Dramatic? Over the top? Perhaps. But just consider the tears of Josh Zirkzee. The angry confrontation between fans and Jim Ratcliffe outside Craven Cottage. The tension that now rattles around Old Trafford every home game. The place is reeling. Wobbling. And is in dire need of public leadership and guidance. Yet no-one appears willing to step up...
United, at least status-wise, sit alongside the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan. But there's no Joan Laporta or Florentino Perez inside that United boardroom. There's no Deco or Beppe Marotta walking around the front office of Old Trafford or Carrington. Men of charisma. Courage. And leadership. Willing to show their face. Willing to tell their club's support what is planned and why it's needed. At United, you don't see any of that.
Not a week goes by without Laporta, the Barcelona president, nor his Real Madrid counterpart, Florentino Perez, addressing the press. Ditto Marotta, Inter's president and chief exec in Italy. And if it's not Laporta taking questions, Deco - as the club's sporting director - will be the one addressing and fielding concerns from the Barca support. On-the-pitch. Off it. It doesn't matter, no topic is off limits. Questions about the coach. The players. Transfers. Tactics. Stadiums. We can go on and on. Just in the past few weeks, Tribalfootball.com has covered extensively all manner of pressers involving these men and the topics discussed. And while the answers won't have left everyone feeling satisfied, none of them can be accused of hiding.
But at United, where it's still claimed they're the biggest club in the world, over that same period, we've heard nowt. Not from Ratcliffe. Not from his No2, Dave Brailsford. The CEO, Omar Berrarda. Nor Jason Wilcox, the club's now senior technical director.
Instead, every move, every change is being made with no explanation. No word about transfer spending. No word about player sales. The stadium. Ticket prices. The progress of the manager. Nothing. The club's most important stakeholder, the fan, has been left on his own to speculate why decisions are being made.
Yes, there's the much-hyped 'Fan Advisory Board'. But how helpful has this group actually been in communicating to the support what those running the club have in mind? As 'The 1958' supporters' group highlighted last week, as ridiculous as it is, the whole exercise is the subject of a gag order!
"They can hold meetings with the Fan Advisory Board which is all under NDA," stated the protest group. "It is supposed to be for the fans, yet they can’t tell the fans hardly anything. It’s a disgrace!
"These meetings are effectively gagged and it is not open and transparent dialogue with fans. Not even close."
Indeed, instead the work of the club's comms team appears to have been passed onto third parties. United's support learning more about their club through press leaks rather than any genuine official fans engagement.
Yes, Ratcliffe has spoken to one local fanzine. But in the club's website and media channels, he has access to one of biggest bullhorns that exists in the game. For this column, it's exasperating that we're still to hear from any one of Ratcliffe, Berrada, Brailsford or Wilcox on a consistent basis through the club's media arm. With so much change. With so many things in flux. It really is the responsibility of this leadership group to get themselves in front of a camera - even it's the club's own - and take the support through why these decisions are being made.
Yes, there's always cynics. Doomers. But for those seeking something more than that. The upbeat. The open-minded. Such openness can act as a rallying point for the real, diehard support. But the appetite just isn't there. Do they trust those they say they're working for? Do they respect them? Even like them? How do we know when this silence from the board continues?
Yes, this top-level engagement is more a tradition for clubs on the continent than the island. But so what? It's time to be bold. To think differently. Golden Era 'n all that. What the higher-ups at United have been doing this past decade clearly hasn't worked. It's time for a new approach. Take the fan along with you for the ride. Highlight the peaks. Explains the valleys. Treat them as someone you want to work with as you attempt to rebuild this institution.
Hiding isn't the answer. The silence coming from the Manchester United board room is only making things worse.