Manchester United have taken just six points in six Premier League games this season. By now, you've all probably heard that this has been their worst start to a first division campaign in 40 years.
But just how bad is that in the context of the club's history?
We look back at United's worst starts to a league season -- and where they ultimately finished up.
Notes -
a) We've adjusted all point tallies to reflect three points per win
b) This six-point start was matched in 1921-22, 1926-27, 1960-61, 1964-65 and 1973-74
1938-39: Five points (1W 2D 3L)
Club secretary Walter Crickmer (one of those responsible for setting up United's youth development system) took over as manager mid-season in 1937-38 and continued as the boss through the next season.
It wasn't a pleasant start, with a lone win against Birmingham City in the first six games. They barely recovered from that start and finished 14th in the league.
1914-15: Four points (1W 1D 4L)
The last season of football before a four-year break due to World War I was headlined by a fixing scandal involving Manchester United and Liverpool after players of both sides were found to have rigged a match between them in 1915.
That, obviously, overshadowed a poor start to the season for Jack Robson's men, where they had just one win in six. United ended up staving off relegation by two points and finished the season in 18th (only the 20th placed team was relegated at the time).
1986-87: Four points (1W 1D 4L)
The start that saw Sir Alex Ferguson turn up at Old Trafford mid-season.
An already under-pressure Ron Atkinson saw his team start with losses to Arsenal, West Ham United and Charlton Athletic and that set the tone. Atkinson was sacked after a League Cup fourth round exit (lost to Southampton) and was replaced immediately by Alex Ferguson. He guided United to an 11th-place finish at the end of the campaign.
1928-29: Four points (0W 4D 2L)
Managed by Herbert Bamlett, Manchester United went draw, draw, draw, loss, draw, loss to start off the season and never really recovered to build any kind of momentum: they finished the league in 12th.
1953-54: Three points (0W 3D 3L)
This was the great Matt Busby's worst start to a season as United went winless for eight games before recovering rather well to finish fourth in the league.
It was also the season that established Duncan Edwards, just 17 then, as a semi-regular starter along with fellow academy graduate Dennis Viollet (20 at the time).
1969-70: Three points (0W 3D 3L)
In the summer ahead of the campaign, Busby stepped down after 24 years as Manchester United manager and that absence was immediately felt with a slow start to the season: they had to wait for game 7 and Sunderland before registering their first win.
New boss Wilf McGuinness, though, recovered and United finished the season in 8th, having also reached the semifinals of the FA Cup and the League Cup.
1972-73: Three points (0W 3D 3L)
Frank O'Farrell's men started with three losses (Ipswich Town, Liverpool and Everton) and would be winless for nine games before a 3-0 win over Derby. It was a brief resurgence, though, and O'Farrell was sacked in December after a 5-0 loss to Crystal Palace.
Tommy Docherty came in, brought back the by-then exiled George Best, and managed to guide United to survival, barely.
1930-31: Zero points (0W 0D 6L)
No need for points adjustments here. The worst start, and one of the worst seasons in Manchester United history. United started the season with 12 straight losses, won just seven games all season, and were relegated to the second division after finishing with just 22 points in 42 games and a GD of -62.
Manager Herbert Bamlett was sacked with six games to go, and club secretary Crickmer saw out the season as acting manager.
(Information from Global Sports Research contributed to this report)
