Making a Mason

So its taken a bit longer than expected for this blog, this time due to many many ‘life issues’ occurring, which as ever with me all stem back to money (or lack of it). Most of you will have perhaps heard me bang on about the rise of Daycare costs (additional $540 per month), poly-B piping replacement ($12k), Dental night guards ($340), replacement taps ($80), new light ($130) and a new blender ($120) in recent weeks. Seems ‘The World’, God or Karma think we’re made of money. Anyways, I’ll perhaps moan about these in the coming weeks either on here or via your poor WhatsApp, which is where I tend to vent my anger to anyone who cares to listen. I suspect most of you see if my message is longer than 2 lines, in which case move on…I get it, I do the same sometimes.

So to this blog. From the subject header, it is clear what the content will be addressing, which has taken a while longer to post due to the complex nature of the situation and the route taken toward the current the outcome. I say ‘current outcome’, as only time will tell if my take will stand-up. I will also clarify here that I’ve written this post from numerous perspectives, which will hopefully explain some of my rationale. Again, this is no easy topic and I apologise in advance for anyone who feels I’ve completely missed the target or not considered all views and perspectives. As mentioned in previous blogs, I can only see things from my own perspective; Not a Woman’s, not even other Men’s, just my own.

So to dig in, the whole Mason Greenwood situation, has developed a lot with his playing career having met a conclusion. His personal situation will take longer and a clock cannot be put on that. The route to his playing career conclusion though has taken a very articulated path, thanks, as ever to Man United’s inept, incompetent s*** stain Owner decision-makers; one thing they are not. I’ve often said that one of mankind's biggest weaknesses is the inability to make a decision. It might not always be the right one but I’d sooner someone made a decision than ‘kick it into the long grass’ to quote my Dad. As most of you will know I use to work in the Middle East where it seemed most people would wake each day praying they wouldn’t have to make a decision that day; This is perhaps why Man United would be more at home under a Qatari ownership. However, to get to the crooks of this rant, the decision on Mason Greenwood has now been made, some 20-months after the incident he was accused of emerged and 6-months after the legal case against him was dropped due to a ‘key witness’ (his girlfriend, the victim and mother of his child) withdrawing…more on that later. All in all it was blatantly obvious The Glazers kicked the decision-making down the road to the summer, as they expected to have sold the club at this stage to the Qataris or Sir Jim Ratcliffe, which itself looks to have fallen through due to lack of decisions being made.

In typical United fashion (often reserved for transfer deadline day when they go panic-buying ‘has-beens’ and ‘out of favour’ players from around Europe with unofficial club reps), they kicked around the decision-making to anyone but the people who are authorised to make one. The Women’s Team (some on World Cup duty) were first up but the narrative changed on this from ‘being consulted’ to ‘being informed’ to avoid ramifications from the trolls regardless of their decision. Next up was good old social media. A global franchise reaching out to social media to make a decision on whether an alleged abuser should play for them again is akin to the morons who went on Jeremy Kyle to sort out their love lives. I mean, what sort of logical response do you expect to get from social media beyond one half saying ‘kick him to the curb [insert racial explicit here]’ and the other saying ‘she prob deserved it [insert derogatory female put-down here]’. Of course, United floated 2 scenarios to the masses. 1, where he plays for United again, and 2 where he moves on. I mean, duh, of course they were the options. There was heat for him coming back with protests arranged and public figures, such as Rachel Riley speaking out about ceasing to support United again should they let Mason return. On that, as any United fan should know, Man United is bigger than the poor decision-making of some absent Owners who don’t know their football from their a***hole. Man United is a club of huge history, trophies, Munich, and it’s hardcore away-day fans. We follow the badge, the culture, the history, the moments of greatness (Solskjaer UCL winner, Owen last minute goal in the derby, Cantona 86th minute winner in the ’96 Cup Final and Hughes last minute extra-time equaliser in the ’94 FA Cup semi-final – some of my personal favourites). As any fan knows, football is tribal, us against the world, not just about one individual. Liverpool is not about Suarez, England is not about Gazza and United isn’t about Joel and Avram Glazer or Mason Greenwood.

