Football Disconnected

A study of how money has affected the culture of football.

The bad side of social media and football

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As previously discussed in this blog, social media has helped to bring the game into the lives of many fans across the country, but it is bound to have its flaws aswell. Football clubs, agents, players and advertisers have seen social media as a marketing platform which again creates the feeling amongst fans like they are now just consumers.

Rather than interact with fans, clubs on social media and in particular Twitter, seem to just want to sell overpriced merhchandise and show off their official sponsors to users. An example of this is Newcastle United’s Twitter account. It must be said the content on their Twitter page has improved this year and it hasn’t got Mike Ashley’s bargain offers all over it as much as it once did, but there are still issues with the way in which they operate. For example, almost every tweet which features a picture has the controversial Wonga logo embedded onto it, along with Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct logo. There was even one time where the club featured a tribute to somebody who had recently passed away by posting a picture but the Wonga logo still appeared in the corner of the image. This received an online backlash from Newcastle fans who rightly did not feel the club were representing the correct values and the values in which they hold. As stated before however, the club has improved the way in which it uses social media by cutting down the level of blatant advertising of products on behalf of Mike Ashley and also the level of interaction with fans has improved in the past year or so.

Something which hit the headlines in the past week was Manchester United player, Paul Pogba’s Twitter emoji. It may be a bit of fun but it sums up where the game has ended up in the modern era. In the days leading up to a crunch game against Liverpool, Pogba is worrying about Twitter emojis, instead of preparing himself for one of the biggest games of the season (certainly for the fans anyway). Paul Pogba in the game incidentally gave a penalty away and played terribly throughout, leading to ridicule on Twitter which made the whole situation even worse for him and Manchester United. Pogba is the world’s most expensive player so it would be wise for him to concentrate on putting in good performances on the pitch rather than engaging in bizarre social media trends. It obviously isn’t just Paul Pogba, but he encapsulates the disconnection between fans and players that is common place in 21st century football. His club also don’t help themselves by consistently reminding their fans of their mega money sponsorship deals on Twitter eithe,r with the latest being Uber but more memorable is the record £375 million Chevrolet deal they were so proud to announce. The Chevrolet logo is seen in a number of their Tweets, along with the club’s shirt where the logo dwarfs the Manchester United badge, perhaps being a symbol of how the game has now gone.

Are sponsors and money now more important than the traditions of the club and its fan base?

 

 

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