The 'memefication' of footballers

Solius

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How much of a problem is this and can it actually have a severe impact on a player/team in today's constantly connected society?

I was just thinking about how this has happened to Harry Maguire recently. His poor form is without doubt but if he wasn't playing in an age where every individual mistake is giffed and re-posted to millions would it have actually lasted this long? He's essentially gone from being indispensable for us at the back end of last season (our defense fell apart once he got injured) and brilliant for England at the Euros, to almost a joke Phil Jones figure among rival and Utd fans. Some England fans booed him and this will have been a variety of supporters who definitely don't watch every Utd game, which is the most obvious example of bandwagoning. The whole thing culminated in a bomb threat to his house because one person took it too far.

This isn't meant to be discussion about how much of it is his own fault or how bad he's actually been but more about the impact it must have to know any error will get magnified a thousand times more than it used to. There must be occasions where a player makes a mistake on the pitch and then cannot concentrate because they know they'll get abuse for it or even death threats. There seems to be constant encouragement to pile on to players to the point where it's just vitriol.

Does it make it much harder to come back from? It seems once the internet deems you a joke it's very hard to shake. People I speak to who are more casual football viewers still think Fred is shit despite him probably being one of our better players this season, but it's stuck. I genuinely think part of it is because of his name, and also playing for Utd seems to double the attention most other players get (though I admit players like Lukaku and Werner have had their fair share).

There's also things like the whole Allan only completing one pass or whatever it was. Is it really necessary? You had 'proper' outlets like Sky Sports posting about it and not just the 'FootballLAD' types. It just encourages the behaviour from people. Will someone get attacked eventually? On the pitch? Off it?

Anyway, just some thoughts. Go at it and I'll see you on page 11 where two people will for some reason be arguing about Pochettino or racism or something.
 

Sweet Square

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Footballers seems to be glued to social media as well. You would think they would have a team filtering this stuff, so it wouldn’t have such a negative impact.

Also in certain cases the clubs make the situation million times worse. The United official account tweeting a message of support to Rashford after his argument with a fan just added more fuel to fire. All with goal of chasing likes and retweets.
 

horsechoker

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Footballers seems to be glued to social media as well. You would think they would have a team filtering this stuff, so it wouldn’t have such a negative impact.

Also in certain cases the clubs make the situation million times worse. The United official account tweeting a message of support to Rashford after his argument with a fan just added more fuel to fire.
I think it requires the right support networks as footballers are men in their 20s who lack the wherewithal to cope with these sort of things.

I don't think it's a new thing but in the past it was the papers doing it now it's people on social media. It can also work in reverse, a lot of average footballers get hyped up too.
 

Solius

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Footballers seems to be glued to social media as well. You would think they would have a team filtering this stuff, so it wouldn’t have such a negative impact.

Also in certain cases the clubs make the situation million times worse. The United official account tweeting a message of support to Rashford after his argument with a fan just added more fuel to fire. All with goal of chasing likes and retweets.
Whoever runs the Utd twitter is possibly the worst person in the world at reading a room.
 

Oranges038

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As you mention Phil Jones. All you have to do is look at his pic on his player performance thread. To know how he is viewed by most.
 

Martial

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I really don't think it is a coincidence that our English players (Maguire, Rashford, Shaw etc), whose lives are more intertwined with Social Media and the continual abuse from our fans, are the ones most struggling right now.
 

Sweet Square

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I think it requires the right support networks as footballers are men in their 20s who lack the wherewithal to cope with these sort of things.
True.

I’m always surprised that the players seems to be in charge of their official social media accounts. It’s mad imo that the club doesn’t have full complete control over access. Just in terms of player safety, there really should be someone at the club filtering all the shite/abuse that gets sent to official accounts of United players.

Whoever runs the Utd twitter is possibly the worst person in the world at reading a room.
Yep it seems designed to drive United fans insane(Which is sadly a good way to get fan engagement).
 

Skills

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The player abuse is primarily driven by United fans. Other fans just jump on the bandwagon
 

Eckers99

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Whoever runs the Utd twitter is possibly the worst person in the world at reading a room.
Same applies to all their social accounts. Does anyone actually want to see training pics and a reference to 'doing the work' the week after another rubbish performance?

Total silence would be preferable.
 

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Social, media, forums and the news. Its a very toxic environment. This forum who is mostly United fans are calling players idiots, shit and posting gifs and memes without context all the time.

For me who is probably a bit older than most in here its a very boring place to be. But, its seems like the mods and admins wants to be this kind of place and that is ruining the experience for me but maybe its entertaining for most. I dont know. Reddit and Caf is the same in terms of this.