Firstly we need to review what the Court of Public opinion has based it’s conclusion on. A recording of Mason acting like an aggressive sex-pest and graphic photos of the victim with a bloody lip. I underline ‘and’, as it’s not confirmed the 2-pieces of evidence are from the same event, which is context. These 2 items are all ‘we’ (as outsiders) have. Of course the Police, victim and Mason will have more but we’re not privy to this. Unfortunately though in this day and age that doesn’t seem to matter. As far as the public are concerned, Mason forced his girlfriend into non-consensual sex and beat her up for objecting; However this plays out, Mason will forever be an abusive rapist to some.

Back to United’ decision-making and after a few days of kicking the can around, it seemed the outcome where Mason returns was more untenable than him leaving but not without first discussing Greenwood’s value, as an asset; Greenwood will not leave Old Trafford for free. As is the case with most money-driven scum, morals are kicked to the curb. Greenwood is of course still a United asset and one, which has a high value given he is a very talented 21-year old striker who is capable of using both feet and scoring various types of goals (think Ronaldo, think Henry). Had Mason been an average player, he’d have gone without question back in February if not sooner but an asset with a value of likely £60-80m put United in a moral dilemma, as they’re always about money first, second and whatever number you care to count to. There is also an argument that United should have just stayed out of it entirely and left the decisions upto the Authorities, which given United are not an Authority in the World of law or experts in dealing with domestic abuse situations, would’ve been the educated one. That’s not to suggest United should have been passive, but they are not equipped to handle such situations so why were they trying?

So this is where we are at the time of writing and it’s here where I make my verdict with rationale on what should have happened with Mason, which I’m sure will split opinions, which is entirely reasonable, as it’s such a complex issue depending on where you sit.

So let’s roll back the years a bit for Mason. He joins United at 6-years old. Let that land for a moment. 6-years old. My own Son is just shy of half Mason’s age at this time, so to think he would be good enough to play for one of the World’s biggest clubs in just over 3-years indicates just how naturally gifted Mason was.

This is 2007. United have just wrestled the Premier League title back after a 4-year hiatus watching Arsenal’ Invincibles and Jose’s Chelsea dominate. Later that season United would go on to retain the title and add a Champions League for good measure. This is Fergie’s 2nd ‘pomp’ era at United after The Treble, being fired there by ‘pomp’ Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Rio, Vida and Scholes to name a few. At this point Mason is not an alleged abuser, he’s just a highly talented child-player and football is his life. I also don’t know the far end of Mason’s upbringing and if he was raised in an environment with issues, violence, abuse himself. I don’t know if in a few years time he’ll have his own Dele or Jesse Lingard revelation (other young men who have had their own tough upbringings). You’ll notice at this point I refer to the man as ‘Mason’ and the player as ‘Greenwood’, where possible. This is because I’m trying to base my take on the man, not the footballer or the ‘asset’, which is how United have visioned him.

Like many other players taken in by United at that age, he developed through the ranks and youth teams in parallel with being exposed to Footballs aforementioned elite. This is the United of the late noughties, this is the United team who would reach 3 out of 4 Champions League finals between 2008 and 2011, winning one and losing out twice to Pep and Messi’s Barca. United would also win 5 titles between 2007 and 2013 amongst other domestic triumphs. Now, this wasn’t necessarily an era of extreme toxic masculinity but Rio (who was a key part of the United team during this period of success) has since talked about this era in his Prime series ‘Tipping Point’, where he shared his own thoughts on the subject and weak-mindedness in the changing room. It had to be hidden, it wouldn’t be accepted. Players at any top club, under that pressure need to show-up. Any slight nuance of weakness and you wouldn’t make it - Rio virtually admitted he would feel a certain way about vulnerable players. This isn’t a pop at being strong minded and willed, those are strengths, but it does reflect a certain culture. Gary Neville was part of a strong willed team characterised by his captain Roy Keane who himself joined a very masculine team of Hughes, Bruce, Schmeichel, Cantona and Robson to name a few. Neville has since talked about seeing a therapist, as early as 2000 due to a lack of confidence and form at that time but even as late as the Millenium seeking therapy was still deemed ‘taboo’.

