Tweeting Footballers: Who to follow and bores to ignore

It’s the new fashionable way to follow celebrities and people we love and everyone seems to be getting it at the moment. Yes, Twitter has taken the world of social media by storm over the last couple of years and it’s no different with footballers. We all love to follow our favourite stars and comment on why they had beans on toast for tea, or in Jack Wilshere’s case, make bets with Spurs’ fans on who will finish higher in the Premier League. Having become addicted to Twitter ourselves, The Coin Toss gives you the heads up on the Top 10 to follow in the cyber world of football:

Joey Barton – An obvious opening choice, indeed it’s likely if you have Twitter and like football, you already follow the QPR captain. Barton has made himself well known through the social networking site in recent months, criticising all and sundry, from Newcastle’s board of directors to his old manager Neil Warnock. Aside from his feisty exchanges that are reminiscent of his on-field performances, Joey seeks to offer the world a philosophical insight into his life and regularly quotes academics that he finds interesting. No, really.

Followers at latest check: 1,116,211

Rio Ferdinand – If you’re a football and a celebrity fan, then Rio’s the man to follow for you. He tweets all the big stars regularly, in both the footballing and the showbiz world. Him and Piers Morgan share a bit of friendly banter, though it’s fair to say Rio struggles in these exchanges. However, to follow the England defender, make sure you: A. Remember how to text like a 13-year-old again and B. understand ‘gangsta’ talk as Mr Ferdinand regularly uses abbreviations like ‘gr8’ and words like ‘gavlar.’ No? Me, neither. I know 140 characters isn’t very much but I usually manage to spell all my words out properly.

Followers at latest check: 1,912,048

Ryan Babel – He may not have been much good at Liverpool, but he’s a lot more entertaining online. Babel is a regular tweeter, in English as well despite his move abroad and some of his Twitter antics are hilarious. Aside from once posting a picture of Howard Webb wearing a Manchester United shirt online (we all know it’s true, don’t worry Ryan), he also displayed a picture of Patrice Evra’s BBM pin to all his followers. For some reason, Evra was less-than keen to accept a Mr L.Suarez though…Ryan oftenretweets us ordinary folk if you write something nice to him (though he’s yet to repeat any of mine.)

Followers at latest check: 328,673

4. Jack Wilshere – Although the England star is currently on the sidelines nursing a long term injury, he keeps the footballing world regularly updated about his love for Arsenal. His cheery optimism for the Gunners is almost like a weird obsession and I’d be amazed if he didn’t stay a one-club man for the rest of his career. He does provide some cheery light entertainment during days of boredom, indeed his bet with Spurs fans over who would finish higher in the League caught the eye of many a fan. (Easy money really, given Arsenal’s form.) If you’re a Gunners fan, or enjoy a few jokey exchanges between Premiership footballers, thenWilshere is your man.

Followers at latest check: 1,166,590

5. Emmanuel Frimpong – Although the young Arsenal star has only come to prominence this season, those looking for comedy gold should head straight over to Frimpong’s site. His constant banter with fellow Gunners and hilarious tweets are well worth a daily check up. Take this update from the weekend after having his cheekbone fractured: “You lot should stop caring about me I hope petrov foot is ok after hitting A metal face:).” Priceless. His tough tackling in midfield has seen him become a new cult figure and the phrase ‘Frimponged’ actually made it as a trend across the UK to describe Emmanuel’s crunching tackles. His background picture is even a coloured drawing of the star himself. I hope he did it. One to watch in the world of Twitter.

Followers at latest check: 291,261

6. Wayne Rooney – For a man with an IQ as low as Rooney’s, he actually uses the site to great effect. He retweets the right things, avoids heated debate and even uses it to quash the regular rumours that he is leaving Manchester United. Other rumours he simply confirms, showing people a photo of his new fake barnet in the summer before the papers could get hold of one. His spelling and punctuation may not be great, but come on, let’s give the big guy a chance.

