Yves Bissouma / Signs for Spurs

[TsuWave]

Bissouma’s situation is quite different from #11, no?

He was arrested/escorted out of the nightclub in a group/with friends, from what I recall - is it even clear he is the one that did xyz? Or one of the people with him?

He’s also been free and allowed to carry on playing football at club and international level - and as far as I know, nobody even knows what he/his friend(s) are accused of.

 

[redsunited]

hence why Bisouma is so cheap he's a £50M Premier League proven midfield player going for a bargain bin price of £25M Brighton can't wait to offload him and you have to wonder why

He is 25m because of last year in his contract. Bayern is not ready to pay 40m for Mane in similar situation.

 

[croadyman]

Lots of people getting their knickers in a twist over this one but it is impossible to judge until we see who we do end up buying this summer and even then you have to give it a season to see if our business works out and also whether Bissouma flourishes at Spurs or becomes another example of a big star from a smaller club who wilts under the expectations after a big move.

I don't believe we were ever in for him and that also goes for City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, PSG, Bayern, Madrid etc. so maybe Spurs have got a bargain or maybe he just isn't all that when all is said and done.

They are in a twist because we are YET AGAIN not addressing our biggest issue

 

[Rozay]

So your view Rozay is the only reason we have missed out on him is because we are incompetent? The reason dozens of teams who could have been in for him is because they are incompetent? Give me a break, you dont think his agent would not be trying to hawk him around for a better price and deal. We are not in for him because we know how it could appear and we don't want negative press. People are not talking about Greenwood right now because they could be legally held attributable for that and any impact on the case.

I already said I think its sad, because the lad has been told he has no charges to face. Unfortunately mud sticks, and its something society does to any man accused of sexual allegations, hundreds of people are affected by being publicly outed for things they didn't do. "No smoke without fire" and all that, but we are staying away solely because of that, not some ignorance or lack of competence. As a club we fear the backlash and PR it could generate.

It doesn’t have to be any of those reasons. ‘Incompetence’ is just a misplaced word. We are trying to buy De Jong. Rozay wants us to buy De Jong AND Bissouma - but a lack of interest in Bissouma hasn’t been replaced by us pursuing an alternative secondary midfielder instead has it? So the common sense view would be that we are not interested in Bissouma firstly because we only want to sign one midfielder, and we have chosen De Jong to be that player.

Secondly, this police matter arose in October last year, and while Bissouma has been an excellent and highly rated PL midfielder long before that - there has been little indication that we have ever been interested in him. Clearly, that is not because we saw into the future that he was going to be accused of something one day. More likely than your theory is that he has never been a player of significant interest to us.

 

[Gandalf]

They are in a twist because we are YET AGAIN not addressing our biggest issue

So far we have not, but we have a few weeks before we need to panic and it is quite obvious that the club didn't think Bissouma was good enough for what they want. ETH supposedly has final say on targets so maybe he will surprise us with a deal we are not expecting. I just cannot get too upset over failing to sign a player who for all of the fuss has never been seriously linked to any big clubs in 4 years at Brighton and now he has moved nobody was interested in buying him besides Spurs. It would suggest a lot of people here are seriously overrating him. City badly need a Fernandinho replacement and yet they didn't think Yves was worth 25m so maybe we are right and Spurs are wrong, time will tell.

 

[Adnan]

Bissouma’s situation is quite different from #11, no?

He was arrested/escorted out of the nightclub in a group/with friends, from what I recall - is it even clear he is the one that did xyz? Or one of the people with him?

He’s also been free and allowed to carry on playing football at club and international level - and as far as I know, nobody even knows what he/his friend(s) are accused of.

There's rumours the person accused is a relative of Bissouma.

 

[Rozay]

Released under investigation is the current equivalent to bail.

No it isn’t. And why would the police need an ‘equivalent’ to bail when they have the actual option of bail?

