The only homage the Manchester United players paid to Denis Law was to perform like the relegation fodder he condemned in 1974.

Many regard this as the worst United team since they went down 51 years ago. Ruben Amorim went further: "We are the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United."

On Sunday, United shattered a 131-year record with their seventh league defeat in their first 12 games, dating back to when Queen Victoria was still on the throne. In 1893-94, United were still known as Newton Heath. Old Trafford would not be built until 1910.

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There was gallows humour in the press room that the next record to tumble could date back to the season Christ was born. Or the Jurassic age.

Amorim is taking accountability. He stressed in the first answer at his post-match press conference that "everybody here is underperforming". He then admitted "I’m not helping my players in the moment". That was good copy. Then he offered a great headline.

"I know you want headlines but I am saying that because we have to acknowledge that and to change that," he explained. "Here you go: your headlines." Amorim will be pleased with the newspaper sub-editors. His quotes were splashed on the back pages of The Sun, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Express, The Daily Star, The Daily Mail and The Times and the front of the football supplements in The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian.

He wants to publicise how inept this United squad is. Amorim was never going to have to pay for advertising space in the 'papers when a top-half finish in the Premier League table is improbable, never mind top four.

The emboldened Ralf Rangnick diagnosed open-heart surgery for the United squad nearly three years ago, yet he was an interim manager. Amorim is permanent. There is risk attached to his method but the players' privileges expired long ago.

These players are small-time. They ran like dogs at Anfield and the Emirates Stadium and then made a dog's dinner of it against Southampton and Brighton.

Amorim has been dealt an unplayable hand. Some of the players are almost literally unplayable. On another day, Amorim's update on Marcus Rashford might have been the top line: "I am not going to put a player I don’t believe is the best for the team."

Just consider this United squad: two goalkeepers who are not good enough, two right backs lacking in attack, two left backs who are unplayable through form or fitness and half the central defensive department should not be there.

The cover for two raw midfielders is two 33-year-olds who are not playing as much as a callow academy graduate. The attack is a one-man band. We do not know if half of the forwards are staying or going this month and the two strikers seldom score goals.

Amorim wants a goalkeeper and a striker, vertebra for this spineless side. United will need at least one centre back, a left back, two central midfielders and two forwards. Minimum.

This sounds all so familiar as United rebuild their squad every other year. Erik ten Hag had not finished the rebuild of his first squad and was then inexplicably allowed to oversee a second rebuild.

Some of us journalists were accused of harbouring an agenda against United at times last season when we were holding the club to account as they finished bottom of their Champions League group and eighth in the league. Colleagues were pilloried and dubbed "w*****s" for questioning Ten Hag on his future at the FA Cup final post-match press conference.

You reap what you sow. Many fickle fans were Ten Hag in. He stayed in. His contract was extended. He embarked on another Dutch-centric summer transfer window. United got worse. This season is a consequence of those three fateful decisions.

Ineos assembled a brains trust that has made brainless decisions. Beyond scripted statements attached to contracts, Jason Wilcox has not spoken since his arrival as technical director last April. He joined from Southampton, the most ill-equipped top flight side in living memory.

Wilcox ought to start communicating and justifying his existence. Nothing imminent is planned as Wilcox prioritises his role.

Amorim is candid about United's uselessness, so his paymasters should be, too. Why was Matthijs de Ligt, a defender who had been in gradual decline in the five years since he left Ajax, signed on what he had done five years previously under Ten Hag?

Why did the new regime not scrutinise the previous two summer windows under Ten Hag and flag the iffy hit rate of buying Dutch-schooled players? Sir Dave Brailsford can don a club suit, be shadowed by a nepo-baby personal assistant and stare at the pitch pensively, but cycling is his wheelhouse. He should be gone in a jiffy.

The Premier League website says Andre Onana has committed four errors leading to a goal in 18 months. Whatever one's definition of that is, it is considerably more.

He was culpable for Brighton's second and third goals, Manuel Ugarte's own goal for Southampton was saveable, as was Mohamed Salah's penalty. That's four saveable goals let in in 2025 already. A bullish goalkeeper would have prevented both of Arsenal's goals from corner kicks.

Onana was enjoying a dependable season until December but he has failed the two-year probation period United used to abide by. He was available on a free in the summer Ten Hag moved to Manchester but was bought 12 months later for £47.2m.

That is not even the worst set of circumstances for a signing. Casemiro and Antony were panic buys, Rasmus Hojlund conveniently became Ten Hag's stablemate at SEG International, United have accepted dead wood from elite European clubs whose slipstream they used to be in.

As United have unravelled with two wins in ten league fixtures, they have taken a knife to their identity. Any academy sale is now fair game.

United should be dedicating resources to offloading the wantaway Rashford or the appalling Antony. There has been just as, if not more, noise around Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.

At least they are only 14 points shy of the magic 40 to avoid relegation.