Sancho may want to heed Sir Alex Ferguson’s advice because of his candid stance on Man United players’ use of social media.
Erik Ten Hag and Jadon Sancho have had a week to work through the events of last Sunday’s public performance.
Ten Hag and Sancho will have undoubtedly spoken, but the player’s social media behavior has forced him into one last opportunity at United. It’s simple to forget what life was like before social media sites were developed. In particular when it comes to sports, Bebo and MSN opened the ground for X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram to thrive and fail in equal measure. Instantaneous responses, excessive praise, and vicious criticism have had a significant impact on the modern game.
It makes it possible for football players to interact with fans far more personally than ever before. It provides athletes a voice so they are no longer forced to follow the club line if they chose to speak up.
Lindelof describes how the United team responded to a statement made by Jadon Sancho.
That has to be a good thing all by itself. However, social media can also be a self-inflicted trap door because when you post something on there in error or out of emotion, it can spread quicker than you can delete it.
Sancho does not, however, retract his statements. Ten Hag undoubtedly adheres to his, as stated by MEN Sport. However, following his outspoken act of rebellion, Sancho may find that following the counsel of United legend Sir Alex Ferguson is the best course of action.
Ten Hag may also adopt his position on social media, a tool that was not even a concept at the beginning of his term but became widely used by the time it was through.
Patrice Evra recently discussed his foray onto social media after being famous for his 2016 catchphrase, “I love this game.” When Sir Alex was his mentor, he had never even thought of such venues.
During the ‘Thinking Football’ event
the former full-back mentioned how Sir Alex handled social media during the meeting in Portugal.
“I remember back when we used to play and Rio Ferdinand was on Twitter back in the day,” he recalled. “I was unsure of what it was. And Ferguson warned the players, “You need to concentrate on football. If you keep looking at your phone, tweeting, and interacting with the fans, you won’t play.”
Footballers still pay attention to what the supporters have to say on social media, though it hasn’t fully taken the place of a direct two-way forum between player and fan. Modern athletes have additional demands as a result of social media, which has been well-documented in terms of how it affects their life.
It will be interesting to see if Ten Hag follows the same path that Sir Alex would have ten years after retiring. Sancho, though, must now communicate with his feet rather than his mouth.
Make sure you don’t fall if you set your stall. Sancho has the skill and still has it in him to be a great force for United. He then turns his attention to the football.
