It's A Done Deal ! Does This Signify The End Of Manchester United As An Honourable Football Club Wednesday, 15th Apr 2015 09:47 This is the headline in several media outlets this morning after a Daily Mirror reporter gave an interview with MUTV. Football supporters are used ro rumours about star players in the media, indeed only the most naive actually believe that agents and clubs stick to the rules and don't hold clandestine talks in private, however the latest development in the rumoured Nathaniel Clyne transfer to Manchester United sickens me as it appears that manchester united themseves are actually fuelling the rumours brazenly by broadacsting an interview with a reporter saying that the Clyne transfer to Old Trafford is a "Done deal". This would be to actually condone underhand behaviour and despite their image over the years United in the main have been an honourable club, but the last bastions of that now seem to have ended. The interview in question is with Daily Mirror reporter David McDonnell, in the footage he told MUFC, the clubs official TV Channel that a transfer had already been agreed and that everything had been "sorted" for Clyne to rock up at Old Trafford. Whilst it is not uncommon for football clubs to use contacts in the media to spread rumour about possible transfer targets and unsettle them, what is extremely rare is that a club would use its own media outlets including its official TV channel to virtually tap up the player. Whilst the rabid hordes of Manchester United will claim that the club has done nothing wrong and that this is only an independent journalist expressing an opinion, the reality is that it is United themselves who are broadcasting this. “What I’m told is it’s a done deal” is one of McDonnell's quotes in the interview and the Mirror man has a reputation for getting it right more times than most in his United exclusives. So who has told him that it is a done deal ? Well it won't be Saints so that only leaves two other possibilities, the players agent is a distinct possibility and usually the prime suspect, however the very fact that MUTV are willing to give airtime to this opinion and McDonnell's record of exclusives would lead some to believe that the source is closer to Old Trafford than most decent thinking football fans would be comfortable with, after all if United gave airtime to every rumour connected with the club then they would have little time for anything else. Perhaps McDonnell dropped a clanger in revealing information without the clubs knowledge, however I think he is far too experienced and close to the club to make that mistake, anyone in the football media will tell you that you only stay a trusted confidante to a football club if you can keep the club sweet and that means both by putting out just what a club wants out there and sometimes keeping quiet when asked, many a good story is kept out of the press with the club in question agreeing a few "exclusives" in return. So if McDonnell had dropped a clanger then he will now be a little worried, but I do not think that is the case as I mentioned. Indeed if we look at things from another angle McDonnell has insinuated that United themselves have tapped up a player illegally, something like this would not be broadcast lightly. Another possibility could be that MUTV have gone for "sensationalism" to boost its ratings, it should be noted however that the channel is 100% owned by MUTV, so this is not an external company with the rights, MUTV is answerable to the parent football club itself. MUTV are no strangers to controversy, remember that Roy Keane interview when he slaughtered virtually everyone at the club, however that was never broadcast and it was leaked tapes of the rant that did the rounds, which again re inforces the argument that this was a club sanctioned "leak" So why would United want it leaked, well it does indicate that they want the player and it also indicates that they are trying to inforce pressure on Saints to do business with them rather than a host of other clubs, they did it subtlety a day or so ago hinting that they would be willing to let us have Hernandez, but this is far more of a sledgehammer blow. It will infuriate Saints who at worst would be wanting Clyne to concentrate on the final games of the season and helping Saints achieve a great Premier League finish and at best would be hoping Clyne to sign a new deal, indeed it also fuels rumour as to why Clyne sat out Saturday's game against Hull City, surely it wasn't tiredness after all in the past month or so games havent been coming that thick and fast and although Clyne did feature for England he only played the first half in the friendly against Italy. Once upon a time Manchester United were an honourable club, even through the 90's into the 00's they were seen as a club who did things the right way, that seemed to change when the ownership did a decade or so ago with much controversy and since then their reputation for doing things the right way has gone downhill and today seems to have reached a new low amongst football supporters. So what do Saints do ? They have to consider carefully what their next move is, certainly they will feel that a club using its official media channels to insinuate that a player has signed for that club is tantamount to tapping up the player, indeed it is a virtual confession, the reality is that the laughable fine that United would get if they were found guilty of that charge would be a drop in the ocean if it meant they landed Clyne and indeed would probably be far less than the increased subscription payments to MUTV along with increased advertising revenus. It may have only looked an innocuous interview, it may not have really said much that most thought was going on anyway, but the ramifications are far more reaching, United have just upped the ante in how far a club are willing to go to try and entice a player to join them and that is a sad indictment of football today. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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