Posting this on here, mainly because it allows me to go beyond 140 characters but also due to the better etiquette and friendlier feel in light of some of the grief I've had on Twitter over posts and tweets about Fabinho.
Journalists in different countries provide different information and the M.E.N.'s James Robson wrote earlier this month United would not pursue Fabinho, which tallied with my own understanding that he is not one of the defensive midfielders under consideration. Personally, I think he'd be a superb and ideal addition for United, but it's besides the point.
Disinformation occurs in football (Tim Sherwood fabricated United's interest in Christian Benteke to smoke out Liverpool, for example) and Mourinho alluded to it sympathetically last season during one of his press conferences. Spin and face-saving are also heavily used by clubs and two such examples regarding United were their reasons behind not signing Renato Sanches and Antoine Griezmann. The lines get blurred, especially on Twitter.
Our stance on Fabinho, due to his popularity and recent encouraging reports surrounding a possible move to United, has led to some hostile feedback on Twitter and, foolishly, I bit back a few times and that has escalated. I was informed about the stick I was getting long after I'd turned my notifications off by some vigilant followers!
Regarding the use of the word 'fanboy' which has vexed some obsessive characters, it's essentially a footballing euphemism for 'troll'. It does not apply to fans who don't go to games or who can't afford to go to games, which should not even be a constraint in modern football. The M.E.N. might be a local 'paper but, with nearly six million Facebook followers, its demographic is worldwide and there is enormous enthusiasm for United. The following on my own personal page is diverse and I'm grateful for the interest and the interaction. It's considered, pleasant and I actually enjoy doing Facebook Lives on here.
Unfortunately, there is a minority of Twitter users, usually operating via a pseudonym and behind a faceless avatar, who are patronising and spiteful trolls who wouldn't dare act that way in real life. Some have even brought my family members into it when they are not even on Twitter.
Again, though, they're a minority and it's unfortunate that some of the trolls have whipped up the fallacy that all United fans are somehow 'fanboys'. It's inexplicable, but that's Twitter and some who have already messaged me on here, incandescent at my tweets, have allowed me to provided greater context and were grateful. One of them actually called me a 'c**t' at first but at least he was big enough to do it through his actual profile, so he deserved an informed reply.
Apologies for the lengthy post and hope this clears up any confusion that might have lingered.