Storm Boelo has battered much of the UK this weekend, but at Old Trafford, ominous clouds have been gathering for some time. On Sunday, temperatures reached boiling point, and it looks as though Michael Carrick is set to be swept up by the whirlwind of chaos that continues to follow the club.
Cast your mind back just a few short months, and Carrick had Manchester United fans dreaming again. From the doldrums of Ruben Amorim's disastrous tenure, the former Middlesbrough boss immediately lifted spirits, and, with the help of a brilliant Bruno Fernandes, the Red Devils were dreaming of away days at Europe's elite once more.
But that was then, and this is now.
Just two wins from their opening 12 games in all competitions, including defeats against newly-promoted Hull City, Como and yesterday against Bournemouth, already leave their season in tatters.
Unfortunately, Sunday's 3-0 defeat - the fourth consecutive time United have conceded three or more goals at home against Bournemouth - had all the hallmarks of Carrick's last dance.
It began with captain Fernandes being left on the bench over his criticism of the coaching in a press conference - the second of such incidents in the space of a week - which heightened the signs of a possible dressing room revolt.
But on the pitch, it only got worse.
Calamitous defending left United wide open all afternoon and, had Bournemouth been more ruthless, it could have been much worse. Whether it was Ayden Heaven constantly surrendering possession or Leny Yoro seemingly wearing skates instead of boots, United simply gifted the Cherries their goals.
But the truth is that everyone expected this result; United are not a good team. In fact, they're actually quite a bad team.
They have no discernible patterns of play, struggle to create chances, are no threat from set pieces, are not ruthless in front of goal, fail to control the midfield, have a crippling full-back issue, a knack for leaking goals and a goalkeeper who has not recovered from a mistake that cost his country their place at the World Cup.
Carrick was shielded from much of the fans' deafening boos at full time. The players were not. Old Trafford made their feelings very clear.
But while problems run deep at the club, the buck will ultimately stop with Carrick for United's dreadful run of form. With no optimism and increasingly little evidence that he can turn it around, his position looks untenable.
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Are we finally seeing Roberto De Zerbi's Spurs?
Saturday night saw free-scoring Chelsea face a struggling Spurs, in what is usually the Blues' favourite fixture of the year - a guaranteed three points. Roberto De Zerbi's men flipped the script this time around, though.
It was a Spurs side who arrived at Stamford Bridge with just one league win this campaign. It was a team that had confidence issues and was facing its biggest challenge to date.
But they were up for it.
Not only did they manage to keep Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer at bay, but Spurs took the game to Xabi Alonso's side, who struggled against a team they have so often bullied. Was this finally a glimpse of De Zerbi's Tottenham?
A midfield of Matheus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and James Maddison - until his unfortunate injury in the second half - dominated Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson, while Omar Marmoush, Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus drove forward with purpose and sliced through Chelsea with incisive play.
Spurs are far from the finished article, there are still plenty of improvements yet: they must be more clinical at the top of the pitch and their squad depth is still lacking, but after the last 18 months of despair, Spurs fans can have a real sense of optimism. Think back just a few weeks ago - Manchester United were underwhelming, but Tottenham were in crisis. Fortunes have certainly changed.
It took a shambolic Mike Penders own goal to open the scoring for De Zerbi's side, but a terrific Tel strike took the three points. They were good value for a 2-0 victory - just their second at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. Astonishing.
Alonso, for his part, will have questions to answer. He has not yet been able to plug holes in the leaky defence that has seen them concede as many as Coventry City, who sit in 19th.
In the absence of Joao Pedro, snubbing experienced goal-scorer Danny Welbeck in favour of starting Rogers up top was tactically puzzling, but when it took until the 88th minute to see the English forward brought on from the bench, it became inexplicable.
Estevao's lack of minutes may also be baffling fans. While possibly nursing him back from injury, Saturday seemed the perfect opportunity to reintroduce the winger into the side. The Brazilian's explosive and enigmatic nature would have caused the Spurs backline problems. Instead, Alonso chose a largely ineffective Geovany Quenda.
