The overwhelming number of negative articles in the media

Infordin

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If you want the media to write positive articles about Manchester United, then the club should start winning trophies. It's pretty simple.

It has been over 3 years since Manchester United last won a trophy. If you consider the money spent and the size of the club, that is unacceptable.
 

K Stand Knut

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The media seem to have realised that putting up anything negative about our club gets a larger number of clicks.

Disillusioned Man Utd fans, or ABU supporters of any other team buy into it of course, but you really don't have to.

The number of antagonistic Dortmund headlines is winding me up, as is this continual infectious doom and gloom. Don't buy into it - things really aren't that bad. The rags couldn't even find a way to positively spin these two new wonderkid signings for us - much in the same way they were incredibly negative about Anthony Martial. Who knows how they'll turn out but why the endless shittery and finger pointing? You'd never have even known there was a disgusting red card decision that made that game on Sunday the slog it was, but if it was the other way around I bet it's all they'd have been talking about!?!!

They've tried to sack Solskjaer since day one and the thing about this endless cycle of negativity is that it has a way of becoming a post facto rationalisation - you can ignore 9 wins in a row but not 2 losses if those 2 losses were recent, so it builds momentum to that possible third loss and yet MORE headlines by the endlessly negative media.

The Glazers have sucked money out the club, yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to hate the clubs managers coaches and players the way the media wants us to. I hate all this continual whining, it's Arsenal-tv like. We aren't finished yet.

Anyone else sick of the media's obsession with doom and gloom and our club or are you succumbing or enjoying it you sick weirdos.
Are you surprised??

Look at the amount of negativity (realistic or not) on this forum.
 

fatboy

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Just a few points I want to make. The OP isn't saying media doesn't have a right to bash United when we play badly. It's a general trend of creating click bait with catchy throwaway lines to constantly feed the negativity. It creates echo chambers which strongly polarises the fan's views. This in turn creates a toxic environment when these fans try to push these same views in what should be a neutral opinion board like a forum. The sheer disdain is ugly, because they can't understand why these "sensitive" or "Ole in" fans are so blindly lpya and don't seem to get it.

To make matters worse, they seem to think these always supportive fans are somehow responsible for the mediocrity at the club. That somehow by "setting lower standards" and offering a different view, we're somehow the cause of the clubs downfall. No we're not. The club is not doing as great because of poor management decisions. SAF and Gill's departure left a huge vacuum in terms of football management knowledge, and we've been on the back foot ever since. But please don't for a moment imagine that what goes on in this forum, or whoever wins the debate, will play any part in determining Ole or Ed's fate. In reality, they will be asked to leave when the Glazers or the board feel it's right , or they decide to sell the club.

The frustration and anger here is understandable, but it's gone over the top the past few years. It's not just the media that causes problems. Internet and search algorithms serve to give you what you read the most, and pretty soon that's all you'll read and know. Other viewpoints gets cut off because it doesn't gel.

And also, what these echo chambers create, are instant experts of any subject matter. This is a recent phenomena if noticed on the forum... Fans discussing levels of coaching, patterns of play, club finances as though they've been working in these jobs their whole life. I'm not saying we can't learn stuff off the Internet, but maybe, just maybe, we don't become the subject matter experts we think we are.

Matches like that one on Sunday hurt me just like any other fan, I felt a horrible gloom. But what I also do, is avoid reading stuff too much. I know what happened on the pitch, I saw with my own eyes and have made my own judgement on what happened. I might read a match report or two. What I did not do, is read commentaries and articles. I've deleted every United or football bookmark from my browser in the past year, because I don't want to be sucked down the rabbit hole. The only one I keep is the Redcafe, where I try to be selective on what I read. There has always been banter and different views in the past, each one gave as good as they got, but ultimately all felt part of the club. Sadly the forum a much more toxic place than before, but it's a lot better than getting stuck in an Internet echo chamber full of clickable but mind numbing articles and opinion pieces.

So I've said my peace. Will hand this thread back to you guys. Maybe try to take a break from the Internet once in a while.
 

MikeKing

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If you want the media to write positive articles about Manchester United, then the club should start winning trophies. It's pretty simple.

