Honest is something good. For Ruben Amorim it might be all he has. But is it the best policy? Does it help? Has he heard of Gerald Ratner?
I bumped that earlier in the week, after the Manchester United manager again put Candor before discretion on the assessment of his side. West Ham's defeat had hurt him and 'embarrassed' was the word he used, but he had more to get off his chest.
So he went for it: “There is something wrong with the way we play football.”
And that was both obvious and a bit loaded, what goes to what he then said about players who were too satisfied with not winning. About wort-deep shortcomings in the culture of United. About 'losing the feeling' of being a huge club and the possibility that the Champions League may not be where they want to be now.
Powerful things, that, and then they also lost to Chelsea. If they go against Tottenham in Bilbao in the same way on Wednesday, who knows what he will say afterwards, and maybe we have already heard it.
Because, my word, Amorim has performed a lot of public operation on his heart and mind in the last six months. It was a long dark night of the soul for him and an open window in sorrow for us.
But honesty. It's good, right? We appreciate it. In the media we love – simple headlines. And compared to Amorim's predecessor, who preferred delusions, honesty is great. Honesty is fresh air. I can't beat fresh air and you can't guilty a guy because you are honest.
Or can you?
That is what I recently asked for someone when we were killing time at the PGA championship in the United States by talking about the state of United. It is how we got on Gerald Ratner.
Do you remember him? Jewelry were his play, and like United in the past, he was good. One of the best in the industry. In 1990, his chain of advanced jewelry shops was appreciated at around £ 840 million. They were unbreakable.
And then one day in 1991 he gave a speech. Talking about the Sherry -Decanters of his company, he said, “People say,” How can you sell this for such a low price? ” I say because it is total nonsense. '
Just like Amorim, he had more and made a joke that the earrings of his stores were 'cheaper than a markings and Spencer Garnal Sandwich, but would probably not last that long'.
It appears that the speech did not play so well outside the room – very quickly £ 500 million was away from the appreciation of the company and they closed more than 300 stores in the United States within a few years. A generation or two still talks about 'doing a ratner'.
So here there is one: does Amorim do a ratner?
Because he is also in sales trade and United has a lot of Dodgy earrings to sell this summer. The sale lowers in two ways – selling the deadwood and selling better players on the idea that United is the place to be.
We may think it will be fine; Even a bad Manchester United is Manchester United.
But what about those players who are a bit insecure? What about those who want more than the badge or cash? Those who want to win and not waste valuable time on a club that has to be learned again how to walk-they are the kind that Amorim needs to repair this mess. The serious kind. The species that is not like the freeladers currently in situ; The kind that pay attention.
Well, in November, when he wasn't long off the plane and they lost from Ipswich, Amorim said they would “suffer for a long time,” and we all knew that. That was a wise and clear piece of honesty.
But in December he had switched to another strand. “I have to sell my idea,” he said, and that was a bit of tactical honesty, because the world and his dog and Amorim could see for themselves that his 3-4-3 did not work with the players he had. The problem? He also admitted that this was the only way he wanted. That he could not change and coach himself his way out of the gap.
And so until January when the gap was deeper: “I am not helping my players right now.” But that was a big month in honesty trade, so there was more. “Maybe,” he thought aloud, his version of United was the “worst” in the 147-year history of the club.
February brought the lament that David Moyes had done more in Goodison Park than he had done in Old Trafford. And March saw the grim acceptance that he might not get the respite period that Mikel Arteta had in Arsenal, his players were 'drawn' to improve, and he simply could not find a way to get through to Marcus Rashford like Unai Emery at Aston Villa. April? “I am not saying that we will win the title next year, I'm not crazy.”
We know enough about May and his fear of the proximity of unemployment next season as a record -breaking mess.
I like an honest answer to an honest question. And day after day, month after month, Amorim gave honest answers. I admire him for that.
But again, let's imagine that the honesty through the ears of those to whom Amorim will sell this summer will sell United.
They will hear an annoyed man, perhaps even a broken, who seems to doubt himself and certainly doubts a few of the players among him, who will probably not have a long list of voorags and will still be there in September.
They will also hear a manager who fears a walloping in the Champions League. A manager who will not run if his system does not work. A manager who says that the culture of the club is wrong in different places.
So, roll up, who wants to buy this sherry -caraf?
There are people who see a cunning goal in what Amorim has said. For example, Simon Jordan used the term 'Machiavellian' on talks, and there would be no novelty in a manager who pronounces weaknesses as a means to get a stronger team.
But what if the by -product of all this honesty is that he has already said too much? What if the Ratner threshold is crossed and it all sounds a bit grim?
It is one thing to see how poor have become united. It is something completely different to buy in Amorim's earrings after he has spent six months warning us that they are C ** P.
Lewis Hamilton asked for patience after his slow start to life in Ferrari.
If someone of us earned £ 60 million a year for selling old rope, we would probably also want to take our time.
It has been an interesting week at the PGA championship, where the early entertainment was supplied by Luke Donald. At the age of 47, the European Ryder Cup captain supplied its best opening round in a major for 21 years and the first round closed a shot for his American counterpart Keegan Bradley.
This brought the repetition of an old thought, because one of the few unsatisfactory elements of the cup is the protocol for a draw of 14-14. In that scenario, the cup is retained by the returning champion. Anti-climax does not cover it. Consider this now: the captains dispute a sudden deader play-off.
In a heartbeat that would be much more dramatic and also offers a dilemma about how one of the most overhyped roles is assigned in sport.