Rock bottom? No... why Man Utd got worse after 4-0 loss at Brentford

Reaction to Manchester United's 4-0 hammering at Brentford on 13 August 2022 was predictably fierce.

BBC pundit Chris Sutton talked of United hitting "rock bottom". On Sky Sports, Karen Carney said United "can't get any lower". Former skipper Gary Neville said his old club was "rotten".

Sutton and Carney were wrong.

From that mauling at the Gtech Community Stadium to the end of last season, United spent over half a billion pounds on new players. They ended the 2024-25 campaign in 15th spot, their worst finish since relegation in 1973-74.

There have been good days in the intervening years. United won the EFL Cup, FA Cup and qualified for the Champions League. But there has been embarrassment, too.

They conceded six in losing at Manchester City in 2022 and suffered a record 7-0 hiding at Liverpool in March 2023.

They were beaten 4-0 at Crystal Palace in May 2024 and it took late goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo to give the scoreline a respectable look when they were beaten 4-3 on their last visit to Brentford in May.

This summer, United spent another £219.6m on four more players. Goalkeeper Senne Lammens had not arrived by that point but Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo – who was one of Brentford's scorers in 2022 - and Benjamin Sesko were all involved when their club was beaten at League Two Grimsby in the EFL Cup in August.

It was the first time United had ever lost to a fourth-tier side.

Far from hitting rock bottom when they were beaten at Brentford three years ago, it was just another heavy thud on a long descent from their glory days under Sir Alex Ferguson.

This weekend, United go back to west London trying to take baby steps on the path back to something like what they once were.

Victory would represent the first time they have won successive league games under Ruben Amorim, and the first time they have done it at all since they followed up a 2-0 success at Brighton on the final day of the 2023-24 campaign by opening last season with a late 1-0 win over Fulham.

It is a staggering statistic, both for United and Amorim, who took former club Sporting on a 12-match winning streak in the autumn of 2021 and had emerged victorious in 16 out of 17 games – with one draw – immediately before moving to England.

Little wonder he is not looking too far ahead.

"It's really hard but I also understand it's a different club, with different pressures in a completely different league," he said.

"That feeling of winning and for it to be really normal to win, I struggle [with] a lot.

"It's in our hands to change things. We just need to win the next one and to do everything to win the next one [after that]."

Some sources say United panicked in the immediate aftermath of that four-goal hiding at Brentford.

Others argue against that theory.

Brazilian midfield great Casemiro was certainly high on a list of targets, along with France's Adrien Rabiot. At the top was Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong.

It is now accepted United spent far too long that summer trying to sign new boss Erik ten Hag's number one target. The Brentford defeat accelerated the push for an alternative.

Casemiro didn't need much persuading once United offered huge wages, in line with his salary at Real Madrid. A four-year deal was agreed, with the option for a further season, by which time he would be 35.

The merits of that particular transfer are hotly debated. Casemiro was outstanding in his first season before his form dipped alarmingly and his lack of mobility – it was recognised within negotiations he would need to be partnered with a 'runner' in midfield – began to be exposed.

Yet after Ten Hag's dismissal, Casemiro gradually won Amorim over and it was him, not £42.3m Manuel Ugarte, who started alongside skipper Bruno Fernandes in the Europa League final last May.

Casemiro has started four out of five Premier League games so far this season. He will miss the Brentford game following his red card against Chelsea.

On Antony's arrival, 20 days after the Brentford loss, the only debate is who decided to spend £81.3m on someone former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told club chiefs was worth no more than £30m.

Ten Hag worked with Antony at Ajax, was desperate for another wide player and was supportive of the Brazilian after his arrival. It is inconceivable he did not at least pressurise United chiefs in the aftermath of that Brentford loss.

Ajax, with former United keeper Edwin van der Sar still in post as chief executive, were in a strong negotiating position having already let Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez move to Old Trafford that summer with a warning no-one else would be allowed to leave. But £81.3m?

If they had been the only questionable transfers since the Brentford debacle, the damage would have been manageable. United did finish third that season, something they have only bettered twice since Ferguson retired in 2013.

But there are plenty more new arrivals since then on whom the jury is either still out or have already been shipped out, and that includes players signed under the new Sir Jim Ratcliffe regime.

The form of Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro and Noussair Mazraoui means of those signed before this summer, they escape criticism. Of the new arrivals, the form of Mbeumo and Cunha in particular has been encouraging.

As yet though, improved statistics have not turned into consistent results.

United go into this weekend's round of fixtures in the bottom half of the table, where they have been for all but one week since the 4-0 win over Everton last December in Amorim's second league game in charge.

Remarkably, since finishing third under Ten Hag, United have never ended a match round higher than sixth. Even a victory this weekend may not achieve that.

Another defeat at the Gtech will trigger more criticism and put Amorim's position under scrutiny again.

Regardless, be wary of any assessment United have hit "rock bottom". As the last few years have shown, no-one can be sure where that actually is.