Was Nationalisation correct for Northern Rock?

A lot has been said about the Nationalisation of Northern Rock, with views having a very wide spectrum. Being the Financial Capital of the world, this was the last thing that city analysts would have thought about if you had asked them a year ago when the economy was growing strongly and the financial services was booming. The Nationalisation of Northern Rock has certainly dented our reputation, but things could get far worse with the competition commission hot on the heels of the treasury to make sure that Northern Rock does not gain an unfair advantage from having the Governments financing behind it. This has guarantees that Northern Rock will shrink in size, reducing its assets furthermore. With hindsight the Northern Rock could have been left to fail but with only two other options open to it, Virgin's consortium bid and a management buyout, both undesirable options, the government had no choice but to bite the bullet and nationalise the stricken Bank. It is however, as mentioned before, a massive disappointment to such an advanced financial city which must be rueing such dramatic step to preserve financial stability. But what other options did it have?