You’ve got to feel for United fans.
No sooner do they think a corner has been turned with an epic win over Liverpool than they’re sent reeling once again.
And it’s all because of Gareth Southgate.
According to reports, the England boss is the man that Jim Ratcliffe wants to take over from Erik ten Hag – even if United win the FA Cup and qualify for the Champions League.
You might think such a late ‘double’ would be enough to earn the Dutchman a stay of execution but Ratcliffe is obviously not sold on him.
And sees Southgate, who will be out of contract in December, as the ideal replacement in the new hierarchy he wants to build.
Many United fans aren’t sold on Ten Hag either, but the vast majority prefer him to Southgate.
And if United were to lift the famous old trophy and rejoin Europe’s big league, Ten Hag would surely win over a chunk of the undecided.
It all makes Southgate seem extremely unpopular – disproportionately so, given what he’s achieved with England.
In one poll, no less than 93% of Devils’ fans were against his appointment.
Many are not prepared to acknowledge that he has done well with the Three Lions – saying he’s lucky his gig coincides with a decent crop of players.
And almost all point to his record as a club manager – sacked by Middlesbrough after relegation 15 years ago.
That’s it. One mediocre club and one miserable failure.
But in fairness, Boro were pushing for promotion when the axe fell the following season. The chairman claimed he’d already decided.
Still, hardly the sort of CV that fans, shareholders or even the Glazers would expect for a candidate to run one of the world’s richest clubs.
Against that, of course, is taking England to the final and semi-final of the last two major tournaments.
But running an international team is a part-time job compared to the daily grind of club management.
It’s the same sport but the task is a world away from the frenzy of the day-to-day stuff – the two jobs are chalk and Camembert.
With its long breaks – gardening leave between tournaments and only a handful of matches a year – it’s hard not to see international management as a rest home for burnt-out club bosses.
Nor is Southgate’s style of play likely to get fans off their seats.
Playing with the handbrake on is not what’s expected of a United manager.
But before we get into all that, there is the small matter of the European Championships this summer and Southgate’s England are co-favourites with France.
This is the best England team in a generation but in relation to the United job it’s a no-win situation for Southgate.
An England victory – the first major trophy since 1966 – would be the perfect way to end his eight-year reign and make him a national hero.
It might win over a few sceptics but would also heap enormous pressure on him if he did move to Old Trafford.
He would be swapping one impossible job for another.
Indeed, by finally showing that managing England was doable, he’d be all but guaranteeing that his next one is for Tom Cruise.
Success – with the World Cup two years away – might well persuade him to stay on anyway.
The temptation with a vibrant young side might be too good to pass up.
But far more likely is another agonising quarter-final or semi-final defeat. Don’t even mention penalties.
Southgate earned a permanent place in England’s Hall of Infamy when he botched the vital kick in the Euro 96 semi-final at Wembley.
Andreas Moller duly scored the next to send Germany into the final.
When his side lost to Italy on penalties in the last Euros – also at Wembley – Southgate was blamed more for his tactics than the failures from the spot.
Having been gifted an opening goal in two minutes and with Italy reeling, he chose to sit back and not go for the jugular.
And when the inevitable equaliser came with the inevitable conclusion, there was the inevitable inquest.
The Italians confided they were amazed that England didn’t go for the kill when they were on the ropes.
But that’s not Southgate. Play safe, hold what you have, that’s his mantra. And this is with an attacking team.
Everyone knows England’s strength is attack not defence. There’s Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka up front. And still Harry Maguire at the back.
But will Southgate let those attackers off the leash?
If he doesn’t, it could be another miserable failure.
And if such hard luck stories are acceptable for the England FA, they won’t be for United.
It is his style of play that caused that 93% to react like they did.
Southgate has been England’s second most successful manager, having transformed the team from the listless shambles under Roy Hodgson. Sam Allardyce was there for one game.
He’s made the shirt worth playing for again and created a club atmosphere. He also gives kids a chance.
He’s bright, well-spoken and has hardly put a foot wrong off the field. At 53, he has galvanised a generation of millennials, of different races, of different clubs.
There are no more cliques and it’s changed the way fans feel about England too.
But his football is boring.
It’s what cost Louis van Gaal his job. He had an impressive CV but also used the handbrake.
And he won the cup but was sacked before he’d had a sup from it.
Southgate should stay where he is – he’ll not find such a lucrative gig with so many good players anywhere else.
And United should stick to Ten Hag until they find their next Ferguson.
It’s definitely not Gareth Southgate.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.