MANCHESTER UNITED plunged to their worst start to a season in over six decades by losing to Newcastle in mid-week.
Erik ten Hag’s sorry side were trounced 3-0 by the Toon at Old Trafford in a League Cup fourth round repeat of last year’s final.
United’s latest humbling defeat saw them fall to their eighth loss in just 15 matches so far this season.
You would have to go all the way back 61 years to the 1962-63 campaign to find a worst Red Devils start.
Sir Matt Busby’s men had gone into the campaign having come 15th the previous season, still rebuilding from the devastating Munich air disaster four years previously.
Munich survivors Harry Gregg, Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes still provided the spine of the 1962-63 team.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
Jonny Giles had become a key man after coming into the team in the wake of Munich, while Tony Dunne, Noel Cantwell and Shay Brennan all became regulars at the back.
Future England World Cup winner Nobby Stiles was in midfield, while Scot Paddy Crerand was a stalwart.
United had just shelled out a British transfer record £115,000 for Denis Law, who would go on to score 237 goals in 404 appearances for the club.
Prolific former Arsenal ace David Herd played up top, while Albert Quixall featured on the right.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS – BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS
Despite their abundance of talent and legendary manager, United lost nine of their opening 15 games that season.
United’s dreadful start included a Manchester derby home loss to City, a 6-2 thumping at Tottenham, 5-2 Old Trafford hammering against Burnley and 1-0 defeat at Leyton Orient.
The Red Devils went on to finish 19th that season, avoiding relegation by three points.
Busby’s side showed their promise in the FA Cup, however, going on to win the competition.
United defeated Huddersfield, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Coventry and Southampton to book a final date with Leicester.
A David Herd double and a strike by Law saw United clinch their first trophy since the Munich air disaster, which tragically saw eight players and three members of staff killed.
Busby’s side would go on to build on this sign of promise – winning titles in 1965 and 1967 – before going on to claim their first European Cup in 1968, a decade on from Munich.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
