After last season’s seventh-place debacle, many Manchester United fans thought that things could not get worse. It was the team’s lowest league table finish in the Premier League era by some margin, and manager David Moyes, pegged as the worthy successor to legendary figure Sir Alex Ferguson, was fired in reputation-ruining disgrace. 

Come summer 2014, despite the previous year’s gloom, some United fans felt a sense of revival with the arrival of steely, successful Dutch manager Louis van Gaal. 

The tactical and man-managing genius was coming off a successful World Cup managing the Netherlands which included a third-place finish and a rousing 5-1 victory over defending champions Spain. 

But so far, those optimistic hopes have proven quite misplaced. The Red Devils’ start to the season, both in the Premier League and the League Cup, has been disastrous. 

It started on Aug. 16, with a 2-1 home loss to Swansea City F.C. on the opening day of the Premier League season. 

While United hasn’t lost in the league again since then, their two following games have been lackluster road draws against two teams that the United of old would have been expected to beat handily. 

The latter, a scoreless draw this past Saturday against newly promoted Burnley, was a prime example of what British announcers like to call a “dire” performance, as neither side really showed any signs of  offensive creativity. 

The nadir of United’s on-field performance came last Tuesday when they lost 4-0 to League One side Milton Keynes Dons F.C., whose entire squad’s yearly value is five times less than United striker Wayne Rooney makes in a single year.

It was close to an all-time low defeat, even for a lineup containing mostly fringe players. As wordsmith and commentator Ian Darke tweeted, “Whatever team Man Utd field , a 0-4 defeat to MK Dons is embarrassing and humiliating. Shambolic defending.”

The supposedly-brilliant van Gaal summed up the season’s start sagely: “When you have two points [out] of [a possible] nine... that is disappointing,” he said.

The club’s transfer policy has been a little less muddled than its results, but still leaves something to be desired. United picked up two defenders to bolster its unimpressive defense: Luke Shaw and, just last week, Marcos Rojo, an Argentine star who shined at the World Cup. However, Shaw was injured in preseason and the back four remains a troubling issue.

Angel di Maria, a quick, flashy winger formerly of Real Madrid, was brought in near the end of the transfer window, but it is hard to know whether he will be able to make an impact or if he will instead succumb to Ozil syndrome (the Arsenal midfielder made a similar move from Real Madrid to England and has not made anything like the expected impact.) 

The squad brought in winger Radamel Falcao on loan from AS Monaco on deadline day, but he missed the World Cup with a cruciate ligament injury, so it remains to be seen how he will be used.

The schedule-making gods (or computers) have blessed United with a seemingly easy next few games, at home against recently promoted Queens Park Rangers, and away to newly-promoted Leicester City. But if their recent record can be used as evidence, they might still struggle. 

Many fans around the world would be thrilled to see just that happen. While United have one of the largest global fan bases in the world, that position also comes with a sizeable share of haters, and they have had much to gloat about so far this year.