Early promise, but will United flatter to deceive again?

On The Ball

- John Brewin

That Manchester United are in a historic slump is not a difficult conclusion to draw. The club ended last season in as great a disarray as any since they were relegated in 1974.

United were once supposed to be too big to fail; such predictions proved epically errant. Even winning the dreadful advert for football that was May's Europa League final would have been a fig leaf over a season of rank incompetence.

What follows now? During 12 years in the doldrums that followed Alex Ferguson's abdication, false hope has been in high supply. Each new manager, each new raft of signings, the £52.4 million (S$89.7 million) on managerial payoffs, according to talkSport, and the over £1.5 billion of transfer spending flushed down a vortex has brought the sense that this time, things could change and United can return to their rightful place.