In the rush to capture a sheet of paper Jose Mourinho had unfolded at a press conference, a journalist spilt water over it. That was just at Mourinho's introduction as Manchester United manager.
From spilling water to spilling blood. One of the most senior executives at United described Mourinho's final months at the club as "death by a thousand cuts".
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knew he would take caretaker charge eight weeks before his Manchester homecoming. Mourinho only spent two-and-a-half years in Manchester but his overdue status as United manager was a blockbuster event to trump Barbenheimer.
The biggest mistake United made was not to have appointed him three years earlier. READ MORE: Bruno Fernandes shares brilliant three-word message as United get injury boost READ MORE: 'We are not happy' - United representative breaks silence on poor start to season Had Mourinho inherited Sir Alex Ferguson's title-winners in 2013, he would have demanded - and got - key signings, commanded immediate respect of the dressing room, maintained their hunger and United might have rode roughshod over an undaunting Premier League terrain.