Revisiting the ghosts of Christmas past
There is generally something to enjoy about the month of December as a football fan. Plenty of matches to get to and watch in close proximity of one another, there is a buzz around the grounds as the holidays approach, it is a good chance for teams to build up momentum as they seek to challenge for a title, get into the European spots, or avoid relegation and the shocks that occur.
It has been often been a good month for us reds. It has seen us gain quite a few victories and important results to drive us on for glory. At least half of the previous campaigns has seen us come away with a defeat or a few draws at the worse. Even this month, despite inconsistency, has not been too bad. Injuries, departures to AFCON, and poor decision making has generally made it appear worse than what it is.
But some Decembers have been real horror shows. We look at the five worse in the Premier League era. And some might surprise you.
5. 1995-96:
Thirty years ago ended wonderfully with Eric Cantona landing a volley past David James to land the double. It’s often forgotten how bad a month December was for us. We needed late equalisers from David Beckham and Eric Cantona to save points against Chelsea (before they were famous) and Sheffield Wednesday. The depth of the squad was depleted due to injury and it showed in dismal results away to Liverpool and then Leeds on Christmas Eve.
It was so light at the back that Roy Keane was drafted at centre back. Thankfully Andy Cole rediscovered his goalscoring touch which helped in crucial wins over leaders Newcastle and QPR. We even got an emergency loan in the guise of William Prunier (he didn’t last long).
Two Wins, two draws and two defeats resulting in 8 points overall and 1.33 points per game.
4. 1998-99:
The treble season? Fourth worse? Remarkably, yeah. And mainly down to the number of draws that we had during this time. We fortunately drew away to then league leaders Aston Villa, gave up a two goal lead away to Spurs where they expressed interest in signing Ole Solksjaer and then allowed Chelsea equalise at Old Trafford after a host of wasted chances.
The defensive lapses hit us badly in a 3-2 home loss to Middlesbrough where we had been 3-0 down. It was our last defeat of the season. Some measure of normality came in a 3-0 win over struggling Nottingham Forest thanks to a Ronnie Johnson double. They looked more solid in a 0-0 draw at Chelsea but were unable to land the winner.
One win, four draws and one defeat resulting in 7 points overall and 1.16 points per game.
3. 2023-24
The second season of Erik Ten Hag’s reign was extremely ropey despite the FA Cup victory at the end. They had won three in a row which was the best run that point of the season but started the month badly. After blowing a lead away to Galatasary, Utd found themselves under the cosh for most of the game at Newcastle. They offered little other than a disallowed Harry Maguire goal. They beat Chelsea at home thanks to Scott McTominay’s double but then it got worse. Three games without scoring including a home defeat to Bournemouth and a loss at West Ham.
They did manage to keep Liverpool scoreless at Anfield though. Finding themselves two down to Villa was not ideal but a late turnaround including Rasmus Hojlund’s first league goal did ease the pressure. The joy of that win was quickly quelled with a shocking loss away to Nottingham Forest.
Two wins, one draw and four defeats resulting in 7 points overall and 1 point per game.
2. 2024-25.
Yeah it has been a dreadful last two years. And at this point of the season, we were onto our third man in charge following Ten Hag’s sacking and the end of Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s interim spell. Ruben Amorim was just in the door a few weeks and trying to get used to the players under his charge amid a busy spell of the year. And finding out who was causing issues in the squad. Marcus Rashford was the first to be dropped after disciplinary issues for a 2-0 loss at Arsenal. This was followed by a dreadful defensive showing at home to Forest.
A 2-1 win in the Manchester derby provided some optimism after coming from behind. We turned a corner and smacked into a wall though. A second successive home loss to Bournemouth, Matheus Cunha scoring directly from a corner at Wolves and then a limp display at home to Newcastle. The latter also had the nadir of home fans booing Joshua Zirkzee as he was subbed off.
One win and five defeats resulting in 3 points overall and 0.5 points per game.
- 2015-16
But there can be only one winner. Louis Van Gaal’s second season may have provided FA Cup win at the end (sound familiar?) but it was a dreadful period for long suffering fans. Early season optimism of a title challenge was squashed by the time December came around. It started off with a 0-0 draw at home to West Ham that was even duller than it sounds. We then followed that up with a 2-1 loss to Premier League debutants Bournemouth and another 2-1 loss to relegated Norwich City.
Stoke City away is generally an encounter where players have to stand up and be counted in order to get a result. Van Gaal decided to drop Wayne Rooney and it backfired. A defensive blunder from Memphis Depay put us under pressure early on and the win was sealed in the second half. The dreadful month was finished off with another 0-0 at home to Chelsea. People look back with rose tinted glasses of his reign and say we never should have sacked him. Games at home with next to zero shots on target after constant sideways passing would state otherwise.
No wins, two draws and three defeats resulting in 2 points and 0.4 points per game. And a total of 2 goals over 5 games.
Happy Holidays!
Leave a Reply