By the time the final whistle had faded beneath the celebrations at the DW Stadium, the conversation surrounding Manchester United had already begun to sound like a eulogy.
The scoreline was bad enough.
Eight goals conceded against Wigan Athletic, a side United had expected to compete with in all of its ingenuity that season rather than suffer at the hands of, was the sort of result that could define a season on its own.
What made it worse was the manner in which it had happened.
United had led by two goals, looked comfortable for a spell, and then watched the match slip beyond their control.
By the end, there had been no convincing response, no late rally, not even the consolation of a goal that stood.
And for supporters who had spent years insisting that the club's stature would eventually carry it through the difficult years, the result was becoming impossible to explain away.
