The final whistle had just brought the curtain down on Manchester United’s worst week for two decades when the questions started.
Chief among the topics being fiercely discussed was the plight of one young winger, who had sat impassively on the bench as his team-mates laboured against Sunderland, suffering their third defeat in seven numbing days.
What has happened to Wilfried Zaha?
VIDEO Scroll down to watch the best and worst of Zaha with England U21s
Familiar sight: Many Manchester United fans would like to have seen more of Wilfried Zaha at Old Trafford
Main man and forgotten man: Zaha (right) has only played 22 Premier League minutes with Robin van Persie
With United looking for inspiration, why didn’t David Moyes turn to the jet-heeled 21-year-old? His potential has been the talk of football for 18 months and more; he has tricks, speed and his shots can be as ferocious as a clap of thunder.
He can take teams apart, too. On a freezing night in Wycombe last March, he tore through Romania’s Under 21s; Zaha was also the reason Crystal Palace reached the Championship play-off final in May, with two goals against Brighton. This young man can play.
So surely, United supporters argued, there was something more sinister behind Zaha’s inactivity?
Why else would a player who commanded a fee rising to £15million last January be forced to endure a campaign in which his time on the pitch adds up to a meagre 167 minutes?
Theorists say it is an agenda. The truth is much simpler.
Moyes is not a manager who will keep a player sidelined for no apparent reason. In his world, the team is king and winning is all that matters; he wants those he chooses to go to war with to have many qualities but it would be risible to say he favours artisans over artists.
Hard work and discipline are virtues he extols but, above all, he wants players who provide magic. You only have to spend time in his company, away from the glare of cameras and microphones, to see him enthuse about those individuals who have a style and swagger above the norm.
Zaha has the tools to thrill – he has been known to start competitions with Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling during England Under 21 training sessions to see who can produce the best moment of skill – but does he have the correct attitude?
The answer, at the moment, would have to be no. Zaha failed to impress with his body language during the European Under 21 Championship last summer; he never looked like he wanted to be in Israel and that enraged the England players who had given everything to be there.
Outcasts: Both Zaha (right) and Shinji Kagawa have got used to life on the bench under David Moyes
Game-changer: Zaha was electric during his time at Crystal Palace (right) but hasn't hit those heights... yet
28 MINUTES... 29 TOUCHES
Wilfried Zaha has played a mere 28 minutes in the Premier League for Manchester United in two cameo substitute appearances - and he had to wait for December for his first top-flight match.
Dec 7: Man Utd 0 Newcastle 1 (22 mins)
Dec 15: Aston Villa 0 Man Utd 3 (six mins)
He has not really made an impact in those games, having just 29 touches in 28 minutes. He has had one (off-target) shot, and has tried just 11 passes, completing 64 per cent of them. Most surprisingly for Zaha, given his style of play, he has attempted just four dribbles and only one of those has been a success. His one cross also came to nothing.
Surliness is not something that will be tolerated at Old Trafford, either. Moyes will be scrutinising Zaha every day on the training pitches at Carrington; his coaching staff talk to him all the time, reporting what he has done well and the areas on which he can improve.
If Zaha was hitting the levels expected of a United player, pushing himself to the limit and striving to improve, there is no question Moyes would have used him in more than just four games (and one of those was the Community Shield). As he continues to be out of the team, you can deduce that he doesn’t yet appreciate what is expected of him.
'Wilf has not appeared,’ Moyes said. ‘We have not felt we have had the opportunity. I want Wilf to get used to what happens here. The competition is hard. It is important Wilf gets to see the level of the training here, the level of the players and the quality they have got. He is getting better.’
Silverware: Wilfried Zaha holds the Championship play-off trophy after helping Palace to the top flight
Demanding: Moyes offers some advice to his young player during United's pre-season tour
Arm round the shoulder: But Moyes has rarely uttered the words, 'On you go, son' to Zaha
Those words were delivered on October 15 last year, so the fact he has started one Capital One Cup tie and made two cameo appearances in the Barclays Premier League since makes it clear Zaha has 'not got better' as quickly as Moyes would have anticipated.
It would, of course, be wrong to write off his United career at this juncture but it is equally difficult to escape the feeling that Zaha needs to appreciate what an opportunity he has. If he continues to drift along, it will be gone before he realises what he had.
‘I am sure in time he will be an asset for Manchester United but I guess everything there with the new manager and everything, everybody is getting used to a new way of working,’ England Under 21 head coach Gareth Southgate observed last autumn.
Time to shine: Zaha will have to up his game if he is to break into the United first team
The competition: Wide men Ashley Young (left) and Antonio Valencia (right) are preferred to the youthful Zaha
Final fling: £15m Zaha was Sir Alex Ferguson's last purchase as United manager
‘Wilf has only just arrived there and I think from his point of view, it is as important that the new manager can see what he is about as it is for him to go and play first-team football. They will make a decision (about loaning him out) based on that, I am sure.’
United are willing to let Zaha leave on loan this window. That Moyes is prepared to sanction such a move means he doesn’t feel Sir Alex Ferguson’s final buy is ready to contribute.
Only time will tell if he ever is.
Abject: Zaha was part of a poor England campaign at the European Under 21 Championship in Israel
That's better: In March last year, Zaha was in fine form against Romania in Wycombe
Bust up: Zaha (in ring, yellow boots) and England U21 team-mate Ravel Morrison (red boots) have a scuffle
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