Chelsea have made strides in the right direction under the Spaniard, but there are still teething issues that will not go away. A petulant Palmer saw red after he vented his frustrations with two reckless challenges - another problem that has plagued recent Chelsea sides.
Alonso has work to do.
Manchester City - Unai Emery's favourite opponent
Unai Emery is worshipped in the Midlands, someone who has turned water into wine by miraculously thrusting Aston Villa back where they feel they should be.
It is easy to see why.
Despite the chaos surrounding Manchester City off the pitch, on it, they had been perfect in the lead-up to this weekend. That was until they arrived at Villa Park to face their ultimate arch-nemesis.
There are two things that Emery loves more than anything: the Europa League and playing Manchester City. He has beaten the Cityzens five times out of the seven games since taking charge at Villa. Saturday was no different.
It took Nicolas Jackson just six minutes to fire the ball into the roof of Gianluigi Donnarumma's net, after the Villans capitalised on a Marc Geuhi error. The centre-back is enduring his worst run of form in years, and had another torrid afternoon in Birmingham.
After Erling Haaland (seriously, who else?) equalised for the visitors, Jackson bagged his second of the game, squeezing the ball underneath Donnarumma's giant frame. The Italian will have been more than disappointed he was unable to keep the effort out.
It is the first sign of weakness City have shown this season - excluding their Community Shield defeat - and they were exposed expertly by Emery. Rayan Cherki was muted, and his replacement Phil Foden was no better. Haaland will never be nullified, but even he could not lift this City side to victory.
Alarm bells were ringing after Villa failed to win any of their opening four games, but supporters have become accustomed to slow starts under Emery. This team is fresh; it's new and a step into the unknown. But the one constant is the boss. Villa fans hope that will never change.
Are Liverpool back?
It's been a strange beginning to Andoni Iraola's tenure at Anfield. Results have been mixed, and in victories, they have been far from convincing. But put together a run of form, and everything feels right as rain - that is exactly what they have done.
Sunday's fixture against Brighton posed a grave challenge for Iraola - the league's in-form team, a free-scoring side that fears no one and can hurt anybody. A strong Liverpool performance negated that threat expertly.
A defence marshalled by the increasingly promising partnership of Virgil van Dijk and Jeremy Jacquet has been helped by the arrival of Ronald Araujo from Barcelona. The Uruguayan, who is, by trade, a centre-back, has earned huge plaudits for his exploits out wide. His powerful runs forward and desire to get back and defend are the perfect blend the Anfield faithful have been missing since Trent Alexander-Arnold's departure.
Another major positive for the early Iraola days is the form of Alexander Isak. Few could have imagined the forward's first year on Merseyside going quite so badly, but he is finally beginning to make up for lost time. He now has six goals this season, four of them directly earning Liverpool points..
The £125million man was brought to Anfield to decide games and, finally, he is doing just that. Mohamed Salah's goals are almost impossible to replace, but if the Swede continues in this vein, he can go a long way towards filling the void.
Perhaps the most encouraging sign for Liverpool is the stark contrast just 30 miles down the M62.
"I think Manchester United are currently in a better place than Liverpool, would you agree?" Gary Neville asked Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports at the start of the season.
Carragher's response was unequivocal - no, they were not. Eight games have only widened the gulf between England's two biggest clubs.
While Liverpool are not at the level to challenge for the title, they have a direction and an idea. Manchester United have already, just eight games into this campaign, fallen back into their infamous cycle of failure: an uninspiring summer of recruitment, a manager seemingly out of his depth, players losing faith in the dressing room and a head coach possibly out of his job before Christmas.
At Old Trafford, the same problems persist. Storm Boelo will pass. But the gloomy clouds hanging over Manchester United have been there for more than a decade. Carrick increasingly looks like their latest victim - and there is little sign of them clearing anytime soon.
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