Leeds Utd - 1 Man Utd - 0It will require a change of opinion by the referee Jeff Winter if David Beckham is to be punished for allowing his left elbow to stray into the face of Lee Bowyer.

Given that Winter awarded a foul against Beckham and later described it as "a clumsy challenge" rather than a malicious one, this is not expected to happen.

All in all, it could be said there was a lack of intent about proceedings at Elland Road on Saturday.

It was meant to be one of those combustible occasions fuelled by the return of Rio Ferdinand in Manchester red, but walking away from what was more a cauldron of ambivalence than of hate one red name dominated the thoughts and it did not belong to Ferdinand, Beckham or Barthez.

What this match missed, and Manchester United in particular, was someone of genuine devilment. Roy Keane.

While his absence does not make the heart grow fonder, it does make the case for Keane even stronger. Had he been here Manchester United would not have lost this game.

Where once he was the heart of Manchester United, Keane is now the hole in it. When the time comes to reckon exactly what Keane has meant to Old Trafford, then three points most weekends should be the first thing on the list.

It is worth remembering that when Arsenal won the Premiership in 1998, Keane missed 29 games. The following season, when United won the league, he missed three.

Even after all the plaudits and awards over recent years, it may be that Keane has still been undervalued, perhaps even by his team-mates, who have so much to thank him for. Maybe that is why Keane is so angry.

If Keane had been here it is inconceivable that United would not have translated their first-half superiority into something tangible to defend thereafter.

Without him and, significantly, still without Gary Neville, Alex Ferguson's team lacked leadership. It sounds implausible to say of any Ferguson side, but they lacked presence.

Given that Ferdinand, David Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy were on the pitch, that should not be so but none of them provides the vocal, chiding enforcement of Keane or elder Neville.

Against a Leeds side cautiously laid out by Terry Venables, drive, allied to the flashes of skill shown by Giggs and Van Nistelrooy, would surely have been enough.

One understood Ferguson's lament about the absent "killer touch", especially where Van Nistelrooy is concerned.

After six games last season, United had scored 17 goals. Today they have five.

Leeds made the most of this. Two substitutes, Eirik Bakke and Stephen McPhail, took the opportunity to remind people what intelligent players they are, but Leeds won principally via the character whose appetite most closely resembles Keane's, Alan Smith.

Having started again on the right, Smith filled the place vacated by the departed Mark Viduka with 20 minutes to go.

Shortly before that, Smith made a tackle that raised the tempo and the crowd. If he can control it, his natural hostility is a great asset.

Within a couple of minutes, Ian Harte probed forward and used his right foot to send in a cross. Harry Kewell jogged ahead of the watching, though not watchful, Mikael Silvestre, and skidded a header beyond Barthez.

There were 24 minutes left, but Manchester United were beaten and Venables understandably said he felt "not uncomfortable".

Venables did not wish to become entangled in any discussion about Ferguson's problems but those two words said plenty.

Comfort zones and Roy Keane are mutually exclusive.