Cape Town - Few Manchester United fans thought life after Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford would be easy but fewer would have imagined the possibility of a second successive season without any silverware and devoid of Champions League football.
Monday's 2-1 home defeat by Arsenal, which eliminated United from the FA Cup, means United face the longest trophyless run since the early days of Ferguson's silverware-laden era.
Ferguson, who succeeded Ron Atkinson in 1986 after the latter lifted the FA Cup in 1985, barely kept his job during his first four barren years in charge but continued in the hot seat when he ended the drought by winning the competition in 1990.