United have had a decade to forget since the legendary Scot walked away from the dugout – but how do their seasons since rank?
It has been 10 years since Sir Alex Ferguson rocked football and announced he was retiring as Manchester United manager, just weeks after leading his team to a 13th Premier League title.
To many fans, Ferguson was the only United manager they had known, and he had brought them so many happy memories, knocking Liverpool off their perch and establishing the Red Devils as the top force in English football.
He also won the Champions League twice, completing an incredible treble in 1999 and a double in 2008, in addition to five FA Cups, four League Cups and a Cup Winners' Cup.
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It has been a long decade since the great man's departure. United have cycled through eight managers and failed to lift the league title since, or even come close to winning it.
To make matters worse, their decline has coincided with Manchester City dominating English football and Liverpool's resurgence.
But there is a tangible feeling that United are on their way back under Erik ten Hag, who has won the Carabao Cup, the club's first trophy since 2017, and led United to the FA Cup final. The team are also on track to return to the Champions League.
But where does this season rank among the 10 campaigns United have had since Ferguson called time on his glorious reign? And which was the most painful season of all?
GOAL ranks every Manchester United season since Ferguson's departure…
Getty Images10Ronaldo's dream return becomes a nightmare (21-22)
The worst season of the post-Ferguson era began so well. With fans back at Old Trafford after almost 18 months away, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side thrashed old enemies Leeds United 5-1 with a Bruno Fernandes hat-trick.
A few weeks later, the club announced Cristiano Ronaldo's shock return, smashing social media records before the Portuguese enjoyed a dream second debut against Newcastle, scoring twice in a euphoric atmosphere.
Ronaldo inspired thrilling comebacks against Villarreal, West Ham and Atalanta, but the wheels started to come off in October, when United were hammered 4-2 by Leicester City and then 5-0 at home to Liverpool.
The 2-0 defeat by Manchester City was arguably more demoralising, and Solskjaer's death knell was signed by a 4-1 thrashing at Watford.
Michael Carrick avoided defeat in his three-game caretaker spell in charge before Ralf Rangnick was hired as interim manager.
Much optimism about the German's tactical influence on the modern game soon gave way to more doom and gloom as United won just three of their final 14 matches.
They exited the Champions League and FA Cup limply, suffered more humiliating defeats to Liverpool, Man City, Brighton, Everton and Crystal Palace, and ended the season with their lowest-ever points total in 30 Premier League seasons.
AdvertisementGetty9Moyes drinks from the poisoned chalice (13-14)
"Your job is to stand by the new manager," Ferguson told United fans in his last appearance at Old Trafford, looking out at a banner of David Moyes reading 'The Chosen One'.
Supporters could have no idea at the time just how much they would need to stand by the new man, who lost three of his first six Premier League games.
Moyes soon found that a decade overachieving at Everton was scant preparation for the demands of United, and serial winners such as Rio Ferdinand and Robin van Persie did not appreciate his coaching methods.
The fear factor United had enjoyed under Ferguson vanished in a flash, and the likes of West Brom, Newcastle and Everton enjoyed their first ever wins at Old Trafford in the Premier League era.
A club-record signing in Juan Mata and the unearthing of Adnan Januzaj could not stop the rot and Moyes, who had been handed a six-year contract in 2013, was sacked after only nine months in charge following a limp defeat at his former home, Goodison Park.
Ryan Giggs stepped in as caretaker manager for the remainder of the campaign as United finished seventh, missing out on European football for the first and only time since 1989.
Getty Images8Mourinho sacked & Solskjaer's honeymoon ends (18-19)
Insiders could tell that something rotten was in the air at United in the summer of 2018 and that discontent was brewing.
Jose Mourinho had failed to land a new centre-back and had fallen out with record signing Paul Pogba again.
United then lost two of their first three games, with Mourinho lashing out at journalists after the 3-0 defeat at home to Tottenham with his infamous 'respect, respect, respect' tirade.
His departure seemed inevitable, and was sealed after a disheartening defeat at Liverpool.
No one expected much from Solskjaer as a caretaker manager, but United went on an incredible run of 10 wins out of 11 under the much-loved former striker, and the 'Ole's at the wheel' chant was born.
The highlight was the stunning Champions League comeback in Paris, which led to Solskjaer's interim role becoming permanent.
But that was also when the honeymoon ended. Of their 12 matches after knocking out PSG, United lost eight while winning just two, suffering quarter-final defeats to Wolves and Barcelona in the cups and finishing sixth in the table, missing out on Champions League qualification.
Getty7Van Gaal's reward for a trophy win? The sack (15-16)
There was plenty of promise heading into Louis van Gaal's second campaign after a strong finish to his first, and United spent big on exciting summer arrivals such as Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Anthony Martial.
David de Gea even ended up staying after a botched deadline-day move to Real Madrid.
There was huge excitement when Martial scored on his debut against Liverpool in an impressive start to the season, but a reality check came in the form of a crushing 3-0 defeat by Arsenal.
A series of drab results followed, including goalless draws against Crystal Palace and West Ham, before a shocking run of three consecutive losses to minnows Bournemouth, Norwich City and Stoke City.
United were also eliminated from the Champions League after being handed what looked to be a simple group containing Wolfsburg, CSKA Moscow and PSV.
Overall, there was a feeling that Van Gaal's possession-based football was out of date and excruciatingly dull, and the team ultimately failed to qualify for the Champions League after throwing away the lead to lose at West Ham in the final match at Upton Park.
There were some green shoots, such as Marcus Rashford's stunning emergence from the academy with braces against Midtjylland and Arsenal, plus away wins at Liverpool and Man City.
And there was the FA Cup run, the trophy sealed by Jesse Lingard's brilliant extra-time volley to beat Palace.
But even that moment of joy was quickly extinguished by the news that Van Gaal was about to be sacked to make way for Mourinho.