There was some spin at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when a Manchester United official attempted to decrease the volume of the booing for Harry Maguire by insisting the supporters they were surrounded by were chanting his name. Maguire's crass chant, belted out by England's unoriginal following, has hardly been aired at Old Trafford.
No spin was required for the clip of Erik ten Hag audibly asking "What the f--k are you doing?" - more a bouncer into the grill than a leg-break.
United officials seemed to lap that up as much as the supporters. Twitter has found the clip to be more heinous than abusive posts by faceless pseudonyms, so it is trickier to source now.
Also read: 'I only scored 10 goals and people start complaining' - Fernandes defends role at United
It is the 88th minute, United are 3-1 up against Crystal Palace and Aaron Wan-Bissaka plays a back pass to David de Gea, who wellies the ball into the opponent's half. As the ball is dropping, Ten Hag bluntly queries United's approach.
Club sources have suggested Ten Hag was not targeting De Gea, rather the play that preceded his punt. Some have suggested Ten Hag yells "Charlie" - possibly Savage - but the voice does not clearly match Ten Hag's.
It undeniably is Ten Hag who asks "what the f--k are you doing?" United were winning but also a man down after Will Fish's expulsion. The team had almost entirely changed from the starting side and Ten Hag refused to countenance a drop in standards.
The last permanent United manager was heralded for "putting smiles back on faces". Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could cut loose, as he did with Jesse Lingard during the Manchester derby ("You do that again and you're f-----g off"). Lingard was soon hooked, although Solskjaer ruffled his hair and had a smile back on his face.
"Load of f-----g nonsense," Solskjaer hollered during a bruising battle with Burnley at Turf Moor. Solskjaer has an edge but was conscious of remaining as far removed from his predecessor as possible. Players were not thrown under the bus when it would have been forgivable.
Solskjaer was well-liked by the players and his man-management was his biggest asset but some found him a soft touch. Solskjaer always felt like a substitute teacher and that billing was more fitting for the professorial interim Ralf Rangnick.
Following Ten Hag's appointment in April, United players wondered whether he could command the respect of a broken dressing room. They needed a manager who was an authoritarian and disciplinarian. Mauricio Pochettino, more familiar through his eight years in the Premier League, was the preferred pick.
Three weeks in, those same players are now marvelling at Ten Hag's methods, their qualms quashed. Training is intense, structured and overseen by the manager. It is easier to take a manager seriously when they leave the office to coach on a daily basis.
It always seemed perverse Solskjaer and his assistant Mike Phelan (still contracted to the club) would delegate the daily coaching to Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna and then stride into the technical area on matchday. They were never going to command respect of all the players, who largely appreciated Carrick and McKenna, though the latter's "school teacher" tutoring grated some.
A dressing room with a faction that turned against Jose Mourinho was always bound to eventually ride roughshod over Solskjaer. United have fumigated it but toxins are still wafting.
"I think we missed that (discipline) for a while," Bruno Fernandes told us in the mixed zone, "and I think, for me, the way I see discipline is important.
"For me, discipline is not only the way you play on the pitch, the position that you have, what you have to do, it's also off the pitch – don't be late for the meetings, don't be late for the meals, I think that's really important because if everyone is on time and someone comes late, he should be punished.
"And I think that's really good that he's doing that and for me amazing because I like to be on time, so I won't have problems with that." No spin required.
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