‘At times such as this, it is standard practice to seek the views of Roy Keane, who has usually responded to elimination from the Champions League by issuing the type of withering assessment that ultimately caused his undoing at Manchester United.
In the event, he was elsewhere, pondering the next move in his career after he was booted out of Old Trafford, but the message from the former captain would probably have been three words: told you so.
‘As part of the pre-match ritual last night, an eagle swooped into the Stadium of Light, but by the end of the evening, that awesome sight had been replaced by the unmistakable sound of chickens coming home to roost. The failings that Keane had identified in the interview that was never broadcast by MUTV were the ones that cost United again: dreadful lapses of concentration in defence, a lack of nous and leadership in midfield and, if there was also a shortage of luck, they did not earn it.
‘United struggle so often on the supposed lesser occasions these days, particularly at home, that they would probably have been happier to have been drawn against Bayern Munich or Lyons instead of Villarreal as second seeds. It is an argument put forward by United apologists, but they serve only to illustrate what their team has become: a talented bunch of players who rouse themselves when they feel it matters.
‘In short, with honourable exceptions such as Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney, they have become the type of team Ferguson would hold in contempt. Maybe he does. Certainly he will do one day as he reflects on the lack of fight that may prove to have cost him the chance of a last hurrah. Keane, of course, hated them already, which is why he was shown the door.’