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For only the second time since our run began in 1996, Manchester United fans have no Champions League matches to look forward to in the Spring. Our bouleversement might have come as a blessing to the bookmaker but only the Bovarist United fan or one blinkered by Bathophobia could have pretended it was not on the cards.

Some might think the manner of our passing cruel, for we did not deserve defeat on the night. We have, however, frittered away the advantage of an easy group and it was our own fault that we had got into a position where we needed a draw to qualify. We cannot even laugh at City, who also went out, but in a blaze of glory beating teams that have an outside chance of winning the competition.

Basel are Swiss Champions and four points clear in this season’s table. They are used to winning. Most of all they have been studying the video evidence and they knew that they had the weapon to destroy us; red and blue shirts. Barcelona, Crystal Palace and now Basel. They could, of course, have changed into light blue but they have their pride.

Their weather could not have been more welcoming; Mancunian, cold and wet. Nor is there any denying that give or take a pub argument or two Sir Alex Ferguson fielded his strongest available side. Injuries and suspensions, together with the manager’s reluctance to field Danny Welbeck (through lack of match fitness) or Federico Macheda led us to draft Phil Jones into midfield and play Ji-Sung Park as a striker with Wayne Rooney.

The Swiss were better organised defensively than they had been at Old Trafford and just as willing to attack and to run until they dropped. The risks were underlined after only seven minutes when David de Gea flapped girlishly at a cross and put us under pressure.

We had controlled the match with admirable boldness but produced nothing on target when Alexander Frei’s ball out right to Markus Steinhöfer left Patrice Evra stranded, not for the only time. In clearing the high cross Nemanja Vidi? left team mate Chris Smalling on the deck with a head injury that could have caused the referee to halt play; Smalling had a raw lump and a slight cut. He might have wished he had got to his feet.

Xherdan Shaqiri out on the left took advantage of the fallen man and centred. It was a good, hard, low cross but should have been easy to gather to the chest for any competent goalkeeper going to ground. De Gea chose to swing an irresponsible leg at it, deflecting it a few degrees to where Marco Streller, unhindered by Evra, the man meant to be picking him up, drove it fiercely home; 9 minutes 0-1.

It says much that the self-inflicted blow did not set us back. Ashley Young and Evra looked pacey coming forward on the left while on the right Nani had the beating of anyone he cared to run at. At first neither winger delivered his final ball well but when Nani picked up on this he looked a potential match winner. Our goalkeeper, however, had lit within the souls of 35,000 Swiss the quenchless flames of zeal and their team came forward with an air of relaxed confidence that an early goal can bring.

We looked vulnerable on either flank and weak in midfield defensive cover so that Shaqiri, for example, was allowed to run from one box to the other through a couple of token tackles. Going forward we looked good until we got to the area. Giggs and Jones were putting in the work but Park was out of his depth as a striker and midfield has blunted Rooney’s rapier.

Nani gave Park Joo-Ho in particular a torrid time; one of his runs was quite brilliant as he appeared to lose out but skipped lightly between the two defenders to reappear in clear ground with the ball still tied to his boot. His cross from the right wing on the half hour was a potential life saver but Rooney had been studying the Kiko Macheda skills manual (illustrated edition) and somehow managed to miskick five yards from the open goal.

United applied concerted pressure, Rooney shooting hard but too close to goalkeeper Yann Sommer when he latched on to Ryan Giggs’ glorious through ball, then getting shoved in the area by David Abraham (Ruud van Nistelrooy would have turned that into a penalty). Nani was through on goal only to be foiled as Sommer dived at his feet.

Then struck the greatest disaster of the night as Vidi? went down in agony with a horribly twisted knee in a clash with Streller, his cruciate ligaments buggered. Jonny Evans came on but it was Evra whom Abraham left on his backside. De Gea gathered Shaqiri’s shot, even if his clearing throw was a danger and earned him a mouthful from Jones.

After the interval Giggs put Rooney clean through but he failed to curl it inside the far post. This latest miss increased the home side’s confidence. Shaqiri was given time and space to chip but de Gea calmly watched it drift wide. Alexander Frei’s superb free kick was curving under the bar as de Gea got a brilliant hand to it. Fabian Frei was foiled only by a superb last ditch tackle from Smalling. True to the principles of assisted suicide the Swiss even tried to score for us, Steinhöfer executing a superb volley to Smalling’s cross, which left his own crossbar twanging.

With just less than half an hour left on the clock we withdrew Young. His match had gone like our season, starting with glittering promise but steadily declining and Welbeck, his replacement, played up front with Rooney allowing Park to drop back to midfield. The improvement was immediate. Danny’s first touch was a great ball for Park and at last Rooney had a striking partner, even if he ignored the unmarked lad when he headed for goal. For twenty minutes it looked inevitable that we would get the goal we needed but we never really pushed goalkeeper Sommer to the extreme and his handling was excellent.

You know either that we are in the comfort zone or we are desperate and devoid of alternative options when Macheda comes on. Park, whom he replaced, had never got into the game but Macheda’s first touch was clumsy, Rooney dropped back into midfield again and we lost momentum. It was Rooney, now in our own half, who lost the ball to Shaqiri.

The Swiss’ first inclination was to be time-wasting by the touchline but Evra allowed him so much room that he decided to cross. The ball sailed over its target Streller, over Evans who might have dealt with it, and past Smalling who needed to. Alexander Frei was at the far post to dive and head the ball home and United out of the competition; 84 minutes 0-2.

We gained a fortuitous free kick. Welbeck moved sharply onto it and when Sommer produced his best save of the match it fell to Macheda, who missed the open goal but hit the bar; Jones outjumped two men to head the rebound over the line; goalkeeper Sommer clawed it back and pretended it had not gone in but fooled no-one; 89 minutes 1-2.

It was but cruelty in our hour of despair to offer such a kindling dream of hope, a wild and fleeting vision of another famous comeback. It was the Swiss who kept their heads through added time. Instead of passing the ball with patience and working the rescue in the United way we resorted to hopeful long punts. The last of these, the only one which fell to a white shirt, was from de Gea. Rio Ferdinand was offside.

We must be of good cheer for the festive season. Whilst to the eye of the shipwrecked mariner sitting alone on the bare and shuddering rock, all seems unlinked contingency and chance, in fact no atom of the turbulence acts but as it must and ought to act.

Thus, there we were after our ignominious exit from the Mickey Mouse Cup fretting that Mame Biram Diouf, Macheda, Paul Pogba and the others had forfeited their season’s opportunities for more first team experience. Not so; their seniors have ensured that we can see them again; Thursday nights, Channel Five in the Asterix Cup. We can even return to Romania, the scene of our greatest triumph this miserable European campaign, to watch City in the final. I doubt we will be in it without Vidi?.

Paul Andrew James