It has been over 3 years since Manchester United last won a trophy. If you consider the money spent and the size of the club, that is unacceptable.
We won F.A Cup and Europa League not that long ago so I can remember that it doesn't stop the media from being negative and continuing this cycle. Liverpool is a huge club and has only won PL once, however when a player like Keita becomes a flop it's hardly a talking point, yet media labeled a 19 year old Martial a waste of money before he even played a game at the club. The reason for that is what the OP is talking about, he is not asking for media to write positive things or for you to point out obvious things.
 

Zen86

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It’s the downside of being the biggest club in the country. United generates clicks, and nobody wants to read a load of gushing positives about us at the end of the day, even a lot of our own fans who are wallowing in their pity party.
 

Zen86

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If you want the media to write positive articles about Manchester United, then the club should start winning trophies. It's pretty simple.

It has been over 3 years since Manchester United last won a trophy. If you consider the money spent and the size of the club, that is unacceptable.
How naive :lol:
 

Cloud7

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Just a few points I want to make. The OP isn't saying media doesn't have a right to bash United when we play badly. It's a general trend of creating click bait with catchy throwaway lines to constantly feed the negativity. It creates echo chambers which strongly polarises the fan's views. This in turn creates a toxic environment when these fans try to push these same views in what should be a neutral opinion board like a forum. The sheer disdain is ugly, because they can't understand why these "sensitive" or "Ole in" fans are so blindly lpya and don't seem to get it.

To make matters worse, they seem to think these always supportive fans are somehow responsible for the mediocrity at the club. That somehow by "setting lower standards" and offering a different view, we're somehow the cause of the clubs downfall. No we're not. The club is not doing as great because of poor management decisions. SAF and Gill's departure left a huge vacuum in terms of football management knowledge, and we've been on the back foot ever since. But please don't for a moment imagine that what goes on in this forum, or whoever wins the debate, will play any part in determining Ole or Ed's fate. In reality, they will be asked to leave when the Glazers or the board feel it's right , or they decide to sell the club.

The frustration and anger here is understandable, but it's gone over the top the past few years. It's not just the media that causes problems. Internet and search algorithms serve to give you what you read the most, and pretty soon that's all you'll read and know. Other viewpoints gets cut off because it doesn't gel.

And also, what these echo chambers create, are instant experts of any subject matter. This is a recent phenomena if noticed on the forum... Fans discussing levels of coaching, patterns of play, club finances as though they've been working in these jobs their whole life. I'm not saying we can't learn stuff off the Internet, but maybe, just maybe, we don't become the subject matter experts we think we are.

Matches like that one on Sunday hurt me just like any other fan, I felt a horrible gloom. But what I also do, is avoid reading stuff too much. I know what happened on the pitch, I saw with my own eyes and have made my own judgement on what happened. I might read a match report or two. What I did not do, is read commentaries and articles. I've deleted every United or football bookmark from my browser in the past year, because I don't want to be sucked down the rabbit hole. The only one I keep is the Redcafe, where I try to be selective on what I read. There has always been banter and different views in the past, each one gave as good as they got, but ultimately all felt part of the club. Sadly the forum a much more toxic place than before, but it's a lot better than getting stuck in an Internet echo chamber full of clickable but mind numbing articles and opinion pieces.

So I've said my peace. Will hand this thread back to you guys. Maybe try to take a break from the Internet once in a while.
This post describes you creating an echo chamber for yourself though, just one that’s not contained to the internet. You just described that you watch for yourself, go with your own thoughts alone, and selectively read things on here. That seems like the definition of the very same echo chamber that you’re decrying.
 

