COMMENT: Danny Rose. Manchester United. And that interview. If Tottenham had wanted to assure their England left-back, they've a funny way of showing it...
Fancy fining the lad. They didn't even wait a day. Barely hours after the left-back's 'tell-all' hit the The Sun's printing press, Spurs were fining him two weeks' wages. And for what? Please, tell us below, because nothing in Rose's interview warranted any sort of backlash from management.
Indeed, the one party that should be upset is Everton after he talked up Spurs moving for Ross Barkley. But even then, Robert Elstone, Everton's chief exec, will be happy for the way Rose spoke enthusiastically about a player they're so eager to move on.
And that's what should be taken away from this interview: enthusiasm. Enthusiasm for his job. Enthusiasm for his club. And enthusiasm for his industry.
He didn't insult anyone. He didn't turn on the club. He just spoke his mind and echoed what many outside White Hart Lane have been saying for the past two years. Rather than seek to silence him, Spurs could've celebrated it.
For all the rigid, buttoned-up, company line rubbish we get from Premier League players, here was Rose actually lifting the lid and allowing us all to see that many do care about their club. They do care, like us, about who they're buying. And they, like us, aspire also for better.
Rose told us the Spurs locker room was full of chat about Manchester City and their summer market after facing them in the US: “Speaking to some lads when they got back, they're saying: 'City are taking off £200 million and then they are bringing on Aguero, Toure and Sane'. That just speaks volumes to me."
He also spoke of the buzz that went through the club when Rafael van der Vaart arrived: “Under Harry Redknapp we signed Rafa van der Vaart. It was like, 'Wow, how did he do that?' I mean signings like that are what we need — that's just my opinion."
A bit of gold dust. What sort of difference would that have made at Spurs over the last two years? This is Rose speaking for a locker room convinced they're a big club - and should be acting as such.
Okay, it was a great little dig by Mauricio Pochettino about Alvaro Morata choosing Chelsea over Spurs because he was worried about fighting Harry Kane for a start. So clearly, the manager is trying to find a striker.
But it was Spurs which finished in the Champions League places, not Arsenal. So why allow them a free run at Alexandre Lacazette? And what of Sandro Ramirez at Everton? Again, like Lacazette, a different type of striker to Kane. Yet, there was not even a serious attempt made by Spurs. And you can be sure Rose and his teammates wouldn't require Google to be aware of either player.
“I am not saying buy ten players," said Rose, "I'd love to see two or three — and not players you have to Google and say, 'Who's that?' I mean well-known players."
That's it. That's what Danny said. It wasn't a shot at his teammates. He was talking about the players Pochettino has been linked with through the football media. But somehow, this has been construed to Rose insulting his teammates.
Gary Neville was quick to take his pound of flesh. Wagging his finger, the former United captain declared on social media: “WTF is Danny Rose thinking? Imagine walking into the training ground having not been fit for months and months. Morning lads!!"
It's a mystery. A mystery how anything Rose said in this interview could be interpreted as an attack on his teammates. Yet Neville could. A full-time member of the media - that England job now long gone - actually telling a player to shut it. Yeah, that makes sense...
Oh, and there's Alan Sugar, the former Spurs chairman, claiming: "Disgusting article by Danny Rose. Unprofessional and totally ungrateful. It's demoralising and disappointing. Chuck him out."
Again, how do get "disgusting" and "demoralising" from an aspirational interview? The simple answer is you can't. All you get is some press and some extra social media followers. What a guy...
That's not to say there wasn't a sting in Rose's chat. He did admit he wanted to return "north" and would consider any major offer should it arrive. But there was nothing hostile in his words. The same theme was carried throughout the interview: We can do better. And there's no reason, given the size of the club, why we shouldn't be.
But, yes, it can be read as an open 'come and get me' letter to Jose Mourinho. Driven. Ambitious. Passionate about the game and it's identities. Clearly the prototype of a Mourinho player. Particularly when you consider the concerns made public - still - about Luke Shaw.
But a move to Old Trafford doesn't have to be inevitable. Rose left the door wide open for him to be convinced about staying. Unfortunately, at Tottenham's end it appears to have been slammed shut.
Yesterday's fine only confirmed the concerns Rose made this week. And inside the Spurs dressing room, he can't be the only one.
