Manchester United crash out of the FA Cup in the third round after a toothless performance against a much-weakened Brighton side, as things seem to go from bad to worse for the club.
Darren Fletcher’s time in charge of Manchester United seems to be over, and it could have gone a lot better, to say the least.
The shock exit from the FA Cup sees the club out of both domestic cup competitions at the earliest point since the 1981-82 season. Man United will only play 40 matches this season, which is the fewest number of games in 111 years.
United started the game positively, with Diogo Dalot getting two great goal-scoring chances inside the first three minutes of the game, which he was unable to convert from.
Despite statistically dominating the game, with more shots, more possession and more expected goals, the Red Devils lacked guile to get themselves in front in the game, and with Brighton taking advantage of their chances, the result seems to be a fair one.
Fletcher’s thoughts on the game
After a nightmare night at Old Trafford, Fletcher spoke to TNT Sports and gave his thoughts on the game, his players, and a heads-up for the next man in the hot seat.
“Confidence. I don’t know, being used to playing a consistent style. Whoever comes in needs to bring them together. Build confidence by grinding out the results.
“Of course, we want to play good football, but you’ve got to find a way to do that. Once you’ve done that, it’s hard work, attitude, and application.
“I think you could see the players are fragile, but they’ve got to respond. Confidence is one of the most powerful things in football, so when you don’t have it, you have to dig deep, and then the confidence comes back.
“It’s over to them, they need to make sure that they have got a lot to play for this season. This team is still good enough to achieve success this season, but they have to dig deep.”
Fletcher voiced his faith in his players but clearly warned the next manager of the severity of the job at hand.
Man Utd’s next boss and their challenges
The current frontrunners for the role to the end of the season are Michael Carrick and Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who are both out of a job at this moment in time.
Michael Carrick built up a strong reputation at Middlesbrough, taking them to the Championship playoffs and instilling an exciting brand of football. Solskjaer made his name at United. He had a successful first few years in charge; however, things did go sour, and he was eventually sacked.
Read more: Manchester United hold Ole Gunnar Solsjkær concern following Michael Carrick meeting
Manchester United’s next few fixtures are really tough, with the Manchester derby and a trip to the Emirates back-to-back, followed by a game against an in-form Fulham, making for a very difficult first few weeks in charge for whoever gets the job.
Relationships with certain players could become strained, with United only having Premier League games left to play, rotation becomes much more difficult. Players will start to miss out on game time, and implementing the youth into the first team will also be much more of a challenge.
We already know how difficult it is to take charge midway through a season from Ruben Amorim’s early failures, and with the league table being as tight as it is, the new boss is going to need a positive start, or a top-five finish will quickly become impossible.
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