The "Frozen Fish" of the English League Two team, who "slapped" Manchester United's face

Written by Han Bing Undeniably, this was yet another disgraceful evening for Manchester United. Against Grimsby Town, a League Two club valued at just 1/220th of their own worth, Manchester United’s starting lineup, worth €370 million in total, fell behind twice! Although Maguire managed to equalize, during the penalty shootout, two high-priced summer signings, Cunha and Mbemo, missed their shots one after another. The final score was 13-14 (penalties 11-12), marking Manchester United’s first-ever loss to a fourth-tier team in the League Cup. Even before the other Premier League top six teams had played, the Red Devils had already been slapped in the face by Grimsby Town’s "cold frozen fish"...

Grimsby fans wildly waved inflatable black cod toys in the stands, commemorating the club’s greatest moment. The club’s social media posted a picture featuring the black cod with the caption "You just got slapped by a fish." Grimsby is a traditional British fishing port, mainly harvesting black cod, which appears on their crest and fan merchandise. Yet judging by Manchester United’s performance, it was clear which team was the frozen fish to be picked on. If Grimsby’s forwards hadn’t squandered a 3-1 lead in the second half, United might not have even reached the penalty shootout.

Eleven years ago, Van Gaal’s Manchester United also exited the League Cup in the second round, but their 0-4 defeat was to Milton Keynes Dons, a League One team. Last night, however, Manchester United’s star-studded squad, assembled at a cost exceeding £400 million, was humiliated by the lowest tier of English professional football. Club legend Ferdinand bluntly stated on social media after the match: “Take a deep breath, wash up, and go to sleep; WhatsApp notifications are off.” Clearly, he wanted to avoid fueling the fire of ridicule. Saha was even more direct, condemning Onana’s careless mistake in the first half as unforgivable and calling the entire team’s performance a disaster.

Despite fielding four academy players, Manchester United’s starting eleven had a combined transfer fee of €392 million, 8,160 times that of their opponents Grimsby Town (€48,000)! Including five substitutes, United’s total transfer investment reached €687 million. Discussing the tactics and lineup choices of a Manchester United side led by Sheshko, Cunha, Doku, Dalot, Ugart, Maguire, and Onana against a League Two team is pointless. As the dejected coach Amolin said after the game: “Frankly, when you lose to a fourth-tier club, the problem isn’t just the goalkeeper; everything is wrong. The team’s performance today is beyond comment, and I only want to apologize to the fans. What happened on the pitch speaks for itself, so there’s no need for me to elaborate.”

Manchester United’s display left Amolin speechless. They were two goals down within just half an hour in the first half, the second goal resulting from Onana’s rookie error on a risky clearance—his ninth major mistake since last season. The Grimsby fans immediately changed their chant from “We only sing when we’re fishing” to “You’ll be sacked tomorrow morning.” Frustrated, Amolin didn’t even arrange the penalty takers’ order himself, delegating that to his assistant before walking straight back to the dressing room. During the penalty shootout, he kept his head down on the bench, unwilling to watch, and the outcome was predictably unbearable to witness.

The anger and disappointment among Manchester United fans were understandable, not only because of the team’s overall poor performance but also due to the star players’ attitudes. Saha’s criticism was particularly telling: “Slow pace, slow crosses, slow pressing — this is not the Manchester United we know.” After a disastrous first half, Amolin substituted De Ligt, Bruno Fernandes, and Mbemo at the start of the second half, managing only to equalize. The £76.5 million signing Sheshko took six shots with only two on target and won just 2 of 12 duels — a dreadful stat line. Shockingly, he chose to take the tenth penalty in the shootout, just before goalkeeper Onana, showing remarkable timidity.

The post-match ratings by the Manchester Evening News were even more scathing: Ugart, Doku, and newcomer Fredriksen scored just 2 points each; Diallo, who lost possession leading to a goal in the first half, got 3 points; summer signing Cunha scored 4 points; Sheshko 5 points; and the highest-rated player was Maguire, who scored the equalizer, with 7 points.

For most Chinese Manchester United fans, the name Grimsby is known mainly because Zhang Enhua once briefly played there. Ironically, Grimsby’s CEO, Bancroft, is a former Manchester United Women’s director. The Grimsby goalkeeper Pymm, who made three brilliant saves in the second half and stopped Cunha’s penalty in the shootout, is himself a United fan. Facing such a nightmare performance by the Red Devils, he openly admitted he was “furious.”

After three winless games at the start of the new season and a historic first-round League Cup exit to a fourth-tier team, where does Manchester United’s future lie? Amolin claimed it’s impossible to replace all 22 players, but if the club doesn’t change soon, the one likely to be replaced is himself. The only mystical consolation for Red Devils fans is this: the last time Manchester United exited the League Cup in the opening round, they finished the league season in fourth place...