"You're not fit to wear the shirt" is something that you will rarely, if ever, hear from Manchester United fans.
But at present, the relationship with the players is wavering and things are beginning to hurtle towards rock bottom. Thus, the infamous chant was aired at the Amex Stadium on Saturday evening as United were emphatically defeated by Brighton & Hove Albion.
It felt an apt occasion given that the result confirmed that United will, whatever happens against Crystal Palace in just under two weeks' time, finish on their lowest ever Premier League points tally.
The concession of four goals against Brighton also confirmed United's highest ever goals conceded total in a single Premier League season, which is an incredibly damning reflection on an often-rotated defence given that their goalkeeper, David de Gea, is one of a few players exempt from the away fans' adverse chanting due to his high standard of performance.
For all the promises of resurgence since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, United have now, unarguably, stooped to their very lowest in those nine years. On almost all fronts, this term can be rendered the worst in the club's Premier League history. More than ever, the necessity of a near-absolute refresh is apparent at present.
Ralf Rangnick insisted, "If there is one good thing that we realise, it's that there is a lot of space for improvement and that we need some changes."
If anything, the interim manager's comments reinforce that fans have a definite right to feel aggrieved given the best thing that has come from the season is judged to be the fact that issues have been exposed. Manchester United is supposed to be a football club built on continual success.
Against Brighton, Rangnick did, understandably, field the same starting side that convincingly beat Brentford at Old Trafford the previous Monday. But the contrast in output would struggle to be starker, outlining the lack of sustainability and inability to develop consistency that has riddled United's season to the extent that they have failed to win three matches in succession at any juncture.
From the first minute, it was glaringly obvious that Brighton were afforded control of proceedings, with United showing minimal intent to do anything to rectify the situation. There was a lack of vigour and drive in and out of possession, with the vast minority of action inside United's attacking third for the most-part. Brighton were always beyond a step ahead, sharper and operating at a higher intensity.
It took a mere 15 minutes for Brighton to gain avail from their dominance, with former United target Moises Caicedo finishing low past De Gea and through Victor Lindelof's legs from outside the box. Initially, Alex Telles twice failed to deal with an airborne ball, eventually blocking Pascal Gross' effort; the ball only found its way as far as Caicedo, left alone and unchallenged and allowed time to take a touch and set himself to give his side the lead.
Brighton were continually allowed to probe whilst United lacked authority, often consequential to inferiority in the midfield areas. The much-covered 'midfield battle' was simply a walkover for Brighton for large periods, with United outplayed in such department to the extent that it had knock-on effects on multiple aspects of their game.
On a defensive front, the openness left the back-line exposed, with an inability to win duels (particularly applicable to Scott McTominay on Sunday) allowed much joy for Brighton. There were further shortcomings in terms of technicalities whereby there was a struggle to hold and progress the ball, with plenty of giveaways again a hindrance to creating many attacking passages.
Majorly regardless of the personnel, the exertion from United wavered. At half-time, Matic was replaced by Fred and Anthony Elanga by Edinson Cavani. Yet there was a failure to provide any upturn, with Brighton scoring a second within four minutes of the resumption.
The standard of United's defending once more left lots to be desired. Telles lost out in another attempted aerial challenge, with McTominay doing little to prevent Alexis Mac Allister from playing the ball across the face of De Gea's goal. Leandro Trossard was left unmanned by Diogo Dalot at the far post - a costly lapse in awareness as the ball was cut back to Marc Cucurella, also in an abundance of space, to ruthlessly double his side's advantage.
Conjoint midfield and defensive inadequacies led to Cucurella's goal, with such disorganisation heading what turned out to be a capitulation.
United found themselves three behind less than 10 minutes later as Gross finished a move that was reminiscent of a training ground walk-through. The United defence showed little endeavour in attempt to prevent the manoeuvre, which commenced from a pristine long pass by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. Trossard had a gaping hole to feed the ball through, with Gross bypassing a lethargic Lindelof and beating Raphael Varane to slot past De Gea.
Just over two minutes later, it was four-nil. And, as the goals flowed, a lack of effort became more and more blatant. Brighton were able to pass the ball with such ease that their supporters produced a chorus of 'ole' before the hour mark was even hit.
Space appeared infinite for Brighton, with United players failing to apply any functional press or even track the runs of opposing players. Gross was allowed to carry the ball under no duress, with Varane missing an interception and Lindelof out of postion, with Danny Welbeck's chip denied by Dalot on the line only for Trossard a bundle the ball over the line.
Prior, Brighton had only scored 10 league goals at home all season, hereby a four-goal haul is inexplicable from the perspective of United's defending. Half of Brighton's previous total could very easily have been achieved but for Dalot's astute defending and De Gea's goal-post after United's defence was cut through again.
United have now conceded four or more goals in 12 Premier League games since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, as many times as they did in 810 under him. Against a side who had failed to win in eight matches on home turf, they have extended to a run of five consecutive away defeats for the first time since March in 1981 - this includes 16 goals conceded and only two scored.
Arguably the most telling moment of the encounter was when Juan Mata was replaced by Harry Maguire in the latter stages. Essentially, Rangnick was opting for damage limitation against Brighton.
At one stage after United had conceded, the television cameras even caught Cristiano Ronaldo laughing. That he has 24 goals to his name speaks volumes about his impact this season. That cannot be understated.
Rangnick went as far as likening the performance to that against Watford which ultimately saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sacking. Now, United are arguably even further towards square one.
Labelling the showing "terrible", Rangnick suggested post-match, "At times today it looked like we were on the summer break."
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