Is the aura surrounding Old Trafford slowing fading away?

The sun rises in the east, the river flows into the sea, few things in this world were taken as a given. Analogous to that, ever since the advent of the Premier League, Old Trafford had, until a few years ago, remained an impregnable fortress.

It was rarely breached and on the occasions it was, it was nothing more than a mere blip. There was an aura around the stadium, one that was in part due to the daunting figure of Sir Alex looming on the touch but also thanks to the illustrious history of the club.

However, it seems as though that aura is slowly fading away. In the past, visiting teams approached Old Trafford with trepidation and fear with a spectre of defeat looming over their heads.

It is said that if you win the battle of the mind, you are halfway towards winning the battle of the feet and for the past two decades, United were renowned for winning them. But barely six months into his rein, not only is Moyes losing the Old Trafford crowd, but is also losing far too many games at home.

The FA Cup third round loss to Swansea was significant in that, not only did mean that the Welsh club progressed to the fourth round, but it also was the first time, in the club’s 102-year history that the club had won at the Theatre of Dreams. Unfortunately for Moyes, that has proven to be a far too common occurrence over the past couple of months. The Theatre of Dreams has turned into a place where the Scot’s worst nightmares have come true.

The defeat to Swansea was United’s fourth home loss in their last six home games, something that was unheard of in his predecessor’s reign. Back-to-back home losses to Everton and Newcastle last month were not only the first time that had happened in over a decade, but also signified a changing of the visitor’s mindset. West Brom started it earlier in the campaign, when they won at Old Trafford for the first time in 35 years and ever since then more than a few have followed suit.

In the game against Everton, a fixture which was almost taken for granted especially at home, United did something they hadn’t done during their current manager’s tenure with the Toffees. It was something that hasn’t happened since the inaugural year of the Premier League, the Red Devils losing at home to the Toffees.

Barely a few days later, the Magpies came and ended a barren run stretching back 41 years. And whilst it is true that records are meant to be broken someday, it surely is something more than coincidence that all these records have been broken in such close proximity.

Defeats to Tottenham, their first New Year’s Day defeat in 20 years and Swansea in the FA Cup have followed and there has only been one thing common to each of those defeats. Whilst it is true that the teams who come to Old Trafford now take the game to United, knowing that this isn’t a vintage side, the fact is that, that has been the case for a couple of years now. But something has changed, something that isn’t in keeping with the very DNA of this historic club.

The simple fact is that in all of these defeats, United’s powers of resilience were almost non-existent. If there was one thing you couldn’t hold against previous United sides, it was the fact that even in defeat, they create plenty of chances, but for the occasional off days. But, inopportunely for Moyes, that has happened far too often this season.

The days of United laying siege to the opposition goal, at the end of the game has almost become something of a relic of the past. The narrow defeats at home, have come as a symbol of the changing of the guard, the shifting of stance, from a side who don’t give up until the final whistle, to a side, who raise the white flag, the moment they go behind.

The fans have always been supportive at Old Trafford, irrespective of Ferguson’s comments that they were at times all too silent. But even they have grown tired of the trash served up by the team week in and week out. And when Bony’s goal went in on Sunday, there were plenty making their way out of Old Trafford. Now, this wasn’t something that would have happened before.

After all, this is the club that is known for its comebacks. Few United fans would forget that night in Barcelona, when the mighty Bayern came crumbling down in a matter of minutes thanks to Solskjaer and Sheringham. But, on the evidence of the opening few months of this season, the squad is incapable of mounting a comeback, one that was etched into the DNA of the United of a bygone era.

The team isn’t doing too much to help the fans or Moyes, by not scoring or creating anywhere near enough and that has led to the fans getting on the back of the manager, who must have begun to wonder if he had taken up a poisoned chalice.

These are harrowing times to be a Manchester United fan and on the evidence of the past six months, Moyes might well be the “Chosen One” to shatter Old Trafford records. For the sake of not just the millions of United fans worldwide, but also the billions of football fans the world over, let’s just hope that isn’t the case.