UpWithRivers

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I made a thread about this - The Great Conspiracy. I just dont know why the club do nothing about it. They must want it to happen is the only thing I can think of. Sir Alex fought the press. He created an us against them mentality. Ole is not doing this. He should get hold of the likes of Shaw asking for transfers. He should be saying from day one of the transfers 'Our team is young and they are great the way we are. Any transfers is a bonus not a necessity. In this post covid world I dont expect or need any further players but of course if we can improve then we will' Or something to that effect. But instead he adds fuel to the fire. 'The club know my views' That just leads to speculation and blame on Woodward. 'See he's not getting the players he wants'. He has said other things like take advantage of the market etc. Yes he is right. But either say it outright 'The Glazers/Woodward have not backed me and United will never move forward...' etc or shut up and keep spinning positive us against them attitude.
Also the club should come out and deny speculation. No we arnt in for him. They should also end long drawn out transfers. They know the effect that has on negativity. If they ended speculation about Sancho 2 weeks earlier then everyone would have moved on by now.

I could go on. But basically what is that Head of Media relations doing? And what are the club doing to stop or at least stand up to all this noise. Nothing.

I agree with the disappointment of the transfer window but bloody ek its like the end of the world and that must be affecting the players and the club as a whole.
 

Giggsyking

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Except our RW position that has been empty for the last decade, I dont think our squad is much behind City and Liverpool, that is why I want Ole to leave. The players have higher potential than what Ole can get of them. He needs to go and we need a manager who can work with talents and improve players. I cant think of anyone but Poch right now.
 

amolbhatia50k

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We won F.A Cup and Europa League not that long ago so I can remember that it doesn't stop the media from being negative and continuing this cycle. Liverpool is a huge club and has only won PL once, however when a player like Keita becomes a flop it's hardly a talking point, yet media labeled a 19 year old Martial a waste of money before he even played a game at the club. The reason for that is what the OP is talking about, he is not asking for media to write positive things or for you to point out obvious things.
If the facts surrounding Liverpool remained the same as ours, Keita would be viewed as a failure. We are the dominant force in English football over the 20 years proceeding SAF's departure and one of the richest brands in football. Every failure /potential after success is magnified as it is measured against that success. Liverpool have succeeded in the backdrop of three decades of failure. No misstep matters when relatively, they are exceeding all prior standards.

I don't see why this is bemusing for anyone. Watch the negativity surrounding Barcelona once their results consistently fall to pieces after their incredible success over the last 2 decades.
 

soapythecat

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The media were all over Ole with praise when we went on our two winning runs. Throughout both runs, we were winning games having been lucky or outplayed and they still saying he was OT’s new saviour.

Now, many in the media are actually realising how poor his management is and, like many fans who also see it, are making their thoughts heard.

United have always had the lions share of unwanted media attention, but nearly all of the articles I’ve seen about Ole are true.
 

Focusmate

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Theres no agenda other than to get clicks.
not many people click on a balanced nuanced article compared to an over dramatic negative or positive one.
its overhyped but your never more than 2 games from a crisis in the media.
So if you only get negative or positive its not surprising after the last few weeks we are all negative at the minute. 2 big wins and it all switches round....
 

GazTheLegend

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So if you only get negative or positive its not surprising after the last few weeks we are all negative at the minute. 2 big wins and it all switches round....
Does it?

Show me any three articles or even one puff piece from the last few months giving us any praise for our run in the last 9-10 games leading up to the Leicester match. The only sources I could find were from the Guardian so ideally anyone outside that paper. I'll show you 10x that number about Bruno Fernandes soft penalty against Villa. It's anecdotal and I'm not suggesting there's an agenda, but it feels disproportionate and is a large part of why our fanbase feels so disaffected: We can't celebrate smashing everyone after the restart on our way to third the way we should have been able to, but now we lose a game badly (after a wrongful dismissal) and we are supposed to be embarrassed because our club refused to spend a fecking STUPID amount of money on one player during a global pandemic, all while paying an agent 30-50 million euros.

See what I'm getting at? I think we have a right to expect some sort of balance from the press, but these modern times feel hardwired to try to maximise clicks through hot takes and negatively and the danger of social media is that it presumably has an effect on people's mental health and encourages people to do things like they did at Ed Woodward's house - while never at any time being in full possession of the facts.
 

Lentwood

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It’s nothing new is it? The media unsettled the fans and the Board under both Jose and van Gaa

Look at the difference between how Ole is treated and how Lampard is treated.

Lampard had a squad of 23 internationals and took Chelsea from 3rd and Europa League winners to scraping 4th and winning nothing, get’s nominated for Manager of the Year.

