I’ll be crucified for pointing this out, but growing up in the US, ‘name a better X than Y‘ is a compliment, not an invitation to start listing better Xs. It’s said of someone who did something you respect. When I read the tweet I assumed they were complimenting Phil for something he had done recently, on or off the pitch. Like donate some of his time to a worthy cause or stop and fix someone’s tire by the side of the road or stay on the training pitch after everyone else left or something. I certainly hope that was the intent behind the tweet.
Gotta be more careful with those regional idioms, Twitter.
In the UK, you will get a mocking tone for
Things better than x
Followed by a ridiculous amount of things which are better
Whilst the tweet couldn't have replies it could still have quoted RTs
They knew what they were doing and this wasn't a misunderstanding
Also fans (Utd) included are defensive by nature for their own. Fans may mock their own players but when other fans do it , the same fans will defend
And that's beside those who are saying this forum are hypocrites. Those defending aren't necessarily the ones who are quick to mock him as well. For example I think he should be sold but doesn't mean I think that tweet was acceptable