I’m glad to see that so few of you or anyone you all have associated with have had run-ins with the law, but people need to familiarise themselves more with what RUI tends to mean in real terms. Bail is bail. A charge is a charge, and RUI is not an equivalent. Either of the other two scenarios would have likely seen him suspended by Brighton since last year too. The fact that it is not there isn’t to be dismissed as some sort of technicality - the difference actually matters.

 

[marktan]

I will say this - he's one of the best all round midfielders in the league, and it'll be no surprise when he tears it up for Spurs.

We'll instead be left with FDJ for 70m - who's a good player but will be hamstrung 1) He's not defensively as strong as someone like Bissouma and likely won't have a DM behind him and 2) His best attribute of bringing the ball forward will be wasted when he has to pass it to our crap front line.

 

[groovyalbert]

what a joke comment, Lloris is far better than De Gea

He's not and he's also 36 this year.

 

[bosnian_red]

Under investigation doesn’t mean anything in and of itself. We don’t even know if Bissouma directly stands accused by anyone of sexual assault. He has not been charged, despite the Police having every opportunity to do so. He has also faced no sanction by Brighton, who likely know a little more detail than ‘he is under investigation’ - and I suspect they also care about their reputation. He is also being pursued by Spurs, who I imagine have also done some basic due diligence into what ‘under investigation’ means in this particular case. And lastly, there is zero media conversation about it.

And yes, I clearly did miss ‘loads of talk’ about it when we signed Ronaldo. I saw every broadcast on the news channels and read many articles and the conversation had nothing to do with his case. Therefore, if you are telling me that the conversation was indeed happening, somewhere, it was clearly of little relevance or consequence. And this is the most famous footballer in the world we are talking about, not Yves Bissouma.

Mason Greenwood is Mason Greenwood. It seems that most people have the common sense to not equate any allegation with the word ‘sexual’ in it to ‘like Mason Greenwood’. And even Mason Greenwood has caused little to no damage to the reputation of the club. It has caused damage to the reputation of Mason Greenwood, and huge inconvenience to the football team of the club, sure.

Ultimately, I cannot buy any implication that the only reason it is not bad press for Tottenham Hotspur to sign a player under investigation for sexual assault is because they don’t currently have another player who stands accused of the ‘same’. Or because they are apparently too small of a club for the media to care about that sort of thing. I can assure you that there would be a lot of talk if they signed Mason Greenwood instead. And there in lies the difference.

And Giggs is not employed by Manchester United.

Giggs isn't employed but still gets VIP invites and seating to any special occasion.

Important to remember Spurs essentially appointed Gattusso as manager, and than did a huge 180 after the fan backlash that came after. Public opinion matters, and sometimes football clubs are entirely clueless before the deed happens.

Bissouma himself is still under investigation. He's not charged, but he's also not cleared. It would become a thing if United were to sign him. The Ronaldo stuff? You must not have been on twitter much. It was definitely out there. Officially of course, the case just got dismissed, but everyone knows it's also incredibly difficult to actually prove any of those allegations, especially against a global star like that. You have all these rules out there that people on social media let alone the mainstream media can get in trouble if they say things openly. So naturally, it's easy to miss it.

Greenwoods situation hasn't harmed our reputation, yet. We sign a player who is literally under investigation for the same thing, and you bet it would become a thing! To at least a good sized chunk of the public. It's wise to just skip this option.

 

[bosnian_red]

I will say this - he's one of the best all round midfielders in the league, and it'll be no surprise when he tears it up for Spurs.

We'll instead be left with FDJ for 70m - who's a good player but will be hamstrung 1) He's not defensively as strong as someone like Bissouma and likely won't have a DM behind him and 2) His best attribute of bringing the ball forward will be wasted when he has to pass it to our crap front line.

Ah so might as well not buy a top quality deep playmaker in midfielder who is elite at controlling games just because "our front line is crap" (Sancho, Bruno, Ronaldo....).

 

[VidaRed]

We don't deserve top 4 next season either.

The owners feck up, the boards feck up and the shite players imposed on the manager feck up but at the end of the day only the manager is made the scapegoat by the former which is then lapped on by the fans resulting in the manager getting sacked.

