Sheffield United: Social media blindspots and celebrating Iliman Ndiaye ahead of England v Senegal

Anyway, now we’ve got that sorted, let’s re-enter the world of makebelieve. Would you keep volunteering to help out a local business which continually slagged you off? Or, to be absolutely exact, continually massaged the ego of someone who directed vile personal insults in your direction? No, of course you wouldn’t. Unless, it seems, you were a football club.

Elsewhere in these pages, I’ve written a story detailing how an investigation into the racial abuse Kyron Gordon said he suffered during Sheffield United’s visit to Hull City in September is still on-going. Fair enough. Evidence can take time to piece together, collate and then present to the CPS. But when Gordon’s teammate Rhian Brewster was targeted on Instagram a month later, once again by the type of bigot with more fingers than brain cells, it was there in black and white. Not for the Old Bill, who have to reach a certain threshold before trying to bring a case to court. But certainly for the company which provided the berk in question with a platform to spread their pathetic bile.

Scroll through the terms and conditions most people blithely tick before signing up to sites like this and you’ll quickly realise the only private information they don’t routinely gather is probably your inside leg measurement or bra size. And even then, if you look closely enough, they’ll be an add-on which lets them do that if certain settings, which are always routinely switched off, aren’t adjusted on your mobile phone or computer. In short, the chances are even the work experience kid at Meta Towers could probably figure out the person responsible for posting this hate during their lunch break.

But, I bet if you ask officials at United how much help they’ve received in trying to identify the perpetrator, the answer will be pretty much zilch. But they almost certainly have received a lecture on freedom of expression. Which, if you’re speaking fluent Silicon Valley, translate to ‘We actually can’t be a***d.’

Which brings me, not so succinctly, to an important question. Who do teams in the Premier League and English Football League help swell these firm’s profits by posting content on them? Not so long ago, in April last year, several sports took part in a four day boycott of social media to “show solidarity against online abuse.”

What has changed? Nothing. For either the clubs or the companies themselves. But then why would it, when the employers of the victims continue to engage with these sites several times a day?

Teams like United need to look at this situation again. Propose a more prolonged boycott. Hit Big Tech where it hurts. The wallet. Because, beneath all the ‘Dress Down Friday’, hot desking and other assorted nonsense, that’s what it’s really bothered about.

•Is anyone really surprised that Iliman Ndiaye has taken the World Cup by storm? No. Not really, although the quality of his performance during Senegal’s victory over Ecuador, which set-up their last 16 game against England tomorrow, was probably higher than even his biggest fans would have expected. Cool, calm, confident and playing football of the highest calibre, the United youngster looked perfectly at home as he followed his cameo against Qatar four days earlier with another exquisite display.

Unfortunately, everyone at United knows full well how this situation will eventually play out. Clubs with deeper and more minted pockets will have noted how Ndiaye not only has the skill set to succeed but also the attitude too. He could have been intimidated by working alongside the likes of Chelsea’s Eduoard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly, Everton’s Idrissa Gueye and Papa Gueye of Marseille. Instead, Ndiaye has flourished. He looks relaxed and clearly feels comfortable in such exalted company.

You can never say never. Strange things can happen. But I don’t expect Ndiaye to return home, be that following the meeting with Gareth Southgate’s side or even later this month, and immediately put pen to paper on a new contract. Second in the Championship and well positioned to secure promotion, particularly with some more of their key names set to return from injury, United must make sure he remains in situ until at least the end of the season. Then, even if they do go up, one suspects it will still be a struggle to retain Ndiaye’s services.

That shouldn’t be interpreted as a criticism of United’s ambition. Simply an acknowledgement of how this business works. After all, they were able to sign Ndiaye from his former club Boreham Wood because his advisors viewed Bramall Lane as being a more desirable location than Meadow Park.

But if they pitch Ndiaye’s almost inevitable departure correctly, United can still come out as winners. As I noted earlier this week, three almost certain starters during the match at Al Bayt Stadium will have progressed through their academy. And another of its former students, England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, will be watching from the bench.

That’s some going for any team. Let alone one in the second tier. And if Ndiaye does move on at some stage, United should shout about the fact they nurtured him, Kyle Walker and Harry Maguire. Because that should help convince more promising youngsters, such as Levis Pitan and Sydie Peck, that Bramall Lane provides the perfect environment to realise their ambition of becoming a big noise on the professional stage.

United can provide something the top-flight outfits who ignored Ndiaye’s potential at the beginning of his career, a fact he detailed in his first interview with The Star, can’t. And that’s an opportunity.

Let’s just enjoy Ndiaye while we can. And celebrate United’s excellence in the field of youth development.