Twitter: Six stages of Januzaj

There have been ructions on Twitter in the past few days about a certain 18-year-old Man United player - Adnan Januzaj.  You would think that the future of all mankind were tied to this fellow's life choices and - bless them - some fans have got a little emotional about it all.

Here's a highlights reel of that storm of waffle, and the six stages of Januzaj that everyone went through.

1) Panic:

With Adnan Januzaj's regular appearances and hot streak of form, some asked why it had taken until now for Man U to get him signed up for life.

just sign the contract alr januzaj!
— Zhongjie (@zhongjiezj) October 8, 2013

2) Gloating:

 Now, we all know that everybody loves Man U - still, some found it in their hearts to sneer at the prospect of the Reds losing such a gem as Januzaj on the cheap.

i can already see januzaj in his real madrid kit now
— 47 goonz. (@jonolukeslater) October 8, 2013

3) Poor humour:

A valiant stab at witticising the melodrama, unfortunately from someone who was picking their nose in school during that lesson on Proper Nouns.
 

The only reason for England to want Januzaj is Scrabble™.
— FöurAllStar (@fourallstar) October">https://twitter.com/fourallstar/statuses/388408934333419520">October 10, 2013

4) Doomsaying:

 

It wasn't long before Sergeant Buzz-Kill rallied his troops.  With key international qualifiers coming up, the doom-merchants couldn't afford to miss such a golden opportunity to run morale into the ground.

The fact that people are practically drooling at the prospect of Januzaj playing for England really shows the state of our national team.
— Cam. (@DiscipleOfPirlo) October 8, 2013

5) Jealousy:

The odd Liverpool fan still hadn't come to terms with the fact that it is no longer the 1980s.

This hype about this Adnan Januzaj is doing my head in. He scores a couple past the team bottom of league and suddenly he is brilliant.
— LFCTillIDie  (@jamie_maginness) October 8, 2013

6) Perspective:

 

Finally, someone of sound mind brought their thoughts on young Januzaj to the table.

Don't see all the hype on this Januzaj lad, might have the skills and flair but put me back into centre mid and i'd fucking snap him in two.
— Roy Keane (@RoyFuckingKeane) October 8, 2013

 

Unfortunately, this tweet won't embed because the account appears to have vanished.  Search that Twitter handle, however, and you'll find a couple of quality reTweets that people managed to fire off before the account shut down.

The Januzaj soap opera looks set to power on until either Januzaj picks a country to represent or international diplomacy breaks down and acts of war are declared.

Overreaction of the week: David Moyes (& Apologists)

Good grief.  One game at home to a middling German side and Wayne Rooney is back 'on [the] road to legendary status' at Old Trafford, as the BBC's Phil McNulty writes.

That kind of hyperbole is somewhat understandable from manager Moyes, who is still trying to tie up the loose ends of that tedious but skilfully managed summer transfer saga, where Rooney once again appeared to be headed for the Old Trafford exit door.  However, McNulty & Co.'s brazen endorsement of this train of thought reeks of a sycophancy that is usually more discreetly delivered.

At 27 years old and in your tenth season with a club, you are either already on the road to greatness or you are not - Moyes' recent loud recommendation should be superfluous.  Now, Manchester United fans can feel free to tell me differently but, having lived in Manchester through both of his 'transfer sagas' of the past few years, I felt that the prevailing feeling towards Rooney among Reds fans was one of pragmatism.

These affairs have a tendency to shatter any cult of personality and leave a bitter taste in the mouth.  Those final few points that might put Rooney on a par with real club legends could well have been irretrievably lost.  By comparison, Steven Gerrard at Liverpool gives the impression of having just stayed on the right side of the line that Rooney has crossed several times now.

In the same way - to take an example from another sport - Michael Schumacher will never be embraced as a legend by many followers of Formula 1 because, despite his undeniable statistical achievements, he exhausted the fans' goodwill with multiple transgressions over several years.

Sure, you can't quibble with Rooney's goals return, and while there is a debate to be had about how good - and how consistently good - he actually is, goals win games and titles - end of.

Nevertheless, you can't re-embark on the path to greatness at this late stage in the game.  This isn't Snakes & Ladders (copyrighted, I'm sure) where you all plough on regardless of any falls from grace.  This is one game that Rooney, Moyes, and all the Red media apologists should admit they have lost; go and pick another English twenty-something - who promises to screw up less often - and start again.

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Photo credit: nasmac