Footballers and Twitter is just a recipe for disaster
October 8, 2012 in Premier League
Disinterested, bored and tired: the three words I would use to describe myself when the breaking news football story pops up on my screen involving a footballer and yet another social networking site blunder. This weekend hosted 46 English league games from the top four divisions, with only five resulting in a 0-0 score line. Yet I wake up this morning and have a look on the BBC Football page to have a read of the latest news in the world of football, and to my non-amazement, Ashley Cole’s 11-word twitter outburst has cemented a place within the top three headlines, which is also a familiar view on many other football reporting sites.
It’s almost becoming a regular thing for the professionals of this country. Rio Ferdinand, Joey Barton, Emmanuel Frimpong, as well as others, have all had their five minutes of ‘keyboard warrior’ fame in the past and this week is Ashley Cole’s turn. He’s paid a ridiculous wage, idolised by many and is arguably the best left-back in the world. However, he thought it would be a wise move to tell his many thousands of followers that he thought the governing body of the national team he has represented 98 times, was a ‘bunch of twats’. Sometimes players such as Cole forget they represent an employer, industry and governing body, which are the FA. He should, and will be punished for what he has said.
It’s time for clubs and the FA to take more of a serious control with their own social media policy, and if needed, ban players from using these sites completely. Yes, it’s interesting to find a player’s view on the game, finding out what goes on off the pitch in their day-to-day life and I feel like I’m involved with some of my club’s players when following them on Twitter, but it’s being ruined by the minority. I’m not the only one to feel like this as well; ex-professionals such as Graeme Le Saux have said similar things in recent weeks, “The whole pleasure and access that social media gives you is that you are in control of what goes out there, but you must be sensible enough to hold that back.” I do not find it interesting reading a Twitter argument between two players; it’s not why I follow this sport. Set an example for the youth of today, the future professionals, don’t display a lack of respect towards fellow professionals which not only harms the representation of the game, but also, isn’t satisfying breakfast reading for myself. I thought football was supposed to be entertainment?
No doubt we’ll see more of these Twitter wars. Instead of reading about the games that have been contested, my news feed will be subjected with talk of petty Twitter and Facebook arguments. Whether you agree with me or not, I don’t believe this kind of stuff should even have a sniff of anywhere near a sports home page, unless you classify sitting behind a computer a sport.
There was a time when journalists had to glean their news, and come up with fresh information. Today, they steal other people’s writings from Twitter and consider that a journalistic scoop for which they should be paid. If we want Twitter stories, they are free and readily aailable to us. We don’t need news organizations, or sites like this, to give us stale, second-hand regurgitations of previous days’ Twitter comments. Lazy journalism, lazy thinking and lazy writers.
There was a time when anyone could express an opinion without being criticised by people who are only interested in their own. As it seems Sir Cecil is such a person and who appears to view ‘sitting behind a computer as sport’ may I suggest he not peruse sites that many find genuinely enlightening and that he obviously doesn’t. Perhaps he could relocate back to the old fashioned soap box somewhere private that we don’t have to be bothered with? With regard to the blog, interesting to hear a youngsters view.