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Nobody likes Antony.
Or so it seems. Reviled by Ajax fans for striking to force a move to United, reviled by opposition fans for his trademark “spin”, reviled by his ex-partners for alleged domestic violence, ripped apart by pundits and former PL chairmen, the Man United winger has a big reputation as a bad boy.
The stranger thing is, though, that Antony is equally, if not more detested by United fans themselves, at least, that is the impression this writer has. His only fan seemed to be manager Erik ten Hag, but even that no longer appears to be the case, with the Brazilian only being given one minute of Premier League football so far this season.
It is understandable that fans should be frustrated. A goal involvement every 382 minutes last season is a horrible return for a winger. Marcus Rashford managed one every 218 minutes despite being in dire form. A €95 million price tag weighs heavily on Antony’s shoulders, too; not his fault, but fans wanted more for their money.
Ten Hag did not help our appreciation at a press conference this week when in response to a question about why Antony is not playing, he said “You pick the eleven who have the best dynamic and the best chemistry.” By implication, he was saying Antony is not even liked by his teammates.
Let’s put aside the domestic violence accusations, because if true, they are a pretty good reason for disliking someone. After all, they were very much a “he said, she said” situation with someone whose “career” is as a Youtube influencer, so we really have no idea whether the claims were falsely trumped up for publicity (or extortion) or not. Let’s say, innocent until proven guilty.
Let’s imagine a fresh-faced academy star breaking into the first team with the exact same game and skill level that Antony has. Would he be getting the stick that the 24 year old suffers? Would we not be more willing to see the obvious talent and potential? Would we not be encouraging him and hoping for him to come good and fulfil that potential?
Fans are the 12th man on a football team. Players are lifted by the crowd roaring in encouragement, confidence is boosted by positive words from the media and social media. Just 22 years of age when he joined United, Antony has had to cope with so much negativity, abuse and even ridicule from his own supporters on top of everything else. This can’t have helped his form or his development.
The player alluded to some of these issues in an interview with The Mail recently, saying “a lot happened over the year in my personal life. Like it or not, everything I went through had an effect on the pitch.”
Speaking of his poverty-stricken upbringing in the infamous Brazilian favelas, he said “when people talk about me or criticise me, I always find solace in where I came from. I’ll never let anyone else write my story or let people put me down, as I genuinely know what it’s like to be at the bottom.”
Antony might actually be a really nice young man who is misunderstood. Antony might be a world-class winger. Antony might become a United legend. All right, we instinctively don’t believe any of that. But if we were to accept it is possible and if we can will him to succeed, he will have a far better chance of doing so. We can be part of the solution or part of the problem.
“I have a lot of objectives, ones I write down for myself and many for this new season,” he said in the interview.
“Rest assured, you’ll hear the name Antony in relation to goals and assists.”
He has made a start. He won a penalty that he converted himself against Barnsley in midweek, working hard throughout the game. Not everything came off, but he earned himself an 8/10 rating from goal.com. Perhaps this season, United’s bad boy will prove to everyone he is not so bad after all.
Featured image Paul Ellis via Getty Images
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