Just when we thought Manchester United had hit a new low, they bust out the shovel and dig themselves an even deeper hole.
The Red Devils were sent crashing out of the Carabao Cup after a 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford to a second-string Newcastle United team in a rematch of last year’s final.
Stream Over 50 Sports Live & On-Demand with Kayo. Join now and start streaming instantly >
But this United team couldn’t have been further away from the one that hoisted the Carabao Cup under the famous Wembley arch in February earlier this year.
That night, Erik ten Hag’s team showed fight, spirit and guile.
But against the Magpies, it was a display that, according to The Times’ Henry Winter, “bordered on cowardice”.
“This shambles of a performance was the type that gets managers the sack,” Winter wrote.
“This was a surrender, a shameful signal that players do not care enough either for the shirt or for the manager.
“Manchester United fans did not turn on Erik ten Hag but he desperately needs his players to turn up for him quickly.
“This display was unacceptable. The holders crashed out of the Carabao Cup in a manner that bordered on cowardice.
“There was no fight, no togetherness. There was little sign of leadership or reaction from the dugout or a semblance of Plan A, let alone Plan B, from Ten Hag.
“His position as manager will inevitably be questioned even more.”
MORE COVERAGE
‘Breathtaking’: Aussie golden girl’s screamer stuns as Matildas take crucial step
‘See it everyday’: True genius of Matildas’ ‘one of a kind’ star laid bare
Absurd last-gasp scenes as third-tier minnows rock Euro giant in upset for the ages
United’s limp display was also the complete opposite of the reaction Ten Hag had demanded from his troops after the 3-0 humbling in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman had hoped a shake-up to his team would jolt the players into action, making seven changes to his line-up.
But just about each and every one of them was ineffectual.
Anthony Martial was a passenger up front while Diogo Dalot was exposed time and time again at right back.
Meanwhile, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe made eight changes to the team that drew 2-2 against Wolves and got the reaction he wished for.
A centre-back pairing of Paul Dummett and Emil Krafth, who have played a combined six games in the past 30 months, had little trouble dealing with Martial and Rasmus Hojlund.
Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall, at right back and left back respectively, looked impressive getting up and down the flanks with the latter scoring Newcastle’s second goal.
For United’s star-studded attacking options to be unable to break down a backline which has barely together as a unit has The Telegraph‘s Jason Burt asking questions about the “unbending faith” in Ten Hag.
“It has largely been a desperate decade at Manchester United since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson but even within those chronic years of failure there are performances that are simply, irredeemably shocking,” Burt wrote.
“This was one of them.
“This was also the kind of appalling display that raises serious questions over the apparent unbending faith in manager Erik ten Hag.
“The failings are everywhere. This was utterly rank and completely inexcusable.
“Where do they go from here? They look completely broken. A rabble without a cause. A group of players passing responsibility rather than the ball.”
Dumped out of one domestic cup and sitting eight points outside the top four, Ten Hag must find a way to kickstart United’s season.
Whatever he tried to apply in the wake of the derby defeat to City evidently did not work, even if some blame could be absolved thanks to the rotation of the squad.
Now, there’s even greater emphasis on the trip to Fulham on Saturday.
A loss could be catastrophic and will crank up the pressure to a point Ten Hag has not seen since his tenure began last season.
It’s why Red Devils legend Gary Neville believes it’s time for Ten Hag to try something drastic in order to “shock” his troops back to life.
“He has to do something stark Erik ten Hag ahead the match with Fulham,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“He has not really tried anything like go five at the back or a different system.
“He is still persisting with four at the back and man to man marking in midfield, with one up top.
“I wonder if he might have to depart from that to shock the players and give them something completely different.
“The Manchester Derby was bad but this has cemented what we have seen in the last few days, they are lacking in ideas.
“Ten Hag claps the fans, but he has thinking to do that manager, some real thinking. He has to work out how he can get the best out of these players very quickly.”