Pretty much every transfer window these days is dominated by fans of countless clubs insisting they ‘Announce’ whichever big-name player or returning favourite they have been linked with.
Arsenal broke the fourth wall when they collected a steady stream of ‘Announce Xhaka’ tweets from fans ahead of the Swiss midfielder’s signing, and we assumed the meme was dead and buried once Everton did this for the arrival of Ashley Williams.
However, if the persistence of Transfer-Deadline-Day-as-event-television has taught us anything, it’s that football clubs are reluctant to kill off any trend, even when it has long since served its purpose.
Queens Park Rangers’ pursuit of Ravel Morrison has been well-publicised, with the former West Ham and Manchester United midfielder putting one journalist in their place over some misguided claims about wage demands.
Aware that the Lazio man was in the UK, three years after scoring six goals in 15 games on loan with the Rs, the ‘Announce Ravel’ calls came thick and fast, prompting the club to do this.
#AnnounceRavel pic.twitter.com/nzQHSpgX7j
— QPR FC (@QPR) January 31, 2017
The meme might be dead, but that doesn’t mean clubs will stop squeezing out every last drop of value, a bit like…no, we’re not going to go down that route.
We’re just waiting for a deal to fall through because a club took too long to create a social media announcement and missed the deadline – it’s bound to happen one of these days.
Morrison, who made three starts at United after a glittering youth team career, will now be in direct competition for a starting spot with 20-year-old Galway native Ryan Manning.
Manning got his chance with the R’s under Ian Holloway, last December, and has been an instant hit with club’s supporters. In his five appearances [four starts], he has a goal, assist and man-of-the-match accolade to his name.
Manning will be hoping for a start against Newcastle this evening but Morrison has received clearance to line out for the club.
