Gory gory Man United: Darren Fletcher’s flops make unwanted history in dismal FA Cup exit – and disgusted-looking Sir Alex Ferguson can’t hide his disappointment

Manchester United made unwanted history when they were eliminated from the FA Cup third round, breaking two records dating back decades.

Darren Fletcher’s side were eliminated from England’s top cup competition for the first time on Sunday night; Former Red Devil Danny Welbeck scored one goal and set up another in Brighton’s 2-1 win.

This means United have been eliminated from both domestic cups this season at the first hurdle, losing out on penalties to League Two Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup at the start of the season.

Failure to qualify for Europe this season means United can now only play in the Premier League and are currently seventh.

through OptaThis season marked the first time since the 1981–82 season that United were eliminated from both domestic cup competitions at the first opportunity.

That was 44 years ago, leaving the current United team with an undesirable record for the foreseeable future.

Darren Fletcher’s side were second best behind Brighton as they were beaten at the first hurdle on Sunday.

But the situation gets worse: the club will also play the fewest number of matches in a season since before World War I.

They will only play 40 matches in all competitions this season; This is the fewest points since the 1914-15 season, 111 years ago, when they played 39 matches. The statistics exclude seasons affected by war.

United, accustomed to competing on all fronts until the end of the season, have to make do with just 38 league matches and two domestic cup matches.

If they had put in more effort in the two cup competitions, they could have played a maximum of 51 matches this season.

Legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson watched the game in horror on Sunday, sitting next to United heroes Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, and couldn’t believe how the team he once carried as the world’s greatest player had fallen so far.

United are searching for their seventh permanent manager since Ferguson retired 13 years ago, all of whom were fired in pursuit of the success United once enjoyed.

Ruben Amorim was released last week and Fletcher was given the task of leading the team for the foreseeable future. However, their results, following a 2-2 draw with Burnley and a defeat against Brighton, look set to prevent him from taking over on a permanent basis.

Sir Alex Ferguson could not hide his disappointment as he watched his former team from the Old Trafford Directors’ Box

This result is unlikely to help Fletcher’s chances of becoming interim manager in the long term

The job looks set to go to either Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Michael Carrick, with the aim of appointing a permanent manager in the summer.

This week, Ferguson was described by former captain Roy Keane as a ‘stink’ for his presence at the club. Keane, who famously fell out with Ferguson in 2005, said on Sky Sports: ‘What’s going on in these job interviews? It caught my attention.

‘Why do they keep giving jobs to certain people? They sit there in the interview and leave, and 12, 14 months later they’re like, “he’s not the guy for us.”

‘Don’t you understand this when you talk to them? You look into someone’s eyes and away you go…

‘You see who calls the shots at Manchester United… [Alex] Ferguson and David Gill [former chief executive] ‘It hangs around like a bad smell.’

It comes after Fletcher admitted he sought Ferguson’s approval before taking charge of United.

The Red Devils’ next match will be the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Saturday. It is not yet known whether Fletcher will remain in office.