Harverson Quits

Few Reds will be shocked by Harverson’s departure though his new career working for Prince Charles comes as some surprise. On a purely professional basis there’s little doubt that Harverson will have a far easier ride at Highgrove than he did at Old Trafford.

He had confessed to some at being taken aback with the scale of the workload at United and probably tired of all the bullshit that went with the role.

As the Beckham and Ronaldinho sagas ran during the summer many hacks grew exasperated with United’s PR department some even moaning: “We don’t bother calling United’s press office anymore” as “Paddy just isn’t allowed to tell us the truth.”

The suggestion being that Harverson’s hands were consistently tied in his dealings with hacks due to the plc’s and Fergie’s constraints which often undermined his position. It had been rumoured that “old skool” Fergie was privately dismissive of the “new era” role Harverson occupied.

With Ned Kelly’s book revelations and a possible takeover looming (meaning a whole lot more work imminent) the prospect of dealing with compliant hooray Henry royal correspondents no doubt appealed more than continuing battles with yer typical scoop-hungry football hacks.

Another important factor would undoubtedly have been that Harverson’s American wife was unhappy at living in Manchester and made no secret of the fact. Perhaps they can make more of a go of things in London and BB wishes them well.

Whilst many Reds may wonder exactly what good Harverson did in his time at United there is little question that he was good for fan-club relations. He was sensitive to what fans expected, was conscious of the need for good relations with the fanzines and fan groups and, whilst the club still may not be what we’d like, Harverson was far more friendly to our cause than some blue chip corporate bimbo such as Alison Ryan would have been.

So where now? If United had anything about them they’d realize Harverson’s role and the work he needs to carry out would be ideally to suited to a proper football journalist.

They would know exactly what the job should entail, the people they have to deal with and how to put the club’s message across. After all it’s on the sports pages of tabloids where the overwhelming majority of United coverage appears day in, day out.

A football man, as with Harverson, would also be more sensitive to the demands and expectations of the fans which is surely another prerequisite of the job.

As it is though, given the plc’s delusions of grandeur within the City, the board will probably appoint some grey corporate twat from within the financial world, meaning those advances Harverson did make in fan relations are negated.

* For all the latest news and gossip see the new Red Issue, out tomorrow.