My sympathies already with ten hag.

 

[Rozay]

Giggs isn't employed but still gets VIP invites and seating to any special occasion.

Important to remember Spurs essentially appointed Gattusso as manager, and than did a huge 180 after the fan backlash that came after. Public opinion matters, and sometimes football clubs are entirely clueless before the deed happens.

Bissouma himself is still under investigation. He's not charged, but he's also not cleared. It would become a thing if United were to sign him. The Ronaldo stuff? You must not have been on twitter much. It was definitely out there. Officially of course, the case just got dismissed, but everyone knows it's also incredibly difficult to actually prove any of those allegations, especially against a global star like that. You have all these rules out there that people on social media let alone the mainstream media can get in trouble if they say things openly. So naturally, it's easy to miss it.

Greenwoods situation hasn't harmed our reputation, yet. We sign a player who is literally under investigation for the same thing, and you bet it would become a thing! To at least a good sized chunk of the public. It's wise to just skip this option.

The same Spurs who did a U-turn over Gattusso are trying to sign Bissouma. And Bissouma is, by default, ‘cleared’ due to the lack of a charge. RUI doesn’t mean anything in terms of a legal status and doesn’t require anyone to be ‘cleared’. Bissouma could theoretically remain under investigation for the next 20 years. The fact that he hasn’t been charged means he is cleared. It’s not mere semantics. It actually matters that a person has not been charged for something. Greenwood, or Mendy, for example, could be ‘cleared’. Bissouma doesn’t require clearing.

And I was on Twitter. Reading multiple journos debating whether Ronaldo could still deliver, whether he was bought in panic and whether he now made us title favourites. Not whether a club like Manchester United should be signing someone accused of a sexual offence.

And as for your Greenwood bit, it again implies that the general rule of thumb for clubs is ‘you get one of these, but anymore and we’ll start talking about it’. So is that why people didn’t make a fuss about Brighton and are not making a fuss about Spurs? Because they didn’t have a Greenwood already? Nobody on the caf seems to want to consider for a second that the reason there is no media interest in the Bissouma case is because there is no media interest in the Bissouma case. Perhaps we are all so narcissistic that we cannot see beyond ‘if he joined Manchester United’, as if PL players committing or facing sexual assault charges is of no interest otherwise.

 

[VidaRed]

Bissouma himself is still under investigation. He's not charged, but he's also not cleared. It would become a thing if United were to sign him. The Ronaldo stuff? You must not have been on twitter much. It was definitely out there. Officially of course, the case just got dismissed, but everyone knows it's also incredibly difficult to actually prove any of those allegations, especially against a global star like that. You have all these rules out there that people on social media let alone the mainstream media can get in trouble if they say things openly. So naturally, it's easy to miss it.

Greenwoods situation hasn't harmed our reputation, yet. We sign a player who is literally under investigation for the same thing, and you bet it would become a thing! To at least a good sized chunk of the public. It's wise to just skip this option.

Surely not charging must imply he's in the clear already. One only gets "cleared" or convicted after charges are framed.

 

[Stadjer]

Not signing Bissouma is fine, he would only take minutes away from McT and hinder McT his development....

 

[golden_blunder]

So what, do Tottenham not fear the negative publicity? Where is it? Everyone's talking about a backlash but no one seems to care?

It's different for United? Please, no one cares because there's likely no case and a 5 minute discussion with the lawyer involved will tell you everything you need to know. No charges 9 months later, not on bail, the original case being a complaint against one of him or his entourage in a public club.

Everyone's too worried about PR when we should be worried about another crap window where we overpay for our new manager's ex players because we have not recruitment strategy. I don't even think we weren't looking at him because of the PR, we weren't looking at him because of how bad our recruitment department is. Look at the last 5 years, we spend £110m every year on an marquee £80m player and a £30m defender. A great player to build the team for £25m? No thanks.

