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Look at the picture above. The sea of red that you notice is made up of empty red chairs, not by the vociferous faithful, who have played an integral part in making Old Trafford the proverbial Theatre of Dreams, the setting for much of Manchester United's illustrious history.
This is an uncommon sight even for the once top dogs of England. Fans deserting the famous stadium (and the team) even before the final whistle blew on another insipid and calamitous night for the Red Devils speaks of how far the team have sunk since the glory days under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Wins and losses are part of the deal when you throw in your lot with a football club and every United fan knows that. However, it must be the manner of the abject surrender of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's boys against Burnley at the former's fortress in the 2-0 loss that must be rankling the Stretford End faithful, whose chanting during the insufferable evening made the situation doubly painful for the players and fans.
Burney had claimed their first win at the hallowed turf, but is it hallowed anymore? Manchester United have had a strange, strange season by all respects. The moment they seem to have turned a corner with a convincing, almost United-esque win in the league, the moment they prevail in a tough FA Cup replay against close challengers Wolves, they go back to hitting nadir with another soul-crushing surrender.
Par for the course
The mighty have fallen so far that last night's reversal seems the norm rather than the exception. Weeks before, former 'noisy neighbours' Manchester City toyed with the team at the same turf in the League Cup. Home defeats are a common sight at Old Trafford nowadays and the fortress is in ruins. Since March, Solskjaer has lost 12 and won 11, an unheard of return for a coach of a club of Manchester United's magnitude.
They have a disbalanced squad full of talented greenhorns still in development and players past their prime; the better performers have also been hit by a tide of injuries and the coach is clearly on the brink. It is a testament to the struggles of challengers Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal that they are still fifth despite a dismal run. But it is the reaction from the fans that will be of the most concern for the board and the management.
Fan fury
Former Red Devil Rio Ferdinand was quoted as saying that it was unheard of for fans to leave the stadium after 84 minutes. But that's not the only thing they have been doing. Even in a 4-0 thrashing of Norwich on Saturday, they chanted slogans against the owners the Glazers and barracked the executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
Clearly, one win or loss isn't changing the negative mind-space the supporters are in. The failure is systemic and has a lot to do with the squad composition, the style of play and managerial tactics prevailing in the troubled club right now. They might be hinting that they have had enough and that is a new worry for the tottering former champions because in the end they are the ones who make or break an institution like United.
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