The news two Manchester United players were involved in a training ground scuffle on Friday night sparked feverish speculation among the fanbase. A cursory search showed there was not a shortage of supporters attempting to surmise their identities.
At least one unverified account named names and one post recirculated information purportedly written by a journalist. Only the journalist had not written anything of the sort.
Lee Grant got a mention because there is a risible theory he is the player leaking to the press. If you venture down the rabbit hole, it is so dark it is impossible to be enlightened.
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There was a confrontation between two players but supporters have failed to correctly identify them. Twitter is a subjective platform and a lot of United-related usernames have axes to grind with underperforming players they hope were involved.
Unless a media outlet gives prominence to such rumours, silence is golden for the players and their representatives. It is rare for a footballer or their entourage to feel compelled to address erroneous claims when the source is Twitter and the 'reports' are restricted to it.
The two players cannot be named for obvious reasons but should their names ever emerge United supporters would be encouraged. The Carrington confrontation involved players who are, ironically, undeniably committed to United. There is a wide age gap between them and both have generated plaudits from supporters this season.
One of the players is not renowned for his truculence but his dedication and mentality are sound. He is not of the same nationality as his teammate and their mother tongue is not the same, either.
Watching some of the United substitutes warm-up in the sunshine at Goodison Park last month, they must have left the pitch colder than when they first stepped onto it. Ten days later, Gary Neville was within earshot of the players pre-match at Anfield when he said: "I've not seen a group of Manchester United players in my lifetime demonstrate the lack of appetite that I've seen to play football,"
In this correspondent's experience, too often United have resembled a hungover Sunday league team in their pre-match preparations. They are not an intense team to watch in practice sessions and few players operate at an intense level.
The duo who quarreled on Thursday do. As easy as it is to view such disharmony as a negative, they showed some fight in a squad where most of its members threw in the towel months ago.
They are professionals all United supporters should want at the club next season and they likely will be. At least last week's session was fiery.
The cliché usually trotted out when a training ground tussle comes to light is 'it happens every week'. When Manchester City trained at their old Carrington base, a public path with a full view of the training pitch allowed photographers to capture any bust-ups. Under the combustible Roberto Mancini, they occurred so often it had to be a problem. The final image of Mario Balotelli in City regalia was of his physical tangle with Mancini.
In United's second month at Carrington in 2000, a photographer captured Sir Alex Ferguson ordering David Beckham off the training pitch for reporting late. Accessing Carrington now is like entering the White House. In 1998, when the internet was only accessible via dial-up, John Hartson was somehow filmed booting West Ham teammate Eyal Berkovic in the head.
As much as managers attempt to brush off such incidents that go public, there are usually consequences. Hartson was sold to Wimbledon shortly after the Berkovic video emerged and City sold Balotelli three weeks later. Ruud van Nistelrooy's sarcastic comment to Cristiano Ronaldo towards the end of the 2005-06 season was the death knell for his United career. He was dropped for the final match of the season against Charlton and sold to Real Madrid that summer.
The outgoings at United need to break double figures but the two who came to blows should be nowhere near the list. When they have trended on Twitter, it is usually for the right reasons.