See what you’re saying you’re more worried about United having a “crap window”. That says much about you

 

[bosnian_red]

Surely not charging must imply he's in the clear already. One only gets "cleared" or convicted after charges are framed.

Wouldn't they say "no longer under investigation"? Not entirely sure but that's what I figured.

 

[golden_blunder]

Under investigation doesn’t mean anything in and of itself. We don’t even know if Bissouma directly stands accused by anyone of sexual assault. He has not been charged, despite the Police having every opportunity to do so. He has also faced no sanction by Brighton, who likely know a little more detail than ‘he is under investigation’ - and I suspect they also care about their reputation. He is also being pursued by Spurs, who I imagine have also done some basic due diligence into what ‘under investigation’ means in this particular case. And lastly, there is zero media conversation about it.

And yes, I clearly did miss ‘loads of talk’ about it when we signed Ronaldo. I saw every broadcast on the news channels and read many articles and the conversation had nothing to do with his case. Therefore, if you are telling me that the conversation was indeed happening, somewhere, it was clearly of little relevance or consequence. And this is the most famous footballer in the world we are talking about, not Yves Bissouma.

Mason Greenwood is Mason Greenwood. It seems that most people have the common sense to not equate any allegation with the word ‘sexual’ in it to ‘like Mason Greenwood’. And even Mason Greenwood has caused little to no damage to the reputation of the club. It has caused damage to the reputation of Mason Greenwood, and huge inconvenience to the football team of the club, sure.

Ultimately, I cannot buy any implication that the only reason it is not bad press for Tottenham Hotspur to sign a player under investigation for sexual assault is because they don’t currently have another player who stands accused of the ‘same’. Or because they are apparently too small of a club for the media to care about that sort of thing. I can assure you that there would be a lot of talk if they signed Mason Greenwood instead. And there in lies the difference.

And Giggs is not employed by Manchester United.

I don’t give a crap about spurs or why they may or may not sign him. I care about United and as I’ve said before you’re naive to think that United sponsors wouldn’t have been on the phone to go over the greenwood story and what the actions from the club would be. If I United stood by him for example and kept him in the squad what would have happened? Sponsors would have dropped one by one. No doubt

 

[Rozay]

I don’t give a crap about spurs or why they may or may not sign him. I care about United and as I’ve said before you’re naive to think that United sponsors wouldn’t have been on the phone to go over the greenwood story and what the actions from the club would be. If I United stood by him for example and kept him in the squad what would have happened? Sponsors would have dropped one by one. No doubt

Okay, perhaps. That’s Mason Greenwood, not Yves Bissouma. Both players have been treated differently by their respective clubs and, you will be very interested to hear , both players have been treated differently by their respective sponsors. Probably because they are not being generalised as the same.

 

[el_loco_bielsa]

The fact that no other club has gone near him despite the reasonable price is pretty telling.

We were pretty keen on him before the allegations and have gone completely cold on him since despite missing out on a player with a very similar profile in tchouameni.

Clearly levy is willing to take the risk. May prove to be a master stroke if he’s cleared. If he’s not though…

 

[romufc]

We don't deserve top 4 next season either.

The owners feck up, the boards feck up and the shite players imposed on the manager feck up but at the end of the day only the manager is made the scapegoat by the former which is then lapped on by the fans resulting in the manager getting sacked.

My sympathies already with ten hag.

Calm down, its not even a week into the window and you're righting of the next season.

Shit players imposed? who have we signed and imposed on Ten Hag? Instead you are crying because we haven't signed someone you think is good.

It is obvious Ten Hag is having a say on targets.

 

[Jibbs]

So fecking pissed off we never manage to pull out something like that.

We badly need 2 midfielders (playmaker + ball winner), I can understand we will never buy someone like Tchouameni this summer, but we completely missed out Kamara on free, and now Bissouma for 25m.

We will sign FDJ and Jude for 200 million and turn them into McFred.