From around 2006 onwards, many of the top United players were starting to earn in excess of £100k a week (Rio, Ronaldo, Rooney) with Rooney sealing a £250k a week contract in late 2010, after issuing the club an ultimatum to make him one of the highest paid or he’d (allegedly) be off to local upcoming rivals City. This was also at a time when the stories broke of Rooney’s affairs with escorts while his wife Colleen was pregnant with their first child, and in a separate story Giggs was outed as a serial adulterer, one which included an 8-year affair with his own sister in-law. At this point Mason is about 10-years old, extremely impressionable and surrounded by young men earning more money than God. A robust changing room with no room for weakness; A culture that perhaps would make Greenwood the player he is. I have read stories of how he would be aggressive to other players in the youth teams for not being up to his own standards. Perhaps without that later noughties culture around the senior dressing room he’d not have made it. Of course not every player needs this. Rashford and McTominay are other recent examples of young players coming up during this period who have no known off-field issues that we’re aware of but everyone is different. Rooney himself often talks about how Fergie would ‘roast’ a player such as himself, as a passive aggressive technique towards ‘weaker’ players, such as Nani, who would allegedly crumble under direct bollockings. It’s debatable if a player like Nani was a success at United. Medals wise yes, but he is not in that elite bracket. Nani isn’t the reason we won a trophy or were successful during this time.

Greenwood would make his first team debut in March 2019 in a 2nd leg Champions League tie against PSG at the tender age of 17-years and 156-days, a record, which is only second to Norman Whiteside. On as a substitute he watched United overturn a 2-0 1st leg defeat to win in the Princes Park, Paris thanks to a late Marcus Rashford penalty. This was a huge moment for him. The following season he would go onto match George Best and Rooney’s debut season tally of 17- goals. Mason was already being touted, as not just the next big thing but the next special thing. United and other clubs have had great players come through the ranks, such as Beckham, Scholes and Rashford at United and Lampard, Rio and Cole at West Ham but every now and again you get a player who's ‘special’. A Best, Giggs, Owen and of course Rooney. One of those players who just stood out, had that bit extra. Mason would become part of the first team squad from a very early age where most other players would be loaned out to Championship clubs to receive more first team experience. Even Beckham had a stint at Preston North End.

Now this isn’t an attempt at generalising all footballers, as young overpaid egomaniacs, rather making the point that due-diligence is needed to manage young men who are extremely wealthy and successful – as many women (and men in my case) would say ‘the male ego is a dangerous thing’. Most Premier League footballers are paid more money in a week than most others are paid in a year/lifetime. City’s Haaland is currently earning £900k a week. I recall my own mindset back when I was 18-years old and having £100 to my name would make me start acting like a cocky prick. Imagine having £10k, £20k, £150k a week??? The latter is the contract Mason received just months prior to this story first surfacing back in January 2022. Although it can be said that some footballers can manage fame and wealth, there are many who can’t; Gazza being the obvious standout example. Another special rare talent who had ridiculous money thrown at him at a young age along with a Car and House for his Dad and his own in-house sunbed upon signing for Venables’ Spurs before his even more lucrative move to Italy with Lazio. Unfortunately not every player is Gary Lineker, James Milner or Gary Neville who were top professionals with the latter 2 having very low-profiles away from the pitch during their playing careers. Every now and then we do have a Mason, a Paul (Gascoigne), George (Best) or Wayne. Players who have ‘Messi’ esque natural ability but can equally be easily led (think Mason’s England call-up with Foden during lockdown) or become too egotistical. Ultimately (in my opinion) Mason knew he was talented and this self-awareness only became stronger as he rose threw the United ranks before breaking into the United team. Follow that up with occupying the iconic no.11 shirt (worn by Best and Giggs) and a £150k a week contract at the World’s biggest club and you’re likely going to end up with a very volatile situation. This isn’t Frankenstein we’ve created here but we’ve all seen what dangers lurk when young men become extremely rich. Andrew Tate is rallying many of them into his misogynistic perfect storm of toxic-masculinity. It is also understood from some sources that Mason has autism, although I’m unsure to what extent and I don’t personally have this verified.