Ole takes a broken, dispirited unit of misfits and teenagers from 6th into 3rd and yet somehow the narrative is “has to do better next season”

The most damaging line I think any Utd fan or pundit can say is “we’re Man Utd” or “this is Man Utd” as if it means something. No. History means nothing in the context of winning trophies and we have no divine right to expect anything. I think a healthy dose of realism might help some of our fans be a little more patient

The press constantly fan the flames of unrest and our fans need to get wise to it
 

SteveW

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The media seem to have realised that putting up anything negative about our club gets a larger number of clicks.

Disillusioned Man Utd fans, or ABU supporters of any other team buy into it of course, but you really don't have to.

The number of antagonistic Dortmund headlines is winding me up, as is this continual infectious doom and gloom. Don't buy into it - things really aren't that bad. The rags couldn't even find a way to positively spin these two new wonderkid signings for us - much in the same way they were incredibly negative about Anthony Martial. Who knows how they'll turn out but why the endless shittery and finger pointing? You'd never have even known there was a disgusting red card decision that made that game on Sunday the slog it was, but if it was the other way around I bet it's all they'd have been talking about!?!!

They've tried to sack Solskjaer since day one and the thing about this endless cycle of negativity is that it has a way of becoming a post facto rationalisation - you can ignore 9 wins in a row but not 2 losses if those 2 losses were recent, so it builds momentum to that possible third loss and yet MORE headlines by the endlessly negative media.

The Glazers have sucked money out the club, yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to hate the clubs managers coaches and players the way the media wants us to. I hate all this continual whining, it's Arsenal-tv like. We aren't finished yet.

Anyone else sick of the media's obsession with doom and gloom and our club or are you succumbing or enjoying it you sick weirdos.
100% agree.

I expect it from the media. They will always look for blood wherever they can find it. United is always the biggest story.

But it's strange that our supporters never seem to stand up for our players or manager anymore. They just seem like an easily manipulated group of entitled angry children.

We've lost a couple of games after literally months of good performances and all I can see on here is threads about when we'll sack the manager. What ever happened to perspective and common sense?
 

DRM

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We deserve every bit of negative criticism, whether it's in the form of articles, pundits or even from our fans. We've been utterly dogshite since the season started. Embarrassed against palace, extremely lucky v Brighton and humiliated against spurs. We have a tough set of fixtures coming up and we could conceivably lose all those matches. The club is a joke
 

jackal&hyde

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That espn article is a prime example of media outlets creating false narratives to exploit an unhappy fan base.
 

Falcow

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The media seem to have realised that putting up anything negative about our club gets a larger number of clicks.

Disillusioned Man Utd fans, or ABU supporters of any other team buy into it of course, but you really don't have to.

The number of antagonistic Dortmund headlines is winding me up, as is this continual infectious doom and gloom. Don't buy into it - things really aren't that bad. The rags couldn't even find a way to positively spin these two new wonderkid signings for us - much in the same way they were incredibly negative about Anthony Martial. Who knows how they'll turn out but why the endless shittery and finger pointing? You'd never have even known there was a disgusting red card decision that made that game on Sunday the slog it was, but if it was the other way around I bet it's all they'd have been talking about!?!!

They've tried to sack Solskjaer since day one and the thing about this endless cycle of negativity is that it has a way of becoming a post facto rationalisation - you can ignore 9 wins in a row but not 2 losses if those 2 losses were recent, so it builds momentum to that possible third loss and yet MORE headlines by the endlessly negative media.

The Glazers have sucked money out the club, yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to hate the clubs managers coaches and players the way the media wants us to. I hate all this continual whining, it's Arsenal-tv like. We aren't finished yet.

Anyone else sick of the media's obsession with doom and gloom and our club or are you succumbing or enjoying it you sick weirdos.
100% on board with you. One of my united supporting mates keeps sending me negative united related tweets and he is convinced we are the laughing stock of Europe. It is really really starting to piss me off.

It's the same in here as well, poster after poster spouting bf endlessly negative shite. Fcuk off and support Klopp as it seems that's what most of them want to do.

