Manchester United are boring their sponsors

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Much coverage has been devoted to the fans' various levels of unhappiness with Manchester United's football this season, despite the fact that "what the fans think" is some way down the list of priorities of all modern football clubs.

However. "What the sponsors think", now, that's the real stuff. And so it is with a mixture of amusement and horror that we bring you the following quote from Herbert Hainer, chief executive of Adidas, who has been speaking to the Suddeutsche Zeitung and from there quoted in the Guardian:

Business with Man United is going very well, we sell more shirts than expected. We are satisfied ... even if the current playing style of Man United is not exactly what we want to see.

What terrible things this quote must be doing to Ed Woodward. On the one hand: hooray! Shirt sales are up! On the other: oh God! They're bored! The rich men are bored! What if the rich men leave? What if they take all the money?

As soon as we know how Nissin Noodles feel about Louis van Gaal's use of substitutes, or which position KamaGames think best suits Marouane Fellaini, we'll let you know.