Things are looking bleak for Manchester United, as question marks swirl around manager Erik Ten Hag and his squad of players after a dire performance in Sunday's Manchester derby.
Though United started the game somewhat positively, it was an all too familiar story by the game's conclusion, as the team lost the head at the first sign of any adversity. Manchester City ultimately ran out 3-0 winners having barely had to break a sweat throughout the 90 minutes.
The frustration of the Manchester United players was visible for all to see, and Roy Keane went so far as to call for Bruno Fernandes to be stripped of the captaincy for his antics nearing full-time.
United have now played 14 games in all competitions this season, and have won seven and lost seven - a shocking record for a team that finished in the top three last season and looked to be building on that promise with some big-money acquisitions during the summer.
A constant presence in any discussion of Manchester United is, of course, the uncertainty over the club's ownership.
The deeply unpopular Glazer family have controlled the club since 2005, and fan protests against the American ownership have grown in ferocity in recent years, as the failings of operations at Old Trafford become increasingly clear.
It now seems as though British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is on the verge of acquiring 25% of the club's shares, and control of the football department.
Despite the optimism that has followed this news from Manchester United fans, ex-United captain Gary Neville has pointed out that the uncertainty surrounding Ratcliffe's arrival, combined with the overwhelming issues behind the scenes, mean that the proposed change will not be a quick fix of the club's problems on the pitch.
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Gary Neville sums up how deep problems run at Manchester United
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has been one of the most vocal critics of the Glazer family's ownership in recent years, earning some flack from his fellow Sky Sports pundits, who have accused him on occasion of deflecting blame from the players to the ownership in the aftermath of poor United performances.
Even Neville could not defend the players' performances in Sunday's shambolic derby showing, but he did once again address the ownership situation, and reaffirmed his belief that the fortunes on the pitch would only have a chance of improving once change came higher up in the club.
Neville, who captained United for four years under Alex Ferguson, would however go on to point out that things will not change at the click of a finger should Ratcliffe arrive at the club, and broke down the extent to which any new owner would have a big task on their hands:
I've said it before. There are people who go on television and will say, 'every time that Manchester United lose, you blame the Glazer family.'
The reality of it is - it isn't going to change whilst you've got this cultural toxicity at the top of the club. This uncertainty.
We need Daniel Radcliffe, not Jim Ratcliffe!
I honestly don't know how it can change. I also don't know how it can change even if Jim Ratcliffe comes in.
As brilliant a businessman as he is, as passionate about sport as he is, as a minority shareholder, how do you deal with this stadium at half a billion? How do you deal with the £800 million in debt, and the £300 million that's owed to other clubs?
How do you deal with the football department? That's only one part of the football club, there's a load of parts to it. You've got shareholders in New York that want money, the Glazer family still want money.
I don't know how it works for him. It's a win-win for the Glazer family, [if you] come and take over the football department and the club does well, there are prizes for them. And if you come in and they do badly, then it's taken the heat off the Glazer family.
I'm still struggling to understand how this will be fixed. I know that this will not be fixed while this is in play.
It is abundantly clear that Manchester United are a broken club and, with more and more questions creeping in about the decisions of Erik Ten Hag and the performances of his players, it is hard to see when things will turn around for them.
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