Cod Almighty | Diary

No more heroes

25 August 2023

There are rules to Greek tragedy, the first of which is that the tragic hero must die. The tricky bit is that it must be their own fault and that this death must be seen as both deserved and still somehow lever a little sympathy from the audience. This is where catharsis, the experiencing, understanding and purging of negative emotion, comes in. To achieve this, the tragic hero must be a larger-than-life character, somehow bigger, better, more noble and just generally more. The tragic hero is someone to be revered. That way we can see the tragic waste, the fall of this hero and remember him in his better days even as he (it's always a he) dies. But, and this is key, the tragic hero must recognise his fall, he must see and understand that his beauty has faded and that he is now ugly.

Last week your A46 Diary contemplated the situation regarding Mason Greenwood. I predicted that he would play again for Manchester United and that many would defend the decision even as many would decry his return. I was wrong. On Monday, Manchester United announced that it would be "most appropriate if he were to [continue his football] away from Old Trafford". In the same statement the club declared that "based on the evidence available to us, we have concluded that the material posted online did not provide a full picture and that Mason did not commit the offences in respect of which he was originally charged." Similarly, Mason Greenwod's personal statement said that he had done nothing wrong and that he was "cleared of all charges."

This is not a Greek tragedy and Mason Greenwood is not its tragic hero, or if it is and he is then they are clearly stuck in Act 2 and the revelations of Act 5 are a long, long way away.

It's impossible to have any sympathy for club or player, especially when they both have the arrogance, the hubris, to make their announcements of innocence. Realistically, can Manchester United declare him innocent? At best, it smacks of marking their own homework, at worst it shows a complete disregard for the concerns of the complainant in this or any other case involving violence or sexual abuse against women. In Greenwood's case, his hubris is there for all to see. He has not been cleared of any charges; the charges were dropped, a significant difference. Club and player are lashing out at what they deem to have been an unfair public trial, one in which their version of events had no realistic hope of being given a fair hearing and so they get to present themselves as the wronged parties. Right now, then, we must conclude that no lessons have been learned, only that there is a fear of negative attention, both in traditional and social media.

Fear is rarely a positive motivator. It is often the gaslighter's weapon of choice, and that seems true in this case. The club took far too long to make this decision, showing their reluctance, their probable eleventh-hour u-turn and their bitterness at being forced into this decision. This young man, this prize asset, this larger-than-life figure, was, in their eyes, too valuable to let go, both in terms of talent and financial commitment. Manchester United are far from the only company to put profit before people, but to do it so publicly tells me that there is no catharsis here, no recognition of the ugliness of this situation. And if Manchester United can tell us this with a straight face, can prop up Greenwood's hubris so overtly, so arrogantly, then how can we feel any sympathy? Conversely, how can we be surprised that the FA or the Premier League has not stepped in and been complicit in their silence? How can we be surprised that Luis Rubiales, the head of the Spanish FA, insists that he will not step down and even claims that forcing a kiss onto the midfielder Jenni Hermoso was "consensual"? Whether or not his career dies, Greenwood has a long way to go before being seen as anything like a tragic waste.

Tomorrow, Town travel to the Poundshop Bescot Stadium to play Walsall in a game of football. I wish them and all the travelling Mariners well.