Club are obsessed with holding on to their past glories, it’s time to move on.

'United are paragons of self-love, like one of those financial firms who entered the Crash convinced they were too big to fail.' Photo: PA Wire

‘United are paragons of self-love, like one of those financial firms who entered the Crash convinced they were too big to fail.’ Photo: PA Wire

There’s a bad smell at Old Trafford but it’s not coming from Alex Ferguson, as Roy Keane has suggested. It’s the odour of decayed glories and rotting illusions.

Yesterday’s defeat was Manchester United’s most dispiriting of the season by some distance. If ever a game seemed set up for a big home performance, it was this one.