It has become a weekly occurrence for Manchester United’s under-fire and underperforming players, inspirational messages before a game, lose said match with apologies then following on social media. Rinse and repeat.
And their embarrassing 4-1 defeat at the hands of Watford will continue that cycle after yet another no-show.
United were dominated at Vicarage Road on another miserable afternoon of a season that is becoming increasingly concerning.
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The most frustrating thing for the stunned fans in the away end was that this campaign was to be so different.
HAVE YOUR SAY! What do Man Utd need to change after another defeat? Get involved in the debate below
After finishing second last term, there was a feeling that for all of his faults as a manger, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was close to finding a recipe for success.
The arrivals of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo was supposed to be the final stepping stone in bringing United back to prominence after eight seasons without a league title.
Ronaldo has nine goals in all competitions, but there are question marks over whether his introduction has actually disrupted the project that was building under the Norwegian.
Nevertheless, the 36-year-old has rightly become front and centre of everything that is good and great about United and he is undoubtedly the man they turn to in the face of a crisis.
“Time to role (sic) up the sleeves once again and just get the job done! Let’s chase what we are trying to achieve this season!” Ronaldo posted on Instagram on Friday night.
Unfortunately there was no rolling up of sleeves and the job was most certainly not achieved as the despondent players trudged off the pitch.
Ronaldo made no mistake that he came back to Old Trafford in order to win trophies, but after just 12 games they are already as many points behind league leaders Chelsea.
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David de Gea, who came to United’s rescue to save a penalty not once but twice, summed up the state of the squad with Solskjaer’s job now surely at imminent risk.
"This is not Manchester United or the way we ought to play - it's difficult to say more than that,” the Spaniard said shortly after the full-time whistle.
"It's been very bad for a long time - a club like Man United we have to be fighting for trophies and fighting for big things and to be honest we are far from that.
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“Let's see - we have to keep working hard and stick together. We always say the same things but it's the truth - we have to look at ourselves and see where we can improve."
It’s the kind of honesty that Man United fans will want to hear, rather than the endless cycle of empty promises and even emptier apologies.
