It didn’t need a submarine to expose Manchester United’s lack of depth.
Labouring for two long and dismal hours in the Europa League final against Villareal, they were simply nowhere near the elite level the club aspires to. Nowhere near a Super League.
And as United completed a fourth season without a trophy, the Spanish ceramics makers lived up to their reputation for sinking big ships to land a different kind of pot.
Lovingly dubbed the Yellow Submarine because of their yellow strip and low profile, they not only matched United but seemed to want it more.
With a budget a tiny fraction of the Super League wannabees’ and able to fit half the town’s 50,000 population into their home stadium, the club didn’t even play in Spain’s topflight until 1998 – the year before United won their famous Treble.
Villareal finished seventh this season so if not quite David vs Goliath, there was enough disparity for you to wonder what Sir Alex Ferguson was making of it all from his perch in the posh seats at Poland’s Gdansk stadium.
More pertinently, what was the hero of that Champions League triumph, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, making of it from a much closer vantage point?
Sometimes, you wonder if it’s because he was known as a super sub that he’s so reluctant to make changes. Did he find the label downgrading?
He’d chosen his strongest XI, but, as usual, seemed to lack confidence in anyone left on the bench. The first change he made was in the 100th minute – Fred for Mason Greenwood – to shore up midfield before he brought the penalty takers on.
United had been crying out for an assassin – baby-faced or otherwise – to pierce the yellow wall their doughty opponents erected.
With both Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba only fleetingly effective against determined, smothering defenders, the favourites flattered to deceive.
And with only Edinson Cavani’s poacher’s strike as a reward, they struggled. Well before the 90th minute, they were dead on their feet.
It begs the question as to why a certain Donny van der Beek, all £40 million of him, whose only injury has been from splinters in his backside, was not brought on.
He did plenty of running around when starring for Ajax in their run to the Champions League semifinal in 2018. His ostracism remains a mystery; his signing an even bigger one.
At kickoff, I confess to wondering which of their rumoured big-money targets did United need the most. Harry Kane? Erling Braut Haaland? Or Jadon Sancho?
Before halftime, I’d added a couple but well before the end Uncle Tom Cobley was on the list.
Yes, Harry Maguire was missed but they still need a top draw partner for him. But just as necessary is another creative force in midfield, a right winger if you pardon the ancient term, and another striker.
To be fair to Solskjaer, the bench was pretty bare for this level but he’s been in permanent charge for more than two years. If the fringe players don’t get on the field, they can’t improve.
One who has emerged from the ranks is Scott McTominay, probably United’s best player for his never-say-die industry. But the Norwegian seems to have no faith in the rest.
To go into the Champions League next season with a squad as thin as this, they will be found out.
Kane would make a big difference, not least for his creative abilities as well as his goals. It would also mean that Cavani, now 34, would not be overplayed and at risk of burnout.
The England skipper’s price tag of at least £100m means his options are limited – probably to the two Manchester clubs.
If he goes to City, many good judges feel the title race would already be over – which is another reason for United to take the plunge.
The Glazers might think buying a £100m striker would be one way of getting the fans off their backs, too. The reality is that if they bought a world XI, they’d still be hated.
This Europa League loss will come as a huge reality check and another reminder of what an abomination a closed shop super league would have been.
But this was a poor game, saved by the quality and drama of the shootout.
And what should have been a springboard to success just as the Cup-Winners’ Cup in Rotterdam 1991 was for Fergie, turned into a sinkhole for Solskjaer.
Any loss on penalties can be dismissed as a bit of a lottery, but with United’s resources, it shouldn’t have come to this.
For all the romance around the Yellow Submarine, they had a mediocre season in a poor Spanish League – and should have been dispatched.
And for all the positivity Solskjaer has created, he badly needs some silverware. But with City reaching a new level, Liverpool recovering and Chelsea improving, next season will be tougher than this.
When Gary Neville saw the Premier League table last Sunday, he exclaimed: “How did Liverpool get third?”
After this showing, Gary, the bigger mystery is how United got second.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.