British powerhouse football club knocked out of cup competition at the earliest possible stage to leave legions of fans furious and disillusioned with the manager and ownership.
It is remarkable that this statement is 100 per cent applicable to two clubs on the same night as Manchester United and Rangers crashed out of the Carabao Cup and Champions League respectively on Wednesday.
In United's case, they suffered sheer embarrassment at Blundell Park when they were beaten by League Two outfit Grimsby Town on penalties, having gone two goals down earlier in the contest.
Rangers did their best to match them for humiliation; being thrashed 6-0 by Club Brugge in Belgium, a 9-1 defeat on aggregate and an early exit from the Champions League at the qualifying stage.
Ruben Amorim and Russell Martin are two sides of the same coin, hopelessly wedded to miserable styles of football
|REUTERS
What do both clubs have in common? A young coach who is completely dedicated to their particular 'brand' of football, rain or shine.
However, as both Ruben Amorim and Russell Martin are finding out, the shine is rarely seen, it is more like a downpour.
And it is entirely their own faults.
JUST IN: Ruben Amorim makes sack admission after revealing rift with United players
In Amorim's case, you have a 40-year-old manager who has been backed extensively by the United board this summer. Over £200 million has been spent on forwards alone in Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha.
Not only that, but club darling Marcus Rashford has been sent packing, young prospect Alejandro Garnacho is on the verge of being sold and huge money signings Rasmus Hojlund and Antony have been banished.
All of this just to cater Amorim's flawed 3-4-3 system that has shown no signs that it will be a success at Old Trafford, regularly torn to shreds by most teams in the Premier League.
Insipid going forward, cowardly in midfield and oblivious at the back. And don't even mention the calamitous goalkeepers.
Ruben Amorim refuses to change his rigid tactics - and it is costing United badly
|REUTERS
Since arriving at United on November 11, the Portuguese coach has overseen 45 matches - 16 wins, 12 draws and 17 defeats, with a win percentage of 35.56.
Just for context, Gary Neville's infamously dreadful stint in charge of Valencia reads like this: 28 matches, 10 wins, seven draws, 11 defeats, with a win percentage of 35.71.
This is a manager who is so deeply devoted to this dire formation, his wife must be getting concerned.
In this country, coaches must be adaptable or they flounder, as the Mariners of Grimsby - 56 places below United in the football pyramid - proved on Wednesday night.
The United board might find themselves trapped in a sunk-cost fallacy. Do they keep faith in Amorim and pray his rigid tactics come good? Or do they cut him loose and find someone else, and potentially start the whole process again?
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Russell Martin is facing the full force of fan fury at Rangers after a miserable start
|REUTERS
Rangers are, too, locked in a similar situation - despite the fact that they only hired Martin in the summer, he is treading thin ice at Ibrox where the knives are already out.
No one expected Gers to make it past Club Brugge but no one saw the club being 5-0 down at half-time with 10 men.
Fans that made the trip to Belgium did not mince their words as they lashed venom down upon on the 39-year-old, who shrivelled in the visitor's dugout.
But, again, this is the process of reaping what you sow. Having a pseudo-Pepmaniac try and micromanage positional play to a Rangers team that are, no offence, facing teams a fraction of their size in the Scottish Premiership is bonkers.
What was the big brain play when St Mirren pumped the ball up the pitch, ran straight down the middle and scored? Where was the galaxy-mind football when Club Brugge's Nicolo Tresoldi headed home seconds into the match between two defenders?
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Alloa Athletic, a team in the third division of Scottish football, put two past Rangers in the Scottish League Cup earlier this month.
The Glasgow giants have won three out of 10 matches this season, making this the worst start for a permanent Rangers manager ever.
Martin must be having sleepless nights, as it does not get any easier, with his first Old Firm derby coming up on Sunday at Ibrox - the scenes could get very nasty indeed.
Both Amorim and Martin are paying for that eternal sin stubbornness. A good coach makes best with the players he has and does not wed them to a doomed style of play. Adapt.
"I think the players spoke really loudly about what they want today."
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) August 27, 2025
"I just want to apologise to our fans."
"Something has to change and you're not going to change 22 players again."
Ruben Amorim speaks with @gabrielclarke05 after defeat to Grimsby#MUFC | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/anXoVFHoMP
These are enormous clubs with enormous fanbases, many of whom pay a lot of money to watch their teams in action. Both managers apologised to the supporters after their defeats on Wednesday and then proceeded to throw their players under the bus.
"The players spoke really loud today, the best team won, the only team on the pitch," Amorim nearly wept to cameras in Cleethorpes.
“There’s not enough players that really want to fight for each other at the club yet”
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 27, 2025
Russell Martin reflects on Rangers' 9-1 aggregate defeat against Club Brugge 🗣
🎙@DannyJamieson | 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/ilytIpl3po
"There's not enough harmony or care for each other. There are not enough players here that want to fight for the club," Martin sheepishly told TNT Sports.
Imagine being forced into these dogmatic footballing principles, demanded to worship them like the Ten Commandments, get played around for fun and abused by fans only to hear that your manager has hung you out to dry speaking to the press. Hardly inspirational leadership, is it?
All in all, the responsibility ultimately lies with each club's ownership. They brought in these possession-based zealots. They can still do the right thing.