A lot of the posters in here remind me of Tony Sopranos kid when he became depressed from watching too much of the middle east conflict on tv and then threw himself into their pool tied to a block, only for the rope to be too long. I'd say many of the posters are about the same age as well.
 

#07

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Literally campaigning for Pochettino isn't he? Does Poch's agent have this fella on speed dial?

'Quick, United have won 4-1 try and find a negative.' :lol:
 

MikeKing

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Literally campaigning for Pochettino isn't he? Does Poch's agent have this fella on speed dial?

'Quick, United have won 4-1 try and find a negative.' :lol:
Oh no. That's just pathetic.
 

Tyrion

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When we get battered 6-1, it's the end of the United as we know it.

When we win 6-1 (lol if only), it will be the genesis of a new era of dominance etc etc

The media works in extremes and always has
Exactly. That's why they're usually best listened to with a big pinch of salt.
 

Tyrion

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Literally campaigning for Pochettino isn't he? Does Poch's agent have this fella on speed dial?

'Quick, United have won 4-1 try and find a negative.' :lol:
He has a point. After all, counter attacking goals don't count.
 

The United Irishman

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Maybe we should start highlighting the negativity from our own so called fans before highlighting negativity from the media. See the match day thread.
 

manunited1919

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Maybe we should start highlighting the negativity from our own so called fans before highlighting negativity from the media. See the match day thread.
I tried to avoid going into the match thread today - just out to watch the game without the extra stress of criticism of every miss placed pass.
 

SinNombre

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As I have said on here before, our fans are the toxicity that feeds the media.

Compare our fanbase after bad results to Chelsea's or Liverpool's. Liverpool went 30 years without a league and never touched the toxicity and negativity of the United fanbase over the past few weeks.

Why do every one of our signings get worse over time?

I think a look at the mirror will answer a lot.
 

sport2793

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Literally campaigning for Pochettino isn't he? Does Poch's agent have this fella on speed dial?

'Quick, United have won 4-1 try and find a negative.' :lol:
It is starting to get a bit suspicious, with regards to Delaney and having a particular agenda. After all, he's not had a piece of good info in a long time, as if he's been frozen out.
 

Rozay

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It’s led me to take a but of a break or at least a huge reduction in my online consumption. It’s so grating. Every conversation seems to directly or indirectly relate to us too. I saw a headline this morning quoting Souness saying ‘Manchester United would love to have Bale, Kane and Son’. What do they have to do with us? Why are we even in the conversation? About a trio that have never even played together either.

I didn’t watch too much of SSN during the window but tuned in on deadline day, and it was clear that the day had been almost dedicated to Manchester United, and every conversation was about what United will do, or for any other team’s business, it was ‘is this what Manchester United should have done?’.

There was a point in the window where United were considered the more likely destination for Gareth Bale. And if you took the temperature of media sentiment towards him at that time, it was overwhelmingly negative. Loads of gaslighting polls ‘United fans, would you be happy with Gareth Bale as an alternative to Sancho?’ In depth discussion of his injuries, salary, whether (as usual) our ‘structure’ needs an overhaul because we’ve known Gareth Bale existed for 10 years and are about to move for him now (‘why not sign him earlier?’). Fast forward just a couple of weeks and he joins Spurs and the narrative changed overnight. Documentaries on Sky, Hero returning, and not one mention of his salary.

Compare the coverage of Bale to the outright disrespect of Edinson Cavani, and then ask what the difference is in their respective circumstances. There isn’t any. Same when we were linked with Dembele. No different to Bale. Brilliant at his best, suffered with injuries, cost Real/Barca record money and a proposed loan. All of a sudden used as an excuse of ‘clueless United’.

Every deal done by every club in the final week of the window was just part of the game. It is only United who, every year, are demanded to have all of our number one targets signed on the day the window opens or something. Or we’re again ‘desperate and clueless’. We sign a player in September, it is ‘well why didn’t they sign him in July?’.

