Manchester United season on verge of collapse after Champions League exit

Sir Alex Ferguson is now contemplating the Europa League

It is a situation surely nobody could have envisaged.

Manchester United, the most decorated English club in terms of league titles, have dropped into the Europa League.

They have paid the price for complacency and a lack of quality depth in the squad, and as Roy Keane said, they got exactly what they deserved.

A Champions League group containing Benfica, Basel and Otelul Galati would hardly have sent shivers down United fans' spines before matchday one, and in truth they should have qualified with ease.

However, they took qualification for granted and were sloppy throughout, with their only wins coming against the minnows of Romanian side Galati.

United had reached three of the last four Champions League finals, but European football has such a strength in depth now that teams cannot simply turn up and steamroller their way through a group with minimal effort.

Only Barcelona and Real Madrid can realistically take qualification to the knockout stages for granted.

Every game should be played with the same intensity. There are no longer easy games in the Champions League.

United's exit will lead to a humiliating stint in the Europa League, a competition regularly used by Red Devils fans as a way of mocking rivals.

In the past, when Liverpool and Manchester City have played in the competition, supporters have chanted "Thursday nights, Channel Five", but now it is they who will be ridiculed.

United fans have ridiculed the likes of Liverpool in the past for playing in the Europa League

They should have the quality to challenge for the competition, as long as they take it seriously.

United could follow the path of other English teams and send out virtual reserve sides, which would probably lead to an early exit as their back-ups are simply not good enough.

The Europa League may be Sir Alex Ferguson's side's best shot at silverware this season, with other competitions not exactly going to plan.

Just over a week ago, they were humbled at home to Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup, while they are five points behind Manchester City in the Premier League.

They were also humiliated 6-1 by City in the league and face a daunting away fixture against their local rivals in the FA Cup third round.

United's season is on the verge of collapse and they lack the star quality to turn it around.

Wayne Rooney's goals have dried up, they are nowhere near as potent as they were earlier in the season and they have looked shaky at the back, in Europe at least.

They miss Paul Scholes dearly in the centre of midfield, while injuries to Tom Cleverley and Nemanja Vidic will not help them.

United need a creative player in the centre. Wesley Sneijder could have solved the problem had he been brought in last summer, and someone of his ilk will need to be signed as quickly as possible.

They are much further away from Barcelona now than they were in May, so perhaps it is a blessing in disguise they won't get the chance to play against them this season. The likelihood is they would have been humiliated.

There is some good young talent there - Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Cleverley and Danny Welbeck - as well as established stars like Rooney, Nani and Javier Hernandez, but beyond that they simply do not have enough.

Hernandez missed yesterday's defeat to Basel through injury

Ferguson will have been stung by his side's Champions League exit and determined to launch a real bid to win the competition next season, but that could be one of the biggest challenges of his illustrious career.

As for Manchester City, they will also be deeply disappointed to have dropped into the Europa League but their emotions will be different to United's.

This was their first jaunt into the Champions League and they were beaten by two excellent sides in Bayern Munich and Napoli, while the experiences they gained this season will stand them in good stead for future campaigns.

Their main goal has to be to win the Premier League before even thinking about winning Europe's premier competition, despite all the hundreds of millions they have spent.

City have a distinct lack of Champions League experience as a team, but United can have no such excuses because, as a club, that competition has been their home for two decades.

They do have some younger players with little experience, but they still should have had far too much for Benfica and Basel.

They failed to beat either side, home or away, and that is a shocking return.

Basel took a 3-3 draw from Old Trafford

Away games are always tricky but Benfica and Basel should both have been swept aside at Old Trafford.

United and City's respective exits should act as a wake-up call to themselves and fellow English clubs: progression to the Champions League knockout stages cannot be taken for granted.

City are likely to get over their disappointment quickly, as they have so much to look forward to and look imperious in the Premier League.

For United though, Ferguson will have to work extremely hard to ensure the disappointment does not lead to a slump in form in the league.

Although you should never write United and Ferguson off, their season is on the brink of collapsing and the Scot is about to find out exactly what this team are made of.

Their second half to their season will be punctuated with Europa League games on Thursday nights and Premier League games on Sundays, a scenario which must be one of the most unattractive imaginable for a club used to showpiece finals and nothing but success.

Games against the likes of FC Metalist, PAOK Salonika and Legia Warsaw are hardly likely to set pulses racing at Old Trafford.