Followers at latest check: 2,715,969

7. Wojciech Szczesny – Ok, so you may not fancy typing his name into the search bar too often, but the Arsenal goalkeeper regularly pops up enough on your newsfeed. He offers update to life between the posts at the Emirates and is refreshingly honest, as highlighted by taking the blame for Swansea’s first goal the other week (though I think most people could have told you that.) He’s even reasonably funny, with a quite cheeky chappy sense of humour, though he got in trouble after calling Aaron Ramsey a ‘rapist’ on the site. A recent tweet has said he is deleting his account to concentrate on his football, but we all hope this is just another example of the Pole’s excellent sense of humour.

Followers at latest check: 339,935

8. Nile Ranger – A rather left field choice, but the Newcastle striker is in here because, quite frankly, he’s hilarious. His name is ‘Nile PowerRanger’ and he regularly uploads pictures of his supped-up Range Rover that has ‘Power Ranger’ written all over. Other of his pictures are bonkers (like the picture of his Nandos tattoo), and others simply terrifying (like the one he uploaded of him brandishing two guns, believe it or not.) You may not understand everything young Nile is saying (his tagline is ‘IM DA REALISSSTTT.... SAY NO MORE’) but for cheap laughs at the extravagant life of a, let’s be honest, very average footballer, the Power Ranger is the place to visit.

Followers at latest check: 30,964

9. Cesc Fabregas – The Spanish midfielder may play for Barcelona now, but that doesn’t stop him attracting a wide following from England. The former Gunner is even considerate enough to post in both English and Spanish, keeping his former adopted country close to his heart. Whilst Cesc isn’t the funniest bloke in the world, or the most controversial, he gives his opinion on all things football and means I don’t have to check the Spanish League scores on a Saturday night. Cheers Fabregas.

Followers at latest check: 2,218,698

10. Shola Ameobi – He’s not a regular tweeter, or even a good one, but one tweet made me laugh so much, it deserves a place in the Top 10. I think this pretty much sums up his career. “Kicked the ball into my own face today didn't I? F****** knacked.”

Followers at latest check: 4,059

And those who shouldn’t bother…

Michael Owen - Possibly the most boring human alive. I don’t care whether a tree has fallen down in your garden today Michael or when the kids are coming home. But then, when you sit the Man Utd reserves, there must be a lot of spare time to kill

Darren Bent - Not a bad tweeter, but more of an idiot. Bent posed possibly the most inappropriate comment the site has seen yet. He abused another club, his Chairman and swore violently, making a wonderful trio and bringing a hefty fine for the England striker. “Do I wanna go Hull City NO. Do I wanna go stoke NO do I wanna go sunderland YES so stop f****** around, Levy. Sunderland are not the problem in the slightest."

Darron Gibson – It’s fair to say Gibson’s tweeting career didn’t go account to plan after he deleted his account after a mere two hours of it opening. Fans were quick to log in and abuse his playing ability, with the worse stuff reserved from his own supporters. Fair enough though, he’s useless. Here’s a good selection:

@dgibbo28 your performance on saturday was one of the worst I've ever seen of any utd player. scared of the ball much?'
@dgibbo28 hasn't tweeted yet. Seems somewhat fitting after the countless anonymous performances we've seen from the 'footballer'
@dgibbo28 my mate thought you were about 33 years old in the heart of midfield! Movement like pirlo!!
@dgibbo28 team do all hard work keeping possession then u hit row Z every fuckin time!!
@dgibbo28 the biggest compliment i can give you is that you are better than Carrick

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Comments

[CyprusYid]

You missed Jermaine Defoe of your list. He regularly tweets and shows his true feelings on his tweets. Benoit Assou Ekotto is one for lovers of a good giggle. He posts and sends photos of himself.

[basher]

Do you support the arse by any chance?

[The Coin Toss]

I most certainly don't support the Arsenal, though it may seem that way from this list. They're obviously well trained in Tweeting, if not winning trophies.