Champions League Crashout: The Aftermath

I managed to catch only the second half last night, and by that time Benfica were already in the lead.

And let me tell you, watching it hurt so damn much. Much like how Zhe Bin felt his balls had been squeezed, I (though I have no physical balls) felt this constant sharp, stabbing pain in my chest.

Much more than the result, much more than the humiliation of the loss, much more than poor passing and possession, what shocked me the most was the fact that for the first time in ten years of being one of Europe's powerhouses, Man Utd have failed to make it through the group stage, and worse, don't even have the UEFA Cup to look forward to, which could at least have provided them with a European trophy and prize money.

The most important question at this juncture is: What effect will this have on the team in the long run? We'll think of a few possible ramifications.

1) Sir Alex goes.

This is, of course, the most widely-touted. Two hours after the match and the vultures were already circling, ready to pick the bones. However, I doubt it will happen, because the Glazers are not Abramovich. They don't have much interest in football (or so it seems), they haven't sunk a lot of their OWN money into the club and spent millions on good players, they aren't watching every match, so they won't expect Sir Alex to produce results so quickly after the boardroom upheaval.

Furthermore, we as fans expect a lot from the club, but in our expectations we forget that Sir Alex is the man who made the club into a European and domestic force. He is the man that helped the club win their second European club. After 19 successful years at the club, one failed season should not be enough reason to sack him.

2) No money no honey

The exit from Europe means a loss of up to 15 million pounds. Add that to Vodafone pulling out as shirt sponsor, a deal rumoured to be worth about 22 million pounds, the Glazers having taken out 800 million pounds in loans to buy the club, and the fact that Real Madrid have recently overtaken Man Utd as the richest club in the world (a spot Man Utd occupied for 9 years), it's easy to cry "Financial crisis!"

Yes, I can really see how being the second richest club in the world behind Real Madrid translates to a financial crisis.

Furthermore, this will not affect transfer budgets, at least for this and next season, since clubs usually have transfer budgets meant for the next one or two years set aside in reserves i.e. it's all been calculated and planned beforehand. However, there is no denying that the money, if Man Utd had progressed this season, might have meant a slightly more generous transfer and wage budget. Time can only tell what this might mean.

But again I stress: The loss of 15 million pounds to a club like, say, Charlton or Sunderland might be enough cause to drape their stadiums in black. To the second richest club in the world, it's probably just a blip in their finances.

3) Defensive midfielder needed

God, yes. Alan Smith's a great guy, he's hardworking, obedient (try telling any other striker with an ego that he's got to stop scoring goals and help out in defence and see what he says), is hugely loyal to the club despite his Yorkshire roots, been performing relatively well, but... he is not a natural holding midfielder. Naturally aggressive? Yes he is. But that doesn't translate to naturally defensive.

We need a proper holding midfielder, someone who can dictate the midfield, someone who wins balls, who breaks up opponents' passing, who charges up and down the pitch from box to box and supports the attack as well. (I am thinking longingly of our Roy in his prime and casting covetous looks at Claude Makalele now.)

Sir Alex has stated that he will definitely bring in reinforcements in January or in the summer and he has the cash for that, despite the loss of European revenue, so splash the cash! Bring in Gennaro Gattuso! Bring in Aldo Duscher if you want so he can break more people's metatarsals! Another hard-tackling, hardworking Argentine would be good anyway (a la Gabriel Heinze); just don't bring in another Argentine playmaker (a la Juan Sebastian Veron)!

But anyway, how many good players would want to join a team that is not challenging in Europe this season and be willing to wait till next season for a fresh bite at the apple?

4) Man Utd wins the EPL because that's all they have

Yes, the team can concentrate fully on the domestic league now that they have no European football to think about. They can take advantage of a less congested fixture calendar in comparison to the other close title challengers. The players will be so fired up by the loss of European football that they'll be determined to win the Premier League.

But is that really so easy? There have been times Arsenal likewise were dumped out of the Champions' League and still lost the title back in England to Man Utd. And a lot of this depends on the attitude of the players. How eager are they to make up for this loss? How determined are they to reestablish domestic dominance?

Taking advantage of congested fixture calendars against Chelsea isn't that easy as well, seeing as how Chelsea can play Team A in Europe and then Team B in England and still be able to win in both places, with their strength in depth and strength in quality. Furthermore, they have Michael Essien, who can help to tackle opponents dangerously and put them out on the sidelines for a while - or even better, put them out of football forever. And they have "Energizer bunny" Frank Lampard, who's played goodness only knows how many consecutive games and is still going strong, and can even find time in the middle to produce a son with his girlfriend.

The FA Cup and Carling Cup are likelier alternatives for this season's trophy cupboard. Obviously, there's still a good chance at the Premier League, but these 2 other domestic competitions, if the players move their butts, should be sealed and in the bag by May next year.

It was a disgraceful and disappointing result, but if it could be made up for by a domestic treble I wouldn't really mind so much. After all, there's always next season... and the next... and the next...