So hang on, the CEO of Manchester United agrees to sit down at the pub and engage with frustrated fans, they betray his trust and he's the problem?
To be fair, that angled, unfiltered, surreptitious footage of Richard Arnold opening up on United’s nightmare transfer strategy over the last nine years is probably better PR for the club than any of the sanitised delusion from Ed Woodward ever was. Fans couldn’t care less about commercial success when an average Spurs is making it into the Champions League ahead of them.
They couldn’t care less how many shirts are flying off the shelves when the likes of Darwin Nunez and Erling Haaland are signing for Liverpool and City respectively, rather than United. Right now the Reds are simply not an option for the biggest names in Europe - or even some of the highly-rated promising talents like Ajax defender Jurrien Timber.
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, has made it clear that, despite the warmth of his relationship with new boss Erik Ten Hag, he doesn’t fancy it either. He is, he says, already at his “dream club”. Former United boss Louis van Gaal is also warning his other Dutch stars that they could be placing their World Cup prospects at risk if they sign for the club that sacked him in 2016.
Not because of any bad blood. More because of the structural problems that have melted the once-invincible culture at Old Trafford. Too many players unable to make the team were willing to fight for their place. Too many of the ones that did were inconsistent and far too many were simply not good enough.
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So if the first step to addressing any issue is surrendering to it in the first place then Arnold - United’s most senior executive - most certainly did that. He admitted the club had "burned" through £1bn on players over the past few years. He confessed to not enjoying watching the team over which he presided throughout last season.
He rightly described the campaign, in which United were one of the easiest sides in the Premier League to play against, as a “nightmare”. He then confirmed the money is there for Ten Hag and director of football John Murtough to reshape the squad into an outfit more consistent with United’s traditional values on and off the pitch. He opened up in a manner few CEO’s in the Premier League, let alone at Old Trafford, have ever done.
The leaking of that footage is the reason why they don’t. From the viral footage on social media there appeared to be no grandstanding. No trying to blind his audience with science. Just a pint in a pub and an attempt to impart a bit of background. Apart from the so-called supporters who crossed the line by ransacking Old Trafford and heading to the home of then-executive vice-chairman Woodward, United fans’ protests last season were justified.
But if the club is to heal then surely you use a rare opportunity to chat with the big cheese to plot a way forward with the fans’ support. Not to pull the rug from under him.
