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'Tangerine bubble dangerously close to bursting'

'Tangerine bubble dangerously close to bursting'

BBC News18-03-2025
Let's start this week with a football fact: Derbies are a football fan's emotional rollercoaster. They're the best games to win and the absolute worst to lose. And on Sunday, United lost theirs in the most painful way imaginable.Put simply, the team just didn't show up. They were outworked, outfought, outplayed and basically out-everything-ed. If there had been a competition for losing in style, United would have swept the board.What makes it even more baffling is the performance was completely out of character. A one-off, an anomaly… at least that's what I told myself in order to get a sleep on Sunday night.But here's the hard truth: United have now lost eight of their past 11 games. On paper, that's the kind of record that makes you wonder if they've been taking tactical advice from a Magic 8 Ball. Yet, strangely, it hasn't really felt that bad. Not exactly vintage form, but not a full-blown crisis either.That said, facts don't lie and the facts are dreadful. You don't need to be Nostradamus to know that's relegation form.The general consensus among Tangerines is United have had a very good season up to now. But since the turn of the year, the tangerine bubble seems dangerously close to bursting, and not in a fun, party-popper way.The good news? There are still eight games left to turn things around. A top-six finish, which once seemed nailed on, now looks about as secure as a chocolate teapot. If United slip out of that position and into the bottom half, it would be a massive disappointment.Sure, that might sound harsh for a newly-promoted side, but after the position we put ourselves in, it would feel like being promised a beach holiday and ending up in a damp caravan in Skegness.But hey, that's all hypothetical for now. If we can return from Dingwall in a couple of weeks with a much-needed three points, the mood music will switch from Coldplay to Pharrell Williams. Over to you, lads. Time to make us happy.Paul McNicoll can be found at The Dode Fox Podcast, external
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