For some of the players, it was the first day they had been at Old Trafford when Manchester United could go by the prefix "former champions". The mood was one of subdued reflection. Nobody had their head in their hands, or red-ringed eyes; it was just much quieter than usual. Sir Alex Ferguson's final address was supportive but sometimes there is not much even the great managers can say. He did not speak for long.
"I have been here four years now and this is my first full season that I haven't won the league," Patrice Evra reflected. "I can say congratulations to my team-mates because it has not been easy for us this year. But if I don't finish first with Manchester United I always feel like I haven't done my job very well. When you play for this club you always need to win. It's a very sad day."
When a team are deposed as champions there is always a period of brooding, quite often followed by a snap judgment that changes are mandatory to prevent a disappointing season turning into a full-blown stagnation. Ferguson, however, puts forward an alternative argument that United actually did pretty well to take Chelsea to the final day given that there was a point in the season when Evra was their only fit defender and Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick were playing in the centre of defence.
"I have to separate fact from fiction, like the suggestion we have not seen the vintage football associated with Manchester United," United's manager said. "It's not complacency, just common sense, to conclude that we have had a good season."
Yet Ferguson would also make the rare acknowledgment that this was a time of self-analysis for him as well. "My job as manager is to assess in the cold light of day and get things into perspective. Naturally I look into my own management and the rest of the staff. Did I always make the right team selections with the appropriate tactics? Do we have a strong enough squad?"
The inclination is to wonder whether, deep down, a small part of Ferguson regrets not doing more to keep Carlos Tevez, the scorer of 29 goals for Manchester City and a striker with that unusual quality of being able to make things happen. Ferguson, though, will not accept it was a mistake. On the contrary, there are stories at Old Trafford of him deriding Tevez to colleagues, making the analogy of receiving a gift-wrapped Christmas present only to take off all the nice paper and discover there is nothing inside the box.
His tone changes when the subject turns to a player who left Old Trafford last summer on much better terms. "I always knew we would miss Cristiano Ronaldo," Ferguson said. But not so much that he thinks the £80m transfer to Real Madrid effectively cost United the league. "We've scored more goals than last season and have the best defensive record in the league. I think that's the best way to answer."
But uppermost in Ferguson's thoughts must be the issue of Dimitar Berbatov, after two seasons in which the Bulgarian has occasionally flickered but never truly ignited in the way that might have been anticipated of a player who cost £30.75m. At the weekend Ferguson insisted his most expensive signing would not be replaced – "he is a very talented player and has a future at Manchester United," he said – but not too much should be read into that. United's manager said very similar things about David Beckham, Juan Sebastián Verón and Ronaldo himself.
Berbatov's body language when he was substituted during the 4-0 defeat of Stoke City on Sunday told it own story: tired, exasperated, maybe a little embarrassed, head down on a slow walk to the touchline, no wave to the crowd. It has been unfair for him to be made the scapegoat but, when the story of United's season is told, the inquest will focus on that period when Wayne Rooney was injured and the responsibility was on Berbatov to live up to his transfer fee. In short, he blew it.
Ferguson preferred to focus on the positives. "Darren Fletcher has emerged from the shadows to become recognised as a really top footballer. Nani has come of age, Darron Gibson has had a good season and Jonny Evans has been fantastic for a 22-year-old, while Antonio Valencia has done incredibly well in his first season."
The club have also signed Chris Smalling from Fulham for £10m and, for almost the same again, Javier Hernández, the Mexico striker, from Chivas de Guadalajara.
The Glazers, and Ferguson, maintain there is more money available, which is just as well because United have regressed, five points worse off then last season, with seven defeats along the way, the most since the 2003-04 campaign. "We lost too many games," Evra said. "Losing seven times was too much and that was the key. Congratulations to Chelsea – if you win the league it is because you deserve to. But I feel like Manchester United gave them that league."
