It’s no secret that Manchester United are having a less than decent campaign. Crashing out of the group stages of the Champions League, finishing rock bottom in their group. A disappointing sixth in the Premier League, having already been ruled out of contention for a place in next season’s Champions League and with the possibility of slipping even further and missing out on a spot in European competitions altogether, not exactly good times is it?
While a lot of the responsibility and blame lands on their head coach, Erik ten Hag’s shoulders, the players are far from perfect. The attitude or simply just the level of some of the players is not up to the mark, to say the least. An expensively assembled squad, playing not even close to their potential, it is a huge problem for United.
Speaking of expensive players coasting through this team, you can’t help but think of Antony. Brought from Ajax for a huge 95 million euro transfer fee, the Brazilian right-winger has flattered to deceive during his short stint so far at Old Trafford.
Just one goal in the Premier League all season, his stats are even less glittered than expected. Moreover, his impact on games has also been a major let down forcing ten Hag to sideline Antony more often than not.
While fans are already voicing their disappointment about the shrewd investment and are asking for him to be sold, it is also being discussed whether Antony is leaking information to third party sources.
One of those sources is said to be the famous YouTube Manchester United fan channel ‘The United Stand’, founded and run by longtime Red Devils fan Mark Goldbridge. Somewhat like Arsenal Fan TV, it is now expanded to a group of fans covering reports and discussing United’s performances.
Apparently amidst all this support for Antony or actually a lack of it, The United Stand seemed to be one step ahead about all things Antony. So much so, they knew some personal details about him and his family. As reported by one of the associates working at the fan channel, SamC reported the name of his unborn daughter to be Lavinne and his son Lorenzo’s favourite cartoon show to be Sonic the Hedgehog, leading some fans to wonder if SamC happens to be Antony’s girlfriend, which fortunately isn’t even remotely true.
While that information doesn’t particularly seem too private, it certainly is dubious to have that amount of intricacy as available as public knowledge. Another possible source of evidence of this relationship seems to be the pro-Antony stance by The United Stand in recent weeks, calling for patience with the Brazilian in the hope that he will deliver the goods for United eventually and certainly.
With some of the insider information coming out in the media courtesy of The United Stand, fans are genuinely questioning Antony’s intent and loyalty to the club. A sad state of affairs, which has left not many surprised, especially after this being a tendency amongst the Man United squad as well as and more specifically Antony, whose infamous ear cupping celebration against Coventry City in the FA Cup Semi-Finals left fans from all sides of the side calling it embarrassing and lack of sportsmanship.
Whether Antony is really tipping the media sources and leaking information remains to be seen. However, with the kind of season Manchester United is having and Antony personally too, it is not exactly shocking to see the attempt by the player to change the narrative in the media.
Regardless, none of these PR tactics is going to prove fruitful for Antony if his form and attitude towards the game doesn’t improve. The fact that the same can be said about some other players too, makes it a dire look for Manchester United.
