An insane end to an insane game may not have been enough to save Michael Carrick’s job on Sunday as United pulled a draw from the jaws of defeat against Aston Villa at Old Trafford. Patrick Dorgu’s (very) late equalizer could not prevent the Red Devils ending the weekend in the relegation zone.

It is, according to a stat doing the rounds on social media, the first time Manchester United have been in the bottom three at this stage of the season since the 1986–87 season. United rallied to finish 11th that year—but only after a coach by the name of Alex Ferguson was hired in November.

With the chance of now appointing a modern-day equivalent of arguably the best manager in soccer history slim, the Opta supercomputer gives United a 21.58% chance of going down—somehow only 7% less likely than Ipswich Town.

This weekend, as Nottingham Forest saw off Manchester City, the traveling fans from the blue of Manchester sang, “We’re going down with United.”

Were it to happen, United’s relegation would be a seismic event; a sort of reverse Leicester City winning the title. In Premier League history, there has been nothing like it.

Five Relegations in 132 Years

These days, United are unquestionably one of the sport’s biggest and most successful entities—rated as the most valuable English soccer club by Forbes and the team with the most Premier League titles. But it hasn’t always been this way.

It’s been over 50 years since it last happened, but Manchester United have been relegated before—five times, in fact.

The very first time the club dropped out of England’s top tier was back in 1894. Then called Newton Heath, the team had also finished bottom of the First Division the season before, but stayed up by winning a playoff against the Second Division champions. There was no such reprieve a second time, with an emerging Liverpool winning that playoff 2–0.

United—by then actually called United and playing in red rather than green and gold after a 1902 change—were dumped out of the top tier again in both 1922 and 1931. The latter season began with an astonishing 12 straight losses that still forms part of the club’s longest-ever win-less streak.

The club very nearly fell into the third tier for the first time in their history in 1934, but beat Millwall 2–0 on the final day of the Second Division season to survive.

After winning promotion back up to the First Division, United’s fourth relegation—and second in six years—followed in 1937. However, immediate promotion followed and the club ultimately stabilized for several decades with new financial backing and the eventual 1945 appointment of Matt Busby.

Manchester United Relegations Throughout History

• 1893–94—Finished bottom (16th) under old name of Newton Heath
• 1921–22—Finished bottom (22nd) of the First Division
• 1930–31—Finished bottom (22nd) of the First Division
• 1936–37—Finished 21st in the First Division
• 1973–74—Finished 21st in the First Division

Humiliation in 1974

#onthisday in 1974... pic.twitter.com/jlWbZH4lqU

— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 27, 2017

After World War Two, United soon established themselves as a giant, winning five First Division titles across the 1950s and 1960s, as well as being the first English club to win the European Cup in 1968. But it was only six years after that famous triumph against Benfica at Wembley that United experienced their fifth and (as of now) most recent relegation.

A bizarre season saw the legendary George Best’s contract ripped up by New Year amid off-field troubles, while goalkeeper Alex Stepney was made penalty taker—a fact that made him the club’s top scorer for a significant part of a listless campaign.

The penultimate match of the season against rivals Manchester City went down in English soccer folklore after former United great Denis Law scored a 81st-minute backheel against his old club to win the match and all but seal the Red Devils’ fate—results elsewhere meant relegation would have happened anyway. The incident sparked a pitch invasion from United fans attempting to get the result annulled, but to no avail.

Post-Ferguson Malaise

15 - Manchester United are now guaranteed to spend at least 15 consecutive days in the Premier League relegation zone. It is their longest run of days in the top-flight drop zone since September/October 1986 (28).

Dejected. pic.twitter.com/wtpy0nCLOx

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 8, 2026

United, whose demise so soon after dominating Europe was shocking, spent just one season in the second tier and have not come especially close to returning in the half century since.

The club flirted with mediocrity in the 1980s, but Ferguson’s appointment steered them away from any serious danger even as they regularly finished mid-table in the Scot’s early years.

Between 1990 and 2013, United never finished outside the top seven in the league—winning the title 13 times.

But the malaise of the post-Ferguson years and rudderless, self-interested ownership from the Glazer family has radically changed the landscape. United came as close as they have to the drop in modern times in 2024–25 finishing 15th in the table on just 42 points—though they never dropped into the bottom three during that campaign. That scare might have been the club’s recent nadir had things not taken another turn this season.

With almost three quarters of 2026–27 still to play out, there is plenty of time for United to turn things around, but—with optimism at a modern low—there is also a feeling that things could still get worse. The memories of the 1970s no longer feel so distant.