburg denied them a place at the top table.

Joseph Oosting has been the man at the helm at 'De Grolsch Veste' since last summer and is well known in his native Netherlands for producing and developing young talent whilst stringing together eye-catching results. As if to underline that trend, they will head to Old Trafford with confidence after a 5-0 thumping of Almere on Sunday. 

Whilst most of their squad will be largely unknown to those outside Enschede, the Reds will need to be wary of last season's top scorer, 22 year old, 19-goal attacking midfielder Sem Steijn. The wonderfully-named Ricky van Wolfswinkel may have endured a miserable spell in east Anglia with Norwich but has rediscovered his mojo under the tutelage of compatriot Oosting. Steijn scored twice in that aforementioned thrasing with van Wolfswinkel, Sam Lammers and Anass Salah - Eddine also on target. 

Despite never having played United before, FC Twente's record against sides from England leaves a lot to be desired. Our visitors have won just one of their last 13 meetings with English opponents in all competitions (D5L7), with 'Ze Tukkers' solitary win a 1-0 against Fulham back in 2011. 

Man United..

United have spent more seasons at this level than we would have liked in recent years since winning the tournament in 2016-17 (we were also runners up in 2021). We go into this term's tournament as among the favourites for victory alongside the likes of league phase rivals Porto, Olympiakos, Roma, Real Sociedad and our feeder club Ajax. 
United have had a promising start to the season with our summer signings catching the eye and a strong cup pedigree under ten Hag. 

The Reds will be without Leny Yoro, Victor Lindelof, Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw but Rasmus Hojlund is fit again and in line to start. The young Dane's return to action is timely with United looking to increase their output in front of goal. Hojlund came on for the closing stages of the frustrating 0-0 draw in south London on Saturday which almost saw us punished for profligacy despite dominating most of the game. ten Hag may have one eye on Sunday's home game with Tottenham and with more margin for error in the expanded league phase. That said, he will want to avoid any early stumble so we still expect a strong side. 

Match odds: Man Utd to win 2/9
Draw 7/2
FC Twente to win: 8/4

Man United predicted XI: Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Dalot; Mainoo, Ugarte; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee. 
FC Twente predicted XI: Unnerstall; Van Rooj, Hilgers, Bruns, Salah - Eddine; Regeer, Eiting; Rots, Steijn, Van Bergen; Lammers.