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The departure of Sir Alex Ferguson from the helm of Manchester United was always going to be a source of concern for the Old Trafford outfit. After all, replacing a manager after 27 years at the helm was never going to be an easy task. However, two-and-a-half seasons have passed since the Scotsman moved away from the club, but their struggles continue to be ongoing. Manchester United have been breaking records left, right and centre all through their illustrious history. And they have continued in the same vein since Ferguson’s retirement, but unfortunately for the Old Trafford faithful, their newer records have mostly been for the wrong reasons.
1. During David Moyes’ regime, following the departure of Ferguson, Manchester United failed to qualify for Europe. They finished seventh in the league standings, missing out on the Champions League as well as the Europa League qualification.
2. Under Moyes the Red Devils succumbed to three successive defeats for the first time since the 2001/02 season.
3. United finished 2013/14 campaign with their lowest ever Premier League points tally.
4. When Swansea registered a league win at Old Trafford in January last year, it was their first victory at the vaunted home of the Red Devils in history.
5. Old Trafford used to be a graveyard for the visiting teams during Ferguson’s reign. However, it hasn’t been the same since the Scotsman left, during Moyes’ ill-fated ten-month regime they registered first home defeats at the hands of Newcastle United since 1972, against West Bromwich Albion since 1978, against Stoke City since 1984, and against Everton since 1992.
6. United’s 3 – 0 loss to Arsenal was the first time when they conceded three goals in the first 20 minutes of a match.
7. Manchester United’s fierce rivals Liverpool and derby opponents Manchester City had never done the double on them in the Premier League era until the 2013/14 season. And much to the chagrin of the Red Devils’ supporters both Brendan Rodgers’ and Manuel Pellegrini’s teams managed to inflict a home and an away defeat.
8. Olympiacos became the first Greek club to inflict a Champions League defeat on Manchester United as they won 3-1 at home. Although the Red Devils managed to register an aggregate win over the two legs.
9. Under Louis van Gaal’s first season at Old Trafford, Manchester United were winless in their three games, their worst start in the Premier League era.
10. United’s 5 – 3 loss to Leicester City was the first instance when they gave up a two goal lead to lose the game throughout their illustrious Premier League history.
11. On August 26, 2016, LvG handed a first ever league win for Swansea at Old Trafford. In fact, it was the first opening home game defeat Manchester United had suffered for 42 years.
12. This term they have gone out of the Champions League at the group stage for the first time since the 2011/12 season when they finished third behind Benfica and FC Basel.
13. Under Moyes, United failed to keep a clean sheet for the sixth Premier League match in a row – their worst streak since March 1997.
14. United lost to Norwich on December 19, 2014. The last time they lost at home to Norwich was in 1989.
15. On Boxing day 2016, for the first time since 1961 Manchester United lost 4 league games in a row. The 20-time English champions have won a record 18 out of 22 league matches on December 26 since the start of the Premier League era.
Manchester United are going through a particularly bad time right now as they have had a meagre seven shots on target in their last four home league games.
Wasi is a keen fan with loads of knowledge about the game. He has written for some of the world’s leading soccer websites and is a major Barcelona and Pune City FC fan. He loves the Champions League and watches 200+ EPL games & La Liga games per season.