His friend and goalkeeping coach at Highbury, Bob Wilson, thought Nayim’s shot was a fluke and considered Seaman blameless for the free-kick against Brazil.”Only the cruellest of critics, or someone who does not understand the art of goalkeeping, would accuse Seaman of having made a crass mistake,” Wilson said. “The curling parabola and arc of the shot made it impossible to save unless the keeper had a very early sighting.” Seaman’s view was partially obscured by Paul Scholes.Wilson was surprised to see Seaman break down in Japan; he had never before, and he gave a TV interview in which he mumbled his apologies to the nation. Seaman has avoided the press since details of the break-up of his first marriage were revealed by the tabloids, whose scorn was given further ammunition when he adopted a ponytail. When Seaman delivered an indifferent performance against Macedonia in October it was thought his time with England was up, and, with his omission from the squad to play South Africa, those opinions appear to have been confirmed.His Arsenal career may not stretch much beyond Saturday’s FA Cup final; Seaman is undecided on whether to accept a new contract, although Ars? Wenger has stated that a coaching role is his should he want it.Seaman’s obituary has been written many times. Before Euro 2000, there were calls for his replacement by Nigel Martyn while Wenger’s pursuit of Jerzy Dudek and Richard Wright suggested the Arsenal manager was not convinced.

The use of the Carling Opta league table to “prove” Seaman was in decline infuriated John Lukic, whom Seaman replaced in 1990 for a then record fee for a goalkeeper of £1.3m.”Working with him every day is to see his single-minded pursuit of perfection,” Lukic said. “He is so much his own worst critic that the way he analyses any goal he concedes makes a lobotomy seem less intrusive.”Seaman is a private man whose passions away from football are fishing and, to a lesser extent, greyhound racing “I know where I come from,” he once said. “I have had tea with the Queen but I keep everything in perspective.”There was a time in the summer of Euro 96 when Seaman was a national hero. The penalty save from Gary McAllister led directly to Paul Gascoigne’s winner against Scotland which was followed by Seaman’s heroics in the penalty shoot-out in the quarter-final with Spain.When shortly afterwards he paid a visit to Wimbledon, Seaman was rather embarrassed to receive an ovation from the tennis crowds. If this is goodbye, old “Safe Hands” deserves another round of applause..

On the eve of this season the 10 “experts” acquainted with this newspaper were cajoled into making their forecasts for the season. Eight of us (this “expert” included) predicted Leeds would qualify for a place in the Champions’ League. I should hasten to add it was not just The Independent’s tipsters who felt this way; the bookies agreed. West Ham’s replacement in the top flight by Portsmouth further illustrates the point.On the credit side The Independent did forecast the rise of Wayne Rooney before he had kicked a ball but even we did not imagine what an impact the teenager would have. Not content with injecting Everton and England with much-needed vim, he influenced the destiny of the championship.

After his Goodison winner Arsenal never recaptured the hitherto boundless confidence of autumn.This is not to belittle Manchester United’s achievement in overhauling the holders. Their remorseless spring march was stoked in the foundry which glows within Sir Alex Ferguson. He had cause to question his players’ desire this season but ultimately received the response he demanded. The question he will ponder this summer is whether he must rebuild the squad to conquer Europe again.One man whose Old Trafford place is safe is Ruud van Nistelrooy, whose goal-poaching epitomised United’s surge. But this observer is not about to join those recanting their selection of Thierry Henry as Footballer of the Year. Henry may appear, unlike Van Nistelrooy, to be as interested in style as substance but that is no bad thing in a spectator sport.