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Wrong team, wrong place. The Premier League fixture computer is making Wolves’ sense of timing look pretty awful at the moment.

Two weeks before, Wolves pitched up at Stamford Bridge ready to feast on the supposed carcass that was a Chelsea allegedly in crisis after four defeats in seven games.

They were soundly beaten with barely a morsel to chew on and this game was similarly set up.

Buoyed by their spirited win against Sunderland, Wolves travelled to Old Trafford to play a Manchester United side dumped out of the Champions League and Carling Cup in the previous seven days. The outcome was the same – a three-goal defeat and little to show for their efforts.

But a sixth successive loss on the road actually says more about the quality of the opposition than it does Mick McCarthy’s team – Liverpool, Albion, Manchester City, Everton, Chelsea and now United have sent Wolves packing since they drew at Villa on August 27.

Out of those, only their Black Country rivals can be said to be on the same financial playing field. No-one could accuse McCarthy of a lack of ambition either.

For the first time since that stalemate at Villa Park, he lined up with a 4-4-2 formation away from home, and set up to play the same sort of pressing game that  accounted for the Black Cats.

His critics would argue that was folly and he should have attempted to ‘park the bus’ and soak up the pressure. But they tried that at Everton and Chelsea and look what happened.

This time they were 2-0 down when they were robbed of Dave Edwards after little more than half an hour and went for a more cautious one up front with Nenad Milijas packing the midfield.

No, the confidence from last week’s morale-boosting victory – and the form of Steven Fletcher – made McCarthy’s approach to this game right.

Wolves look better when they’re trying to get in their opponents’ faces and they set out with belief coursing through their veins as they looked to harry United out of their stride.

But, on this occasion, it was a bridge too far. Smarting from their midweek exit and no doubt wound up by an ear-bashing form Sir Alex Ferguson, Wolves encountered vastly superior opposition.

It took a swing each from the right boots of first Nani then Wayne Rooney – both scoring their first Premier League goals in nine games – inside the first 27 minutes to remind us that while form may be temporary, class is undoubtedly permanent.

Wolves players admitted afterwards that they were too slow to close the man down for both efforts, while goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was unsighted for Rooney’s effort.

But if those first two goals didn’t show a glimpse of world class finishing, then the quality in the build-up of United’s third goal on 56 minutes and the execution of their fourth six minutes later had it written all over them.

Such was the penetration of Phil Jones’ piercing burst through central midfield that Wolves were already on the back foot before his diagonal pass reached Antonio Valencia for the cross clinically despatched by Nani to restore United’s two-goal cushion.

This came after Fletcher had headed in his sixth goal of the season to make it 2-1 two minutes after the restart and give Wolves fresh hope.

When Fletcher did the same in almost identical circumstances at Anfield, it inspired Wolves to a second-half comeback that rocked Liverpool. But United are in a different league.

What made Rooney’s strike so impressive – and left Wolves players shaking their heads in disbelief – was the power he managed to get on the ball.

This was despite Valencia’s cross falling behind him before he effortlessly found ramrod pace on it to fire past the outstretched right hand of Hennessey.

They were snapshots of another footballing world that Wolves can only dream of inhabiting. Thankfully, they don’t have to encounter them too often otherwise the current run could be considerably worse.

Despite United’s quality, this wasn’t the capitulation or poor performance it sounds and the quality of their football suggests they will give Stoke and Norwich a more severe examination in the next two games.

Fletcher always looks like scoring, while creator Matt Jarvis celebrated his 150th Wolves appearance and 250th League outing of his career by showing he hasn’t given up on making England’s Euro 2012 squad.

At 4-1 it was game over, but Wolves could have repeated their 4-3 loss across the city in January in the last half-hour, a towering Fletcher header and a shot from Jarvis forcing saves from goalkeeper David De Gea.

Displays like those fuel hope that they will have their timing right in the next two matches.

By Tim Nash

Follow Wolves correspondent Tim Nash on Twitter @TimNash1.