I’m told that in the USA, young sports stars are educated on how to cope with wealth and fame to allow them to develop more naturally, as let’s be honest, being so rich and famous at any age is highly unnatural. If I was constantly being chased by paparazzi and being paid a highly paid Dr’s annual salary in a week, I’m not sure I’d be able to cope. In fact, I know I wouldn’t be able to. I understand it’s the nature of the sports industry in the EPL, NBA and NFL to name a few and all players want the going rate based on their status in the game; ‘If he’s earning X, then I should be getting X’, as was the case for Rooney in 2010 when he wanted to match neighbouring City’s Yaya Toure’ salary. Often a Team’ MVP have clauses in their contracts to be the highest paid, thus if someone new comes along with a higher wage then they automatically have theirs raised accordingly. Fergie would often be part of his junior player contract negotiations to ensure they weren’t being paid too excessively. Of course the Rooney’s and Rio’s were too high-profile and were able to blackmail United but Fergie always wanted his younger players to be paid appropriately to avoid unwanted issues. Around the year 2000, first team peripheral players Danny Higginbottom and Ronnie Wallwork (Wallwork being another player with off-field issues) were offered new contracts of £2000 a week. This was at a time Roy Keane had just signed a £50k a week contract; Keane being a player Wallwork would play alongside on occasion. This was Fergie’s own now famous ‘man-management’. Let’s help these young players before the issues start. Let’s put the fire out before it begins. United used to provide their young players with media training to help them handle exposure to the press. Despite this, Fergie still used to block/limit his young players from doing interviews and would limit their off-field ventures. He once intervened when Rio wanted to go to New York to interview Puff Daddy (P. Diddy, Diddy, whatever he goes by now), which Fergie asked ‘How will interviewing Puff Daddy make you a better Defender Rio?’ Fergie did lose the battle with Becks who had started to transcend football and became too famous having movie star status. Arguably at his peak, Becks was sold to Madrid at a knockdown price. He was replaced with a young Ronaldo who would ultimately follow Becks’ path by becoming ‘too big’ for any club, although this was post Fergie. Fergie once left Rooney out of an away game against Everton (Rooney’s boyhood club) post his escort story surfacing to protect him from away fans. This was at a time when Rooney was by far United’s best player but the personal off-field situation and Rooney’s protection and mental state was of greater importance. Although self-inflicted by Rooney, Fergie was not going to throw his talisman to the wolves at a time he was vulnerable. Unfortunately, United's previous management of players combined with Fergie’s own personal touch (like many other things around Old Trafford) has fell by the wayside since Fergie’s retirement. Players at United are frequently overpaid, just coming to Old Trafford to pick-up a lucrative paycheck. Falcao, Rojo, Cavani, Sanchez and Pogba all picked up excessive salaries without much performance in return; Men paid ludicrous amounts of money and ultimately left to their own devices away from training.

Money and fame of course isn’t the only reason Mason likely turned into the man he did. Mason, like all of us is wired in his own way. The point is, when players (or anyone) are placed in an unnatural environment, it is crucial that support and a system, which helps identify individuals who maybe struggling is available but unfortunately this is far too often lacking, not just in sport but in society as a whole; This is just common sense surely? Lottery winners are often provided with support to enable them to cope and manage with inheriting a life-changing amount of money. This is not to blame United for Mason’ behaviour but you have to manage some people, which brings me to the present day.

