For the first time since November 1986, Manchester United have ended a day inside the English top-flight drop zone after playing at least nine matches of a season.

You have to look back to 15 November 1986 to find the last time this occurred, when Manchester United sat 21st in a 22-team first division after 15 rounds of fixtures. A 2-0 defeat away to Oxford United on 8 November followed by a goalless stalemate against Norwich City a week later left the club penultimate, occupying one of three automatic relegation spots. The wretched run ended on 22 November, when a 1-0 triumph over Queens Park Rangers lifted the team to 17th and dragged them clear of danger.

That campaign heralded the arrival of Alex Ferguson in the Old Trafford dugout. Appointed on 6 November 1986 to replace Ron Atkinson, the Scottish manager inherited a squad engulfed in a deep sporting crisis. His first victory arrived against Queens Park Rangers courtesy of a John Sivebaek strike. Manchester United eventually steadied the ship, concluding that season in 11th place, well clear of the bottom three. The rest is history.

Ever since, Manchester United had avoided concluding any matchday in the relegation positions once nine fixtures had been contested—a proud record that has now been shattered. While the club have endured turbulent starts in the Premier League, such as propping up the table after matchday two following a 4-0 drubbing at Brentford in 2022-23, finding the Old Trafford outfit so low this deep into a season requires a rewind to November 1986 and Ferguson's earliest days in charge.

Under Ferguson, United clawed their way out of the abyss to achieve absolute glory. An abyss they find themselves staring into once again, nearly 40 years later.