The worst part of it is that it creates an unnecessary cloud of negativity over the club all the time, which puts us under pressure before we’ve even had a chance to deserve it. Under Mourinho we finished second, and went into the next season in ‘crisis’. Liverpool finished fourth and were praised massively. This year, we finished third, and again, began the season with talk of ‘with all the problems at United’. And our own fans are entirely complicit in this nonsense with their endless complaining and frankly, naivety in seeing that they are being played for entertainment. Towards the end of the window I got exhausted going around the forum defending us from mindless playground derision, largely based on non-factual criticism.

It was so clear yesterday that everyone tuned in to see another car crash, and had to reluctantly praise us after winning. Even then, Miguel Delaney chose to adopt a take on our 1-4 away win by leading with ‘bar the corner, all of United’s goals came from counter attacks rather than breaking teams down’. Like really? Is this what we’re doing now?

The football hasn’t always been great, but I do feel that the actual football bit comes last. The scene has already been set and the crisis created before a ball is kicked. Any bad result, or even a win that wasn’t convincing enough for their liking just serves as a self-fulfilling prophesy.
 

GailSpaceWynand

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The media were all over Ole with praise when we went on our two winning runs. Throughout both runs, we were winning games having been lucky or outplayed and they still saying he was OT’s new saviour.

Now, many in the media are actually realising how poor his management is and, like many fans who also see it, are making their thoughts heard.

United have always had the lions share of unwanted media attention, but nearly all of the articles I’ve seen about Ole are true.
:lol:
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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It’s led me to take a but of a break or at least a huge reduction in my online consumption. It’s so grating. Every conversation seems to directly or indirectly relate to us too. I saw a headline this morning quoting Souness saying ‘Manchester United would love to have Bale, Kane and Son’. What do they have to do with us? Why are we even in the conversation? About a trio that have never even played together either.

I didn’t watch too much of SSN during the window but tuned in on deadline day, and it was clear that the day had been almost dedicated to Manchester United, and every conversation was about what United will do, or for any other team’s business, it was ‘is this what Manchester United should have done?’.

There was a point in the window where United were considered the more likely destination for Gareth Bale. And if you took the temperature of media sentiment towards him at that time, it was overwhelmingly negative. Loads of gaslighting polls ‘United fans, would you be happy with Gareth Bale as an alternative to Sancho?’ In depth discussion of his injuries, salary, whether (as usual) our ‘structure’ needs an overhaul because we’ve known Gareth Bale existed for 10 years and are about to move for him now (‘why not sign him earlier?’). Fast forward just a couple of weeks and he joins Spurs and the narrative changed overnight. Documentaries on Sky, Hero returning, and not one mention of his salary.

Compare the coverage of Bale to the outright disrespect of Edinson Cavani, and then ask what the difference is in their respective circumstances. There isn’t any. Same when we were linked with Dembele. No different to Bale. Brilliant at his best, suffered with injuries, cost Real/Barca record money and a proposed loan. All of a sudden used as an excuse of ‘clueless United’.

Every deal done by every club in the final week of the window was just part of the game. It is only United who, every year, are demanded to have all of our number one targets signed on the day the window opens or something. Or we’re again ‘desperate and clueless’. We sign a player in September, it is ‘well why didn’t they sign him in July?’.

The worst part of it is that it creates an unnecessary cloud of negativity over the club all the time, which puts us under pressure before we’ve even had a chance to deserve it. Under Mourinho we finished second, and went into the next season in ‘crisis’. Liverpool finished fourth and were praised massively. This year, we finished third, and again, began the season with talk of ‘with all the problems at United’. And our own fans are entirely complicit in this nonsense with their endless complaining and frankly, naivety in seeing that they are being played for entertainment. Towards the end of the window I got exhausted going around the forum defending us from mindless playground derision, largely based on non-factual criticism.

It was so clear yesterday that everyone tuned in to see another car crash, and had to reluctantly praise us after winning. Even then, Miguel Delaney chose to adopt a take on our 1-4 away win by leading with ‘bar the corner, all of United’s goals came from counter attacks rather than breaking teams down’. Like really? Is this what we’re doing now?

