Another Manchester United managerial project is heading in that one, same direction. And even Michael Carrick recognises that. "We've gone out of the cup and the feeling around the place feels bigger than that," he said.
"I'm happy enough to be honest about that. That's how it feels." It's a story that's been seen before. A dismal Carabao Cup experience at the first hurdle - this time throwing away a 2-0 lead to exit to Brighton - harks back to memories of Ruben Amorim's disappointing defeat at Grimsby last year, which helped signal the beginning of the end.
A cup exit to the Seagulls was also reminiscent of the FA Cup defeat United suffered to Fabian Hurzeler's side at the start of the year. That was the last match before Carrick returned to the club and sparked a mini-revival. Now it seems like United are back to square one again.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Even Pascal Gross scoring the equaliser at Old Trafford brought back memories of how he netted twice at United's home in August 2022 to put Erik ten Hag's tenure on the back foot, in the same way Carrick is facing an uphill battle now. Gross still doing the business four years later is a great testament to the German's longevity at 35 years old - but it's an even more damning reflection of United's lack of progression in that time. Since that match in 2022, which came 1,502 days ago, Gross has secured European football for Brighton, left the club for Borussia Dortmund, rejoined the Seagulls, got them back into Europe, watched on as United spent £365m on seven new central midfielders - and still he stood tall above the United midfield.
Around £140m of that pot started for United against Brighton in Youri Tielemans, Mason Mount and Andrey Santos, while a further £70m in Carlos Baleba watched on from the stands as his old club beat his new one. What must he be thinking? Just like against Hull on the opening weekend of the season, United were outfought by Brighton.
"They didn't look fit enough," said Jamie Redknapp. "I don't know if a lot of them do enough. I saw too many players not running back or not looking fit enough." Many can point towards the nine changes Carrick made, with many of United's players coming into the team after weeks on the Premier League bench.
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