Programmes were published for Manchester United's humdrum friendly with Cadiz, an occasion so low-key an unattended box of programmes was still full as supporters strolled off the Plaza de Madrid.
They were a collector's item for those who grabbed a souvenir as Aaron Wan-Bissaka started. On the evidence of his half and the accomplished half of his replacement, the Catalan Marc Jurado, it may be Wan-Bissaka's only start under Erik ten Hag.
One of the benefits of United appointing Ten Hag is he is critical in victory, so you can imagine how he is in defeat.
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"We were sleeping," he lamented of United's lethargic start in Cadiz. They were 2-0 down after 13 minutes.
Wan-Bissaka lost his marker for the first goal and jogged back for the second. Jurado was caught unawares when Ruben Sobrino converted Theo Bongonda's wayward shot into a cross. A useful learning curve for an 18-year-old.
"We were not awake," Ten Hag said. "Still sleeping. First 15 minutes. And we prepared. They are a threat in transition, we see the second goal, it can't happen, you are not awake. Bad defence but especially in the midfield we got run off. It's not possible, unacceptable.
"It's the first goal as well - the set-play - bad organisation, indisciplined organisation to concede the goal."
The midfielder Anthony Lozano ran off was United's captain for the evening, Scott McTominay, who actually moved down the gears as the ball rolled towards the clinical Lozano.
McTominay has fared favourably more often than not from his eight starts this term and Christian Eriksen left Doha so early he is due back at Carrington next week. With Argentina drawn against the Netherlands, one of Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia should be available for selection against Burnley in the League Cup on December 21.
Realistically, though, Ten Hag will need a right-back for that tie. Portugal have to be classed as favourites for their World Cup quarter-final against Morocco and progression would deprive United of the ever-present Diogo Dalot until their Premier League campaign resumes against Nottingham Forest on December 27.
Ten Hag learnt nothing new from the first-half in Cadiz. Anthony Martial and Alejandro Garnacho are the only starters who would make a fully fit United XI against Forest. For Teden Mengi and the assured Zidane Iqbal, it was timely minutes ahead of potentially fulfilling loans in January.
Some of the more senior starters highlighted why they are assigned squad player status and it was telling that bar Martial, the only other bright starters were Iqbal and Garnacho.
"We are unhappy with this game. Of course, you always have some positives when you lose a game, but today there are more negatives," Ten Hag stressed.
"It has to be the standard always and, to be fair, first 15 minutes cannot happen. That is not our standard, it should not happen, so that is what we spoke about. We'll [go] tomorrow again but we have to strike it, draw a line and move on, it cannot happen in the future."
United players knew in August how badly Ten Hag can take meaningful defeats when he ordered them in for training the day after the debacle at Brentford. Last season, Carrington was sparse the day after the apocalyptic 5-0 thrashing by Liverpool as the players bunkered down on a day off.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, like Jose Mourinho, allocated the players fixed days off irrespective of performances and results. Mourinho's rule change quickly won over the squad and Solskjaer's approach resulted in a 3-0 victory at Tottenham, albeit that was his last as United manager.
Louis van Gaal, David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson all reserved the right to haul in the players at the 11th hour. There is no foolproof method. A source said Ten Hag's training timings have been inconsistent after the initial 9am cut-off he imposed in pre-season. Carrot or stick?
He is certainly not shy of giving stick.
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