The football hasn’t always been great, but I do feel that the actual football bit comes last. The scene has already been set and the crisis created before a ball is kicked. Any bad result, or even a win that wasn’t convincing enough for their liking just serves as a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Only just seen this but its a fantastic post and really rings true. There's nothing wrong with being negative at certain times because there are genuine things to be angry about at times but the lack of logical reasoning on here at times is astounding. Some people would rather live under a shroud of fake negativity rather than open themselves up to potential disappointment but my question is what is the point in that attitude? If you can't get excited by current progress then why are you even arsed about football because watching the likes of Greenwood, Martial and Rashford evolve is pretty much the main reason I love football and especially Man Utd.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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The media were all over Ole with praise when we went on our two winning runs. Throughout both runs, we were winning games having been lucky or outplayed and they still saying he was OT’s new saviour.

Now, many in the media are actually realising how poor his management is and, like many fans who also see it, are making their thoughts heard.

United have always had the lions share of unwanted media attention, but nearly all of the articles I’ve seen about Ole are true.
Hang your head.
 

fps

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Dec 22, 2018
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5,478
If you want the media to write positive articles about Manchester United, then the club should start winning trophies. It's pretty simple.

It has been over 3 years since Manchester United last won a trophy. If you consider the money spent and the size of the club, that is unacceptable.
Exactly. Man Utd is a massive club who always get clicks when they’re written about. There are two lines - crisis or rebirth - because the third, Man Utd truly being back, is off the table. How each result goes determines which of the two lines the writers will follow. Just pray the day comes when they’re not written about at all.
 

Pogba's Barber

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It’s led me to take a but of a break or at least a huge reduction in my online consumption. It’s so grating. Every conversation seems to directly or indirectly relate to us too. I saw a headline this morning quoting Souness saying ‘Manchester United would love to have Bale, Kane and Son’. What do they have to do with us? Why are we even in the conversation? About a trio that have never even played together either.

I didn’t watch too much of SSN during the window but tuned in on deadline day, and it was clear that the day had been almost dedicated to Manchester United, and every conversation was about what United will do, or for any other team’s business, it was ‘is this what Manchester United should have done?’.

There was a point in the window where United were considered the more likely destination for Gareth Bale. And if you took the temperature of media sentiment towards him at that time, it was overwhelmingly negative. Loads of gaslighting polls ‘United fans, would you be happy with Gareth Bale as an alternative to Sancho?’ In depth discussion of his injuries, salary, whether (as usual) our ‘structure’ needs an overhaul because we’ve known Gareth Bale existed for 10 years and are about to move for him now (‘why not sign him earlier?’). Fast forward just a couple of weeks and he joins Spurs and the narrative changed overnight. Documentaries on Sky, Hero returning, and not one mention of his salary.

Compare the coverage of Bale to the outright disrespect of Edinson Cavani, and then ask what the difference is in their respective circumstances. There isn’t any. Same when we were linked with Dembele. No different to Bale. Brilliant at his best, suffered with injuries, cost Real/Barca record money and a proposed loan. All of a sudden used as an excuse of ‘clueless United’.

Every deal done by every club in the final week of the window was just part of the game. It is only United who, every year, are demanded to have all of our number one targets signed on the day the window opens or something. Or we’re again ‘desperate and clueless’. We sign a player in September, it is ‘well why didn’t they sign him in July?’.

The worst part of it is that it creates an unnecessary cloud of negativity over the club all the time, which puts us under pressure before we’ve even had a chance to deserve it. Under Mourinho we finished second, and went into the next season in ‘crisis’. Liverpool finished fourth and were praised massively. This year, we finished third, and again, began the season with talk of ‘with all the problems at United’. And our own fans are entirely complicit in this nonsense with their endless complaining and frankly, naivety in seeing that they are being played for entertainment. Towards the end of the window I got exhausted going around the forum defending us from mindless playground derision, largely based on non-factual criticism.

It was so clear yesterday that everyone tuned in to see another car crash, and had to reluctantly praise us after winning. Even then, Miguel Delaney chose to adopt a take on our 1-4 away win by leading with ‘bar the corner, all of United’s goals came from counter attacks rather than breaking teams down’. Like really? Is this what we’re doing now?