 

[bosnian_red]

The same Spurs who did a U-turn over Gattusso are trying to sign Bissouma. And Bissouma is, by default, ‘cleared’ due to the lack of a charge. RUI doesn’t mean anything in terms of a legal status and doesn’t require anyone to be ‘cleared’. Bissouma could theoretically remain under investigation for the next 20 years. The fact that he hasn’t been charged means he is cleared. It’s not mere semantics. It actually matters that a person has not been charged for something. Greenwood, or Mendy, for example, could be ‘cleared’. Bissouma doesn’t require clearing.

And I was on Twitter. Reading multiple journos debating whether Ronaldo could still deliver, whether he was bought in panic and whether he now made us title favourites. Not whether a club like Manchester United should be signing someone accused of a sexual offence.

And as for your Greenwood bit, it again implies that the general rule of thumb for clubs is ‘you get one of these, but anymore and we’ll start talking about it’. So is that why people didn’t make a fuss about Brighton and are not making a fuss about Spurs? Because they didn’t have a Greenwood already? Nobody on the caf seems to want to consider for a second that the reason there is no media interest in the Bissouma case is because there is no media interest in the Bissouma case. Perhaps we are all so narcissistic that we cannot see beyond ‘if he joined Manchester United’, as if PL players committing or facing sexual assault charges is of no interest otherwise.

Won't pretend like I know much about the justice system, but wouldn't they just say "no longer under investigation" if they felt he wasn't involved? I know it could take a while, but anyway.

Depends who you follow I guess. I guess not so much journos or reporters, as they know they can't really talk about it. But there was quite a bit of it among other high follower fan accounts pretty much (and many supporters around the world in general) who were and are uncomfortable at how Ronaldo is essentially deified by United's social media when he may or may not have done what was accused (but it's something we'll never know due to it being essentially impossible to prove).

My Greenwood bit is essentially saying, Greenwoods case is ongoing. Bissouma is technically still under investigation. Wherever you stand on Ronaldo, it is a real thing that matters to a lot of people out there. Signing Bissouma, under investigation, while having Greenwood part of the club with his ongoing case, is just a really bad look. So yes, it kind of is more OK for Spurs to sign him than United. It's unrelated to United, but at the same time, if we go out and buy him while being under investigation and something actually happens against Bissouma, then it paints a picture that United don't give a feck about sexual abuse. Hell, even without something progressing, it'll start to paint a picture of "United doesn't care about abusers as they repeatedly ignore the accusations and parade them as stars regardless".

Of course it's of interest elsewhere, it'll receive a vocal minority complaining about it and feeling uneasy about Bissouma signing for Spurs due to the ongoing investigation, however it's obviously just bigger when it's related to United. But it also doesn't get any "real" media interest, because it's not something the media can actually talk about? Beyond a footnote of "while he is still under investigation", what else is there to say? They are reporters, they aren't giving opinion pieces related to social issues and where they stand on it. You'll see mentions of it on social media and that's it.

 

[golden_blunder]

Okay, perhaps. That’s Mason Greenwood, not Yves Bissouma. Both players have been treated differently by their respective clubs and, you will be very interested to hear , both players have been treated differently by their respective sponsors. Probably because they are not being generalised as the same.

Oh yeah it’s different. And I’m not saying that he’s guilty, I don’t know either way.
What I am saying is that a lot of teams won’t go near him because they don’t have a clear picture of what he did or DIDNT do. Mud sticks and it’s too much money to worry about.
don’t know what’s in spurs mind but I’m certain that we wouldn’t be considering him

 

[devilish]

A typical Paratici signing. That's what having a good DOF with actual experience in his job would bring to the table

 

[golden_blunder]

It’s also a message going forward that United expect you to behave professional off the pitch as well as on it. Too many years since fergie of players doing what they like. There needs to be some markers set down

 

[golden_blunder]

A typical Paratici signing. That's what having a good DOF with actual experience in his job would bring to the table

Boring!
I had toast and a banana, what about you guys breakfast?

