Manchester United have had some seriously poor results this season already.
There are a few that stand out among the rest. The derby drubbing against Manchester City, the 3-0 loss to Bournemouth in the Premier League, or the disappointment of the Copenhagen away Champions League fixture. Take your pick.
Erik ten Hag and his coaching staff have had to endure some serious shockers so far. But were they really that surprising?
None have come quite as out of the blue as the defeat youth coach Adam Lawrence has just faced, against all odds. He saw his Manchester United Under-18s lose in the FA Youth Cup on Tuesday, despite a terrific run of form.
Manchester United lose in the FA Youth Cup… again
Manchester United U18s crashed out of the FA Youth Cup on Tuesday night, with the young Red Devils losing 2-0 to Swindon Town.
Last season the team suffered a miserable fourth-round exit away at Stoke City, and they repeated the feat this year as well.
Swindon took a 2-0 lead in as little as 38 minutes against the Red Devils, and United simply never responded.
It was a frustrating night for the academy side, and a ‘learning curve’ as Manchester United took to X to post following the result.
United’s early exit comes after the club made significant changes to its academy coaching structure in the summer.
Adam Lawrence was appointed Under-18s manager, having previously led the Under-16s. He spoke to MUTV after the game and expressed his disappointment.
“A very difficult result to take. I think first of all, you have to say Swindon deserved the win, so congratulations to their players, staff and club because overall they deserved the win,” Lawrence said.
“When you play away from home in these types of competitions and with the pitch the way it was, the last thing you want to do is concede early and let the opposition have something to hold onto.
“They got a foothold into the game and we shot ourselves in the foot a little bit, then conceded a second shortly after that. I think we gave ourselves a mountain to climb in terms of showing a lack of quality in the first half to really open them up. Their goalkeeper had very little to do and then we conceded twice at the other end.
“We got punished in those moments. We were below par, individually and collectively, but I think to be fair to the boys, what we said at half-time is we needed to show better intensity and better spirit to play the way we wanted.”
This result, such is life with cup football, was an anomaly. Lawrence has been doing an incredible job.
Manchester United’s Under 18’s had been on fire
So why was this so surprising? Well, United’s U18 side has been on absolute flames this season. The team had been on a winning run in the league, with 11 wins from 11 games this season.
The squad possesses the likes of Ethan Wheatley, Jack Fletcher, Elyh Harrison – rivalling the 2022 winning squad with some huge names for the future.
They were massive favourites against Swindon, who nobody gave a chance before kick-off. This makes this result more shocking than any of Manchester United’s struggling first-team have faced during the 23/24 campaign.
United’s previous successes in the FA Youth Cup also play a part. They’re the most successful side in the history of the competition and have boasted squads of incredible talent such as the one that included Paul Pogba, Ravel Morrison and so many more in 2011. Maybe next year, chaps.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/muo94EA