A manager in football does have the right. Ralph Hasnhuttle has dictated how much wifi his team used before Match day, SAF banned social media outright. Pep has had a say on certain social media usage for his players. Managers have a right in football, because its not a normal desk job. Social media can draw bad attention if used frivolously which it constantly has with United.
Again, that is specific to the nature of the usage, and when something is NOT distasteful, it becomes the player’s choice. It’s not a desk job but it isn’t the fecking military either.
And social media was barely around in Fergie’s time. And even then, many players told Fergie to piss off about many things, this portrayal of him as some all powerful drill sergeant is overplayed. He was their boss, not their father, and many players under him did things he probably didn’t think was cool, what with being over 30 years older than them and having grown up working on a shipyard in Scotland and all that. They still did it.
No manager can tell a player he can’t take a photo with Michael Jackson if he meets him (before the scandal anyway). As long as I’m not at a concert when I should be preparing for a match, then my life is my own.
Let’s see if Ole feels the need to ‘have a word’ with Rashford in the same way he felt the need to do so with Jesse. I strongly suspect he won’t.