The football hasn’t always been great, but I do feel that the actual football bit comes last. The scene has already been set and the crisis created before a ball is kicked. Any bad result, or even a win that wasn’t convincing enough for their liking just serves as a self-fulfilling prophesy.
All of this x100. Very well put.

I think the media-fueled doom and gloom even stretches as far as getting into the players' heads and can effect their performance in a big way. I know that people will say "it's all part of being a Man United player - you have to be strong enough to deal with it and are paid loads of money blah blah...", but they're human beings after all, and modern life makes it near impossible to avoid seeing news headlines in some way, and it inevitably has a negative impact on the players' psychology and the whole zeitgeist of the club in general. Sure, we've always had to deal with this, but news today isn't the same as it was in the 90's or early 2000's - news today is everywhere, all the time, for everyone - and its messing with human and social psychology in a huge way that we are yet to even begin to comprehend. It's clear that we should not underestimate the overwhelming number of negative articles in digital media and it's impacts on the mental health of United players and fans.

I wish more United fans would interrogate the news articles they see and ask themselves whether it is more factual information, or agenda driven click bait to propel the anti-united rhetoric. It seems a lot of journalists are practically making a living solely from beating us down; and the more they do it, the more it impacts the players and fans and the more they can write about the next week. I think this place would be a bit more palatable if our own fans adopted a more objective view on football news, and took a breath before reacting to it.
 

tjb

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TBH...all of a sudden now we suddenly have great depth, yet when the window was finished, both fans and the media consistently bashed our spending. I said it then and I will say it again, the main problem we had last season was the lack of quality in depth we had particularly in attack. This season, it's clearly showing how much of a success the transfer window actually was, despite only VDB really being available of the 5 signings. If we truly believe that we have quality in Greenwood, Fernandes, Rashford, Pogba and Martial...which we were shown at the end of last season, being able to give them rest despite fixture pile up would only allow them to be more consistent when they play. We now have Cavani, VDB, Mata, Matic, Fred, Telles, Tuanzebe and Henderson in depth, without even mentioning Amad Traore, who will come in January. Of all those players, we have about 4 or 5 that are legitimately competing with players in our starting xi for the starting position....yet somehow, we were poor in the market.

I personally believe our fans are the ones who let this happen. I understand that we have struggled to rebuild over the last 6 years, but I don't understand how our fans can't see the promising outlook of our club. This is by far the best team we have had since 2013 and none really have come close. We had had loads of depth without first xi quality ( 2017), quality in our first xi but poor depth ( 2018 and the last quarter of 2020), but we have not looked anywhere this complete since SAF and for me, that has been the difference between ourselves and ( Chelsea, Liverpool, City) over the last 6 seasons.
 

tjb

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Joined
Sep 6, 2013
Messages
3,309
All of this x100. Very well put.

I think the media-fueled doom and gloom even stretches as far as getting into the players' heads and can effect their performance in a big way. I know that people will say "it's all part of being a Man United player - you have to be strong enough to deal with it and are paid loads of money blah blah...", but they're human beings after all, and modern life makes it near impossible to avoid seeing news headlines in some way, and it inevitably has a negative impact on the players' psychology and the whole zeitgeist of the club in general. Sure, we've always had to deal with this, but news today isn't the same as it was in the 90's or early 2000's - news today is everywhere, all the time, for everyone - and its messing with human and social psychology in a huge way that we are yet to even begin to comprehend. It's clear that we should not underestimate the overwhelming number of negative articles in digital media and it's impacts on the mental health of United players and fans.

I wish more United fans would interrogate the news articles they see and ask themselves whether it is more factual information, or agenda driven click bait to propel the anti-united rhetoric. It seems a lot of journalists are practically making a living solely from beating us down; and the more they do it, the more it impacts the players and fans and the more they can write about the next week. I think this place would be a bit more palatable if our own fans adopted a more objective view on football news, and took a breath before reacting to it.
I think the club has to do a better job of shutting down the media. I really don't think Woodward is or has been as bad as presented...but not immediately discrediting the journalists writing this garbage has only allowed the stories fester about the club, transfers and woodward.