Man Utd’s trophy hopes dying in January is an indictment of a once proud club

You have to go back to 1982 for the previous time United had exited both domestic cup competitions this early but at least then they were still in a title battle.

The better comparison is the 1970-71 campaign. Back then, United had just sacked Wilf McGuinness and brought back Matt Busby on an interim basis when they were eliminated in the FA Cup third round by Middlesbrough, having already exited the League Cup.

They were also 18 points behind league leaders Leeds. Fifty-four years on, United have an interim manager and are waiting to appoint another caretaker to carry them through to the end of the season with no trophy to fight for over the next four or so months. What a mess.

That Brighton’s winning goal was scored by a former United player who should never have been sold merely rubbed salt into the wounds.

Louis van Gaal told United staff at the time that Welbeck was offloaded because he was convinced the striker would never score goals. That was 11½ years ago, since when Welbeck has scored 81 goals in 330 appearances for Arsenal, Watford and Brighton, eight of which have now come against his former club.

Amid the many recruitment disasters since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, United have demonstrated an enduring and troubling tendency to hold on for too long to players they should not have kept (think Anthony Martial, Victor Lindelof, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones) and sell prematurely those they should have retained (Welbeck, Jonny Evans, Álvaro Carreras and Scott McTominay among them).

Welbeck, now 35, shamed many younger United players here with his energy, hunger, movement and leadership. Fabian Hürzeler called him a “role model” on and off the pitch and United’s dressing room is certainly lacking in those.

Welbeck’s head could have dropped when he missed a big chance early on after Senne Lammens had sent a pass intended for Kobbie Mainoo straight into the feet of the former England striker, whose shot was saved.

But he is too strong a character for that. He led the Brighton line quite brilliantly and his goal – a thrashed finish into the top corner – was just rewards for his nous and endeavour.

Fletcher implored United’s more experienced players to drag the younger ones along and ensure they “don’t waste this season”. Yet it should trouble the club that Hürzeler could make so many changes and be missing so many key players and still watch his team win with something to spare.

This was Brighton’s fourth win in five visits to Old Trafford despite Hürzeler making six changes to the team that drew at Manchester City in midweek. Many senior men started on the bench and plenty were not here at all, including Carlos Baleba, Yankuba Minteh, Mats Wieffer and Maxim De Cuyper. Of the starters, Jason Steele, Olivier Boscagli, Pascal Gross and Diego Coppola had five Premier League starts between them this season.

Perhaps things would have panned out differently for United had Diogo Dalot, after making a fine run to race onto Matheus Cunha’s through ball, not shoot straight at Steele in the second minute and blown a golden chance to give his side a precious early lead. But after a bright start United faded badly.

Brighton, with one win in eight coming into this, have not exactly been flying themselves but once they went ahead they never really looked like surrendering that lead.

Having worked the ball coolly and calmly down the right channel, they moved inside before switching the play to the left to the impressive Ferdi Kadioglu. He slipped in Welbeck, who shook off the attentions of Mason Mount as he motioned one way and then another, before crossing from the left. Georginio Rutter’s header was cleared off the line by Lisandro Martínez but Gruda smashed home the rebound. There were four United bodies in the six yard box and none ever looked like dealing with the trouble.

There is just no defensive resilience in this team. Positionally, they are also suspect and nowhere was that more evident for Brighton’s second. Sure, they have now reverted to a back four after 14 months playing in a back three under Amorim bar a handful of games, but there was no excuse for Patrick Dorgu giving Gruda an inordinate amount of time and space to receive Joël Veltman’s pass and square for Welbeck to score.

Substitute Shea Lacey was sent off on his first senior United appearance at Old Trafford late on when, having already been cautioned for a foul on Yasin Ayari, he was booked again for dissent after throwing the ball down in anger. Fletcher was booked at the end for rebuking referee Simon Hooper for the decision.

In the stands, co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Joel Glazer copped more abuse from United supporters and a chorus of boos greeted the final whistle. You would not envy Carrick or Solskjaer.

Fragile players need to build themselves up, says Fletcher

Darren Fletcher has warned Manchester United’s players they risk being sold if they “waste the season” and fail to step up after watching the club’s hopes of a trophy effectively end in early January for the first time in 54 years.

Fletcher – who has taken temporary charge of the last two games following Ruben Amorim’s sacking last Monday – had a strong message for United’s “fragile” players after watching them get booed off after a 2-1 FA Cup third-round defeat at the hands of Brighton.

“You know in difficult times that true character is going to show so they have to dig in and show they want to be part of Manchester United’s future, learn from this,” the United caretaker manager said.

“And ultimately, if you’re not, then I don’t think you should be here or will be here. It sounds strong, but that’s just the reality of the way it should be.

“Anytime you come in at Manchester United, it’s a massive job. The thing for me is there’s still a lot to play for this season and I think if I look at the players and we get players back from injury and Afcon [Africa Cup of Nations] and we get a fuller squad, I think these players have got the ability to qualify in a Champions League place and that should be their objective, that should be their mindset.

“But they’re going to have to come together and be part of that as well. It’s not about a manager. It’s not about directors. It’s about everyone and the players have to group together, take responsibility and find a way of improving quickly and taking on the challenge for the rest of the season. Don’t waste the season.”

United’s early cup exits and lack of European football this season mean they will play a total of just 40 games this term. They have not had fewer matches in a full season since the 1914-15 campaign, when they played 39.

Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo are likely to be back for Saturday’s visit of Manchester City after Cameroon and Ivory Coast’s Afcon quarter-final exits but Fletcher was clear there had to be a marked improvement from the squad.

“That is where we’re at – we can’t hide behind that,” he said. “We’ve got to face that and we’ve got to deal with that and it’s not Manchester United’s level or what’s expected.

“But ultimately, we have to do something about that and take a step forward by qualifying for the Champions League.

“You can see that the players are fragile and they need to build themselves up because it’s up to them now – they have got to respond.

“Confidence is one of the most powerful things in football. When you don’t have confidence you have to dig deep – and you have to battle, grind, fight, work, win games – and then the confidence comes back.

“Champions League places are important for a number of reasons. And for the players, it’s important and for attracting players so it’s important in all levels and for them to feel like this season has achieved an objective of some sorts.

“But I keep saying that the players have got to step up as well. They need to come together and they will, and I’ll challenge them to do that.

“They’ve got to learn how to deal with setbacks to conceding goals, try and build confidence but to do that you’re going to have to grind out ways to win.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]