Yes, the once mighty Manchester United fell to defeat at the not so mighty Bournemouth and yet I wasn't in the least bit surprised and that summed up the current situation at the club.
Every team suffers setbacks - even United did under Ferguson - but where Fergie's teams so often excelled was their collective response to such circumstance, fuelled by the mantra that successive defeats are not acceptable at Old Trafford.
Not only have we now lost two matches in a row, we've won one in five and the fact that we never looked like ending that run yesterday said it all.
Our adverse reaction having falling 2-1 behind was so far removed from what we expect but yet all too familiar... in our last three league games, two of which were at home, we've had one shot on goal in the second half in each.
Our adverse reaction having falling 2-1 behind was so far removed from what we expect but yet all too familiar... in our last three league games, two of which were at home, we've had one shot on goal in the second half in each.
What's even more worrying is that our manager - this supposedly esteemed Dutchman who is meant to be a tactical genius - is looking every inch David Moyes 2.0.
His interviews are rapidly alienating the fans, his decisions are baffling, his thinking muddled, there is lack of a clear vision and game plan, and as for his much feted "philosophy".... well, who knows.
It seemed we had made an improvement with last season one of solid stabilising and we started well this time around (even topping the table in September, albeit briefly).
The 3-0 defeat at Arsenal was followed up with a 3-0 victory at Everton in what was arguably our best performance since Sir Alex retired but, since then, we've not looked anywhere near capable of reproducing that form.
Since that win at Goodison on October on 17th October, we've played 12 matches.
Number of wins: Three.
Yes, three wins in two months.
Yes, three wins in two months.
It's difficult to pinpoint exactly where things started to go wrong, but so desperate is the situation that Nick Powell is now the manager's get-out-of-jail card.
Credit to Bournemouth: they came with a gameplan and it worked and they targeted our weaknesses, but having conceded twice from set-pieces in Wolfsburg you'd think the players would learn their lesson.
The fact they didn't would suggest that either the training is not fit for purpose or that the manager's methods are not getting through.
Something has to change, and quickly.
Something has to change, and quickly.
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