Opinion: Man Utd have unfinished business in Istanbul

So what do I remember about the goalless draw at the Ali Sami Yen? I know I watched it in its entirety even though I think I only saw the first-leg highlights later in the evening (without knowing the score, of course). I hoped for something positive to happen but, bar a half-chance or so for either team, I couldn’t really tell you anymore.

The timewasting was akin to gamesmanship from decades before as the play became fractured and fractious. I may be being biased and unfair but I am sure there was lots of playacting and frustrating pause after frustrating pause. We did not perform well but were suffocated and strangled, in a tie unfolding in a tumultuous setting ready to boil over.

Surely, the referee would account for his and allow a lot of injury time? If we were playing to the current Premier league rules, we’d still be playing now. No, he didn’t and our European dream was over before we’d even managed to make it into the group stages.

It was too much for Cantona to take, this wasn’t an ideal setting for his short fuse, and it descended into chaos and a full-blown fight between United players and the police supposed to be offering security as they made their way down the steps towards the tunnel. Robbo, through no fault of his own, picked up another injury.

I have been lucky enough to travel abroad on numerous occasions to watch United, starting with the game at Rapid Vienna most memorable for the best save I’ve ever seen live, by Peter Schmeichel. I’ve had the unbelievable highs of Barcelona in 1999 and Moscow in 2008, plus the defeat in Rome a year later.

More recently, I’ve been blessed to be able to travel to places I’d never have been able to visit, in my capacity working for the club I love. Donetsk, Skopje, Athens, Astana and Chisinau among the cities offering cultural and footballing experiences I will never forget. I’ll also treasure trips to Paris and Stockholm for obvious reasons, considering the joy provided by those victories.