United in 2022... a club of Twitter transfers, trials by TikTok and Facebook football

ISMAIlA SARR scored for Watford from the halfway line. Almost instantly it was made known that Darren Fletcher of Manchester United was in the stand at West Brom, watching.

In the second half Sarr took a poor penalty, easily saved. Is that United out now? Have they checked the reaction on social media?

This is what seems to matter most these days. It’s the logical journey. United increasingly appear to sign players for their social media traction, so it figures that they will ditch others for the same reasons.

Marko Arnautovic wasn’t exactly trending positively, before that deal went dead. And, no, it wasn’t just United loyalists who were unimpressed with Arnautovic.

In a summer when Manchester City have secured Erling Haaland, liverpool bought Darwin Nunez and Chelsea landed Raheem Sterling, a 33-year-old late of the Chinese Super league seemed to sum up United’s malaise.

Yet Erik ten Hag wanted him, and he’s the manager. It’s bad enough that his employers have failed to attract his prime target Frenkie de Jong, now he gets his homework marked by Twitter?

What message does this send? How can anyone run a football club via a committee of 100,000 or more?

Yesterday, the move for Adrien Rabiot looked to have hit a snag. This did not meet with social media’s disapproval. It’s fair to say some think United could do better.

Maybe they could, but, either way, that’s what it’s like out there, a swirl of opinions, not all of them educated.

So what are United supposed to do now? Celebrate with those who are happy the deal could

collapse? Post a drawing board with a new list of targets and see who wins the vox pop?

Louis van Gaal advised ten Hag to join a football club, not a commercial club, but even he may have understated the absence of identity at United.

they have long been a club wedded to commerce but at least they made their own mistakes.

this has been coming. Remember when Alexis Sanchez signed and United boasted to shareholders about how many hits the video announcement received?

that’s the beginning of the end right there. that’s what happens when a club has few real achievements to trumpet, so places importance on trivia.

Cynics would argue that Cristiano Ronaldo’s social media profile made him attractive, too.

So now, here we are. Facebook football. twitter transfers. trials by tiktok. this is Manchester United 2022, enjoying the choices they have made.