I miss a bit of respect for the humans that are actually playing football. But they deserve all the shit they get, right? Since they are paid alot or whatever
 

villain

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The player abuse is primarily driven by United fans. Other fans just jump on the bandwagon
This.

Our fans are actually terrible en masse, contradict themselves, and get themselves in a frenzy listening to the lazy opinions of random podcasters & youtubers. Not that pundits & journalists are any better either mind.
 

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Basically yes would be the answer to almost every question you asked.

It's just part and parcel of the modern world. You simply can't avoid it so the only solution is developing a thick skin.

It's never going to stop now.
 

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When you see the effect those unfunny dicks Baddiel and Skinner had on Jason Lee, Im sure for some that it really messes with their mental health.

I've done myself when angry but it's still rotten
 
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do.ob

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Social, media, forums and the news. Its a very toxic environment. This forum who is mostly United fans are calling players idiots, shit and posting gifs and memes without context all the time.

For me who is probably a bit older than most in here its a very boring place to be. But, its seems like the mods and admins wants to be this kind of place and that is ruining the experience for me but maybe its entertaining for most. I dont know. Reddit and Caf is the same in terms of this.

I miss a bit of respect for the humans that are actually playing football. But they deserve all the shit they get, right? Since they are paid alot or whatever
Interesting definition of respect you have.

How much of a problem is this and can it actually have a severe impact on a player/team in today's constantly connected society?
I wouldn't reduce it to memes and social media, I think football culture by and large is extremely dumb(ed down). People search for simplistic narratives to explain the game, which also means once a players has a certain lable it takes a long time to shake it. People have their standard scape goats and when something goes wrong they immediately zero in on them. Social media and the ease with which people can access content and edit it to their liking has exacerbated this, but I remember similar trends from say 10-15 years ago.
 

Pogue Mahone

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I find the idea of bullying footballers on social media such a strange idea. There’s such a simple solution. Maybe for kids finding their way in the world, deleting Facebook or Twitter or Instagram would make them feel too cut off from the world. Or maybe it’s a necessary evil if, say, you’re trying to get a career in media. But these are fully grown men who surely want for very little and have a fantastic job that doesn’t need any online profile at all. Just delete the damn apps off their phones!
 

manutddjw

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Wholeheartedly disagree. Does anyone remember the abuse Beckham got or what our fans would yell at Wenger. Footballers have been abused long before social media. I hate that players abuse but we’d be naive in thinking it’s ever going to stop and unfortunately it’s part of the job at this point. You have to rise above it. Ronaldo lost a child and some cnuts thought it was ok to say stuff about it. Yet he rose above it. I don’t think this should be used as a cop out for under performers
 

KGBhoy

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Wholeheartedly disagree. Does anyone remember the abuse Beckham got or what our fans would yell at Wenger. Footballers have been abused long before social media. I hate that players abuse but we’d be naive in thinking it’s ever going to stop and unfortunately it’s part of the job at this point. You have to rise above it. Ronaldo lost a child and some cnuts thought it was ok to say stuff about it. Yet he rose above it. I don’t think this should be used as a cop out for under performers
But those happen at specific times - during the game or one-off incidents. On social media you get non-stop abuse 24/7.
 
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I find the idea of bullying footballers on social media such a strange idea. There’s such a simple solution. Maybe for kids finding their way in the world, deleting Facebook or Twitter or Instagram would make them feel too cut off from the world. Or maybe it’s a necessary evil if, say, you’re trying to get a career in media. But these are fully grown men who surely want for very little and have a fantastic job that doesn’t need any online profile at all. Just delete the damn apps off their phones!
Not sure it’s remotely that easy, Phil Jones for example would have to become a complete recluse and cut himself off from the World to not be well aware that he’s possibly the biggest meme in football.
Deleting social media won’t help that.
 

Solius

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Wholeheartedly disagree. Does anyone remember the abuse Beckham got or what our fans would yell at Wenger. Footballers have been abused long before social media. I hate that players abuse but we’d be naive in thinking it’s ever going to stop and unfortunately it’s part of the job at this point. You have to rise above it. Ronaldo lost a child and some cnuts thought it was ok to say stuff about it. Yet he rose above it. I don’t think this should be used as a cop out for under performers
Beckham thing proves how rare a sustained campaign against someone was really since it stands out. Plus it was about one incident. There weren’t many others like that. Now it’s constant and purely based on poor form, over the course of seasons or even years. Phil Jones has been ridiculed for about 6 years now. Maguire the whole season. Werner all of last season and most of this season. Obviously the abuse Saka, Rashford and Sancho got in the summer.
 

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Whoever runs the Utd twitter is possibly the worst person in the world at reading a room.
It’