What do Ruben Amorim, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Gary Neville and a Liverpool fan have in common? They all ‘spoke volumes’ in the Manchester United draw.
Raging bull
There is little doubt that Liverpool and Manchester United enacting The Lawro Rule of any big game ending 2-2 was particularly unsatisfying. This fixture more than any other needs a crushing victory for the overwhelming favourites or a spirited win for the mismanaged mess of a team.
But a draw is what we were dealt with, and while some of us went about simply assessing the events at Anfield for what they were worth, others decided they would really rather just make stuff up actually thanks.
‘”MAD” RUBEN AMORIM left Anfield raging after watching Manchester United produce a brilliant display at Liverpool,’ reads the opening paragraph to Gary Stonehouse’s quotes piece in The Sun. At least Amorim did actually describe himself as “mad” at the raised performance levels, but ‘raging’ seems more than a bit strong. And, well…
“I get more mad because of the other games…we need to fight REALLY bad to get out of this situation”
Ruben Amorim says that today’s result has made him ‘really mad’ with Man United’s previous results across the Premier League 😯 pic.twitter.com/MNIvEAlVWo
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 5, 2025
That right there is a man in ‘a period of extreme or violent anger’.
But the Daily Mirror website is at it too, claiming Gary Neville ‘fumed’ at Real Madrid over their £20m Trent Alexander-Arnold bid. Mediawatch doesn’t really have to explain why he quite obviously didn’t but for those in any doubt, “you’re taking the mickey a bit” apparently now qualifies as being fuming.
It is very much a losing battle in big 2025, but words should probably still actually mean something, some might say especially so in journalism.
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Pump up the volume
That stands for the worst of all headline tropes, as proudly showcased by the holy trinity of Reach titles:
‘Casemiro moment after Amad’s Man Utd equaliser at Liverpool speaks volumes’ – Daily Mirror website.
‘Casemiro actions after Amad’s Man Utd equaliser speak volumes following stinging criticism’ – Daily Express website.
‘Casemiro shows true colors in telling Man Utd moment with Amad vs. Liverpool – Liverpool.com.
Did the brief couple of seconds of Casemiro celebrating with Amad and then quickly stressing the need to concentrate really warrant three separate stories being published? Actually make that four…
‘Man Utd flop sends classy message to Amad Diallo after his Liverpool heroics’
…because the Daily Star website cannot be outdone so easily and they too noticed how Casemiro simultaneously spoke volumes and showed his true colours while classily ‘donning his hood to fend off the rain’.
But why stop there when the Manchester Evening News can lower the bar from focusing on an unused substitute to focusing on someone who didn’t even make the matchday squad?
‘Luke Shaw shows true Man United colours in four-word message after Liverpool clash’
It turns out Luke Shaw’s ‘true Man United colours’ are that he thinks Bruno Fernandes is ‘so good’.
Think before you speak
Among the other volumes being spoken at Anfield were:
‘What Ruben Amorim did after Lisandro Martinez goal speaks volumes after Man United claim’ – Manchester Evening News (he didn’t wildly celebrate taking the lead against Liverpool with more than 40 minutes remaining).
‘What Gary Neville did at Anfield before Liverpool game speaks volumes about Manchester United’ – Manchester Evening News (he jokingly shovelled snow back onto the pitch).
‘Gary Neville’s X-rated Man United celebration vs Liverpool speaks volumes amid late heartache’ – Manchester Evening News (a former Manchester United player celebrated a Manchester United goal).
‘Liverpool face unwanted distraction as X-rated Alexander-Arnold dig speaks volumes’ – Daily Mirror website (a single fan told him to “f**k off*)
‘Lisandro Martinez speaks volumes with Ruben Amorim verdict before Liverpool vs Man Utd’ – Daily Express website (he quite likes the bloke who was just appointed his new head coach).
Long gone are the days when things just happen.
Root and Sanch review
The Manchester Evening News know that a much-improved performance in a draw does not quite bring in enough clicks, so from them we get this:
‘Jadon Sancho sends clear message as Man United draw with Liverpool amid transfer agreement’
Why be happy with Manchester United taking a step in the right direction when you can instead incite fury in the fanbase at what for all intents and purposes is a former player?
And that’s precisely what they’re doing, as is made obvious by Stephen Killen writing that Sancho’s social media post came ‘with his former teammates in action’ even though a) it was an hour or so after that game finished, and b) unless there was a clause written into Sancho’s Manchester United contract specifically preventing it, he is actually allowed to post on Instragram or Twitter whenever he wants really.
All that is leaving aside quite what ‘clear message’ was being sent by Sancho posting a handshake emoji under a picture of him celebrating with Cole Palmer.
If actual children want to be ‘raging’ or ‘fuming’ with Sancho for that then let them. Manchester United-based media outlets have a responsibility not to feed into it.
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