Is social media as bad for football as Wenger thinks?

In the Daily Telegraph today, Arsenal’s long serving boss Arsene Wenger was quoted as saying that social media is a ‘growing problem’ in modern football. But is this really the case?

Lets take a look at it from Arsene’s viewpoint. He and his team have take a lot of stick from people posting on social networks over the last few years, during which time he’s faced calls for the sack/to stand down numerous times.

The manager obviously sees social media networks as a place that helps foster these sentiments and create a movement against him and he’s never held back voicing his criticism.

“Maybe with social networks, everybody is allowed opinions and can strengthen that opinion with other people who have the same opinion”.

“Before your opinion was a bit more isolated. Today straight away it becomes a stream of people who think the same way and they become a force. Maybe that’s the reason, I don’t know”.

One of the standout criticisms, especially of Twitter, is the way in which people use the platform to troll/abuse people, organisations and teams. Some of it is vitriol and steps over the line and should be rightly condemned. But there is also an element of providing an outlet for fans to both air their views, whether they are positive or negative.

I know how many of these fans feel. After years of coasting through trophy laden years of supporting Manchester United I’m one of many who have become frustrated with the Moyes and LVG eras. And yes I’ve voiced these opinions on Twitter. In doing so I don’t expect a response and am not trying to start a movement or cause trouble. I’m just airing my own frustrations in a public way.

Yes, social media networks have the ability to bring people together in negative ways (but is usually a positive force) and can influence those at the top who make decisions. That’s been the same with any media in which people can use to bring about change for many, many years. Social media just speeds up the process.

On the flipside, social media has undoubtedly helped clubs such as Arsenal reach a larger audience and help connect with fans again. The club has done a great job across various platforms and I tip my hat to the work of Rich Clarke (now in the US with the Colorado Rapids), Mike Antwi and now Tom Hines (plus many others behind the scenes) in how they have done it, and continue to do so.

These guys have worked tirelessly to ensure Arsenal is seen as one of the leading clubs on social media around the world. And the likes of Arsene Wenger have to accept the fact that you can’t have it all your own way. If you’re actively engaging with fans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc then you are opening a 2-way channel with them. So when results aren’t going your way then you can expect that all the comments aren’t going to be positive.

Yes, the likes of Twitter can do more to help eradicate the vicious trolling that it facilitates and it will be interesting to see what steps the platform takes in 2016. But to say that the blame lies at their door for the stick a manager gets is a lazy one.

But what can you expect from someone who sees it as a distraction and one they don’t understand, which can be said about managers of most sports teams. They are focussed on winning games and anything that potentially gets in the way of this and involves their players/club then they will look upon in a negative way.

So is social media bad for football? In my opinion no. It’s done an amazing job in expanding the game globally and giving fans a much needed voice. It’s also brought the clubs and players closer to the fans, something that had been missing for a long time before.

Is it perfect? Of course not. Platforms will come and go and the big players will always be innovating and changing. And the people that use the platforms are never going to be angels and we have to accept that. People with negative opinions will always shout about them whilst the content will stay silent. No change there.

What do you think? Do you agree with Wenger or are you a fan of social media being used by football fans and clubs?

About author

Daniel McLaren
Daniel McLaren 820 posts

Dan is the Founder & CEO of Digital Sport. Can be found at sports industry events and heard every week on the Digital Sport Insider podcast. @DanielMcLaren

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