Based on what I think I know, I do think Mason should have been given a second chance. I don’t think he should have returned to the team immediately but rather than being exiled to the colonies, during the interim period between the legal charges being dropped in February and the start of the 2023/24 season, Mason should have been given therapy and support. Equally, Mason should have sought this himself if not forthcoming from United. This isn’t a 40-year old man who's been abusing women for 20-years. This isn’t a man who's murdered anyone or committed a sexual act on a minor. Yes, Mason definitely has issues, which he needs to address and must learn that Men should NEVER EVER think they are entitled to sex and access to a Woman’s body regardless of the relationship, but only time will tell is has changed his ways. On from this, ‘we’ don’t know if what his girlfriend put out there was just a response to her getting back at Mason for being sexually aggressive. It’s tangible the scenario in reality was one thing but was then escalated via a narrative put on social media. I honestly have no idea what actually happened, like everyone else whose got a view on this, but it’s not conclusive on what crime was actually committed.

In my opinion, Mason needs help and rehabilitation to redeem himself from the wrongs and horrific things he has committed. Gascoigne (another abuser) needed help but didn’t get it and he’s often lauded as one of the greatest in recent history on the pitch but what of Sheryl Gascoigne? Rooney could’ve easily been the next Gascoigne but for Fergie and Coleen. Rooney is extremely lucky Coleen has taken him back after so many countless affairs. The great Maradona had many infamous off-field issues with domestic violence towards women being the lesser known one after his drug addictions but many fans, media, and pundits only remember his greatness. I’m not expecting Ten Hag to act like Fergie and I’m not expecting United to conduct weekly therapy sessions but they could aid him in seeking support, something, which had it been in place years ago could’ve prevented this entire issue; We’ll never know. This is a club who aid players in making dentist appointments and even supply them underwear for games and training. I’m sure they could’ve organized support for players and at this level it should be done in-house. Do United not warrant a team of trained professionals in therapy and counselling? It seems all the United hierarchy have done is make a hash of the decision-making process and then decided to cash in on the value of the asset and discard the man.

Another example of alleged sexual deviants, Ronaldo, was accused of rape in 2010, which resulted in a subsequent pay-off of $375k US under an NDA. However, all we hear about is his phenomenal records and stats and how Ten Hag tried to ruin him because he wouldn’t let Ronaldo pick the team sheet (okay, not quite the full official reason but that’s ultimately what it came down to).

The onus is now on Mason to work toward making amends and ensure he is able to change his ways and campaign for victims of violence, spread awareness and really work at being a supportive Boyfriend and Father. This of course must be authentic though and not just for the cameras. Mason cannot just donate money, he will have to come out and be an advocate for victims. Not ideal for him I’m sure, but this is the situation he has placed himself in and if he’s truly adamant about changing then he should want to do so publicly.

He now has a real opportunity now in Spain with Getafe, where he will be away from the limelight a little, can keep his head down and work on improving himself for the good of his family, himself and society as a whole, as any recovering addict or individual with issues who wants to change should do. Nobody wants to be an abuser. Nobody wants to be an addict. There is an underlying issue that makes people act or think a certain way, which with the right support and own self-will can be overturned if you are committed enough. I don’t want this blog to come across in anyway defending Mason’ behaviour. I know he’s done bad things but we don’t know the true facts and I feel he’s young enough to be worthy of a second chance and not have his fate decided by the social media trolls and court of public opinion who far too often these days like to ‘cancel’ people yet I would predict half the ‘cancel culture’ have their own dark secrets and pasts.

Finally, before you ask, no, I don’t have a Daughter, but I do have a Son and if words such as ‘rapist’ were being thrown around about him based on releases to social media platforms then I’d be the first one to come out in his defence, as you can’t have a trial in this manner. Unfortunately though, it seems this is the way it is now. Trial by public opinion, trial by celebrity fan opinions, trial by trolls. Regardless of Mason’ ultimate fate, he will always be guilty to many but I hope he can at least change a few minds, aslong as long as he’s adamant about changing himself.