 

[marktan]

See what you’re saying you’re more worried about United having a “crap window”. That says much about you

Worried about signing a great player on the cheap vs non-existant charges and yelling at the clouds? Yeah.

 

[devilish]

Boring!
I had toast and a banana, what about you guys breakfast?

Its the truth though. Paratici is one of the finest DOFs in football. The guy had worked with Sampdoria and Juventus and is known to be able to handle multiple transfer deals at the same time. I don't think he's the definite package as I still believe he need a top CEO above him. However in his line he's mint. Spurs signing Bissouma for next to nothing might surprise the likes of yourself but it certainly won't surprise those who know the Serie A well.

TBH I don't think he's got any experience with building a woman's team.

 

[Rozay]

Won't pretend like I know much about the justice system, but wouldn't they just say "no longer under investigation" if they felt he wasn't involved? I know it could take a while, but anyway.

Depends who you follow I guess. I guess not so much journos or reporters, as they know they can't really talk about it. But there was quite a bit of it among other high follower fan accounts pretty much (and many supporters around the world in general) who were and are uncomfortable at how Ronaldo is essentially deified by United's social media when he may or may not have done what was accused (but it's something we'll never know due to it being essentially impossible to prove).

My Greenwood bit is essentially saying, Greenwoods case is ongoing. Bissouma is technically still under investigation. Wherever you stand on Ronaldo, it is a real thing that matters to a lot of people out there. Signing Bissouma, under investigation, while having Greenwood part of the club with his ongoing case, is just a really bad look. So yes, it kind of is more OK for Spurs to sign him than United. It's unrelated to United, but at the same time, if we go out and buy him while being under investigation and something actually happens against Bissouma, then it paints a picture that United don't give a feck about sexual abuse. Hell, even without something progressing, it'll start to paint a picture of "United doesn't care about abusers as they repeatedly ignore the accusations and parade them as stars regardless".

Of course it's of interest elsewhere, it'll receive a vocal minority complaining about it and feeling uneasy about Bissouma signing for Spurs due to the ongoing investigation, however it's obviously just bigger when it's related to United. But it also doesn't get any "real" media interest, because it's not something the media can actually talk about? Beyond a footnote of "while he is still under investigation", what else is there to say? They are reporters, they aren't giving opinion pieces related to social issues and where they stand on it. You'll see mentions of it on social media and that's it.

I agree with much of that, and your closing statements are kind of my point about this apparent ‘media backlash’ we would have faced if we had signed Bissouma. It just wouldn’t have happened, bar perhaps the odd footnote somewhere. And even other types of accounts would, IMO, find it difficult to all of a sudden, create a storm about a story from a year ago on a player who has been playing here every week since without any such storm.

Also, I’m not sure how Greenwood’s swift suspension by the club paints a picture that the club doesn’t care. They can’t control their player’s actions, but they can control theirs, and they acted quite quickly after the story broke. Also, I do think you are jumping the gun a little, as it all seems to lead with automatic presumption of guilt. I’m not sure the club want a reputation of not defending/standing by their employees in the face of allegations either, especially unfounded/unproven ones.

Lastly, we also don’t even know if/what Bissouma has been directly accused of. I mean, at a guess, a sexual assault that took place in a crowded nightclub and a sexual assault that took place in a Las Vegas hotel room are likely to be two very different things. At the most extreme end, if Bissouma was guilty, we could be talking about slapping a woman’s bottom in a club. Which of course, is not appropriate behaviour, but it quite simply isn’t rape either. And at a guess, given the location/context, we’re likely not talking about the most extreme end here, although I cede it is speculation on my part. But even then, we don’t know if Bissouma himself stands accused of doing anything. Judging by the actions of Brighton and then Spurs, I think there is a good chance that he isn’t even being investigated of doing anything directly. I’m just not about making swift judgements against men, and I appreciate that people have statistics about how many people get away with things - but especially when the police haven’t seen fit to issue a charge. The conversation on him has just moved too quickly on the caf for my liking to speaking of the implications of us signing a sex offender, and I think some posters would do well to remember that he is guilty of nothing nor accused of nothing in the eyes of the law.

