Yet that was all the time the world's most lunatic elite division needed to bogwash mighty Manchester United, its power to disrupt and torment hurtling once again to the fore.
I don't think there is a single member of the league who could have imagined, six short years ago, that our activities in tormenting our fellow creatures would once again be recognised as acceptable, civilised behaviour, as it once was in the middle ages.
The ethnic conflict that has tormented Sri Lanka for 17 years is once again knocking on Jaffna's door.
Ignoring if tomorrow we will once again be assaulted and bombed, humiliated and tormented.
And tonight, as the United Nations and the international community stand by, the people of Congo are once again at the mercy of those who have tormented them in the past.
But like LA, they fell short in the semi-final, where once again Santos Laguna beat them, and once again Herculez Gomez was on hand to torment an MLS team, as his goals have done repeatedly.
While working people are suffering the torments of joblessness, underemployment and dwindling compensation, corporate profits have rebounded and the financial sector is once again living the high life.