 

[gorky_utd]

We don't deserve top 4 next season either.

The owners feck up, the boards feck up and the shite players imposed on the manager feck up but at the end of the day only the manager is made the scapegoat by the former which is then lapped on by the fans resulting in the manager getting sacked.

My sympathies already with ten hag.

Unfortunately looking like this . Still time but looks like just another poor transfer window. The squad is so poor. Not a single proper winger in the team, no DM, no proper right back, poor cb, old striker in cr7 and yet the owners are not willing to make big investment in the squad while everyone else is getting stronger.

 

[golden_blunder]

Its the truth though. Paratici is one of the finest DOFs in football. The guy had worked with Sampdoria and Juventus and is known to be able to handle multiple transfer deals at the same time. I don't think he's the definite package as I still believe he need a top CEO above him. However in his line he's mint. Spurs signing Bissouma for next to nothing might surprise the likes of yourself but it certainly won't surprise those who know the Serie A well.

TBH I don't think he's got any experience with building a woman's team.

I’m not questioning Spurs DOF, he’s been round the block

I’m getting bored of you questioning Murtough and Fletcher in every thread

 

[TheDosser56]

Like it or not, We couldn't have Ten Hags first signing (which brings more media scrutiny) to be a player under police investigation like Bissouma, to add to Greenwood's current investigation. It's highly likely Greenwood won't be playing for this club again, even if he isn't charged. We've already had our fingers burnt.

like it or not Manchester United are under more scrutiny than Spurs. And we have to have act to a higher standard.

The Court of Public Opinion is more important than the justice system in terms of Sponsors, Manchester United, opposition fans and Women's Right Charities. And if those start causing a massive backlash the club will have to act and listen.

 

[Rozay]

Won't pretend like I know much about the justice system, but wouldn't they just say "no longer under investigation" if they felt he wasn't involved? I know it could take a while, but anyway.

Depends who you follow I guess. I guess not so much journos or reporters, as they know they can't really talk about it. But there was quite a bit of it among other high follower fan accounts pretty much (and many supporters around the world in general) who were and are uncomfortable at how Ronaldo is essentially deified by United's social media when he may or may not have done what was accused (but it's something we'll never know due to it being essentially impossible to prove).

My Greenwood bit is essentially saying, Greenwoods case is ongoing. Bissouma is technically still under investigation. Wherever you stand on Ronaldo, it is a real thing that matters to a lot of people out there. Signing Bissouma, under investigation, while having Greenwood part of the club with his ongoing case, is just a really bad look. So yes, it kind of is more OK for Spurs to sign him than United. It's unrelated to United, but at the same time, if we go out and buy him while being under investigation and something actually happens against Bissouma, then it paints a picture that United don't give a feck about sexual abuse. Hell, even without something progressing, it'll start to paint a picture of "United doesn't care about abusers as they repeatedly ignore the accusations and parade them as stars regardless".

Of course it's of interest elsewhere, it'll receive a vocal minority complaining about it and feeling uneasy about Bissouma signing for Spurs due to the ongoing investigation, however it's obviously just bigger when it's related to United. But it also doesn't get any "real" media interest, because it's not something the media can actually talk about? Beyond a footnote of "while he is still under investigation", what else is there to say? They are reporters, they aren't giving opinion pieces related to social issues and where they stand on it. You'll see mentions of it on social media and that's it.

Also, as an example - my cousin was arrested in February when picking up her kids from school because apparently one of her sons had mentioned that they get smacked at home when they are naughty. She was taken to the station, and then released the following day on bail. Part of her bail conditions were that she was not allowed to be with her own children unsupervised. The police with social services interviewed and examined her children, and within a day, the bail was lifted and she was free to return to her kids, but remains ‘under investigation’. Since February.

Clearly, someone who was arrested on suspicions of child abuse has had her children returned to her pretty quickly, and the bail removed. She lives alone with her kids every day, and has had no visits from the Police since. She, for her own peace of mind, has been the one trying to chase the police to come and conclude their ‘investigation’. If she wished to take her kids to a new address, or out of the country, she is free to do so. Clearly, the ‘investigation’ part is nonsense - and she is jot about to be arrested and jailed at some point next year once they conclude their detailed investigation. Her life has not been restricted at all, there are no trial dates set, and she has unrestricted access to her children. She also has no charges against her. If she wanted to go and work in a Primary School tomorrow, any criminal background checks would bring up nothing and she would be free to do so, without waiting for some magical ‘clearance’ from the Police.

The point is, it is the onus of the police to bring a charge against someone if they choose to. All of this ‘we need to await the outcome’ of Bissouma’s case is absolute crap. He doesn’t require anything, he’s already clear, and if the police have a differing view - nobody at all is stopping them from forwarding it. But until they do, there is nothing at all.

 

[devilish]

I’m not questioning Spurs DOF, he’s been round the block

I’m getting bored of you questioning Murtough and Fletcher in every thread

Well its reasonable to question what had changed since this 'new' Manchester United had burst into scene. Because from what we're seeing its the same sluggish and slow United who are going for the obvious players often pushed forward by the manager. As said before, this isn't the only way to do things. We can improve if we get the right people in.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Well its reasonable to question what had changed since this 'new' Manchester United had burst into scene. Because from what we're seeing its the same sluggish and slow United who are going for the obvious players often pushed forward by the manager. As said before, this isn't the only way to do things. We can improve if we get the right people in.

I think it is. This summer will tell us a lot for so far things are moving slowly again.

 

[golden_blunder]

Well its reasonable to question what had changed since this 'new' Manchester United had burst into scene. Because from what we're seeing its the same sluggish and slow United who are going for the obvious players often pushed forward by the manager. As said before, this isn't the only way to do things. We can improve if we get the right people in.

WE DONT KNOW. They may be working quieter than before.
wait till after the window before passing your criticism.

 

[devilish]

I think it is. This summer will tell us a lot for so far things are moving slowly again.

I've been around long enough to watch poorly lead clubs waffle their way with excuses. In the past years it was Woodward to blame then Judge took over and now it seems that Joel is to blame. I wish I am wrong on this but this 'new' Manchester United lead by a man whose been here and was constantly promoted throughout this entire tragic period of our club doesn't look new at all. Its the same old club to me

 

[Gandalf]

Its the truth though. Paratici is one of the finest DOFs in football. The guy had worked with Sampdoria and Juventus and is known to be able to handle multiple transfer deals at the same time. I don't think he's the definite package as I still believe he need a top CEO above him. However in his line he's mint. Spurs signing Bissouma for next to nothing might surprise the likes of yourself but it certainly won't surprise those who know the Serie A well.

TBH I don't think he's got any experience with building a woman's team.

I think the bolded is giving him way too much credit. Bissouma is hardly unearthing a gem as he has been supposedly on the move for the last couple of seasons. What this deal shows is that when a player has 12 months left on his deal the selling club has to take what it can get and if you are the interested buyer and nobody is bidding against you it is not that hard to complete.

 

[devilish]

WE DONT KNOW. They may be working quieter than before.
wait till after the window before passing your criticism.

Fair enough but early signs don't look good at all. We haven't signed anyone and we haven't sold anyone which is a problem considering that we're among those who need to strengthen the most and we've got so much deadwood to clear. We missed out on main targets (Nunez) while others were able to sign absolute bargains (ex Bissouma) under our noses. We took our time in signing a deputy football director (who is meant to relief Murtough) which is almost criminal considering that transfer negotiations starts months before they are actually concluded and we've yet to replace our chief scouts. On top of that the excuses are starting to pile in and Joel seems to be shaping up as the new transfer market boogey man to replace Woodward and Judge.

The only positive thing is that there are barely any leaks anymore. There again maybe its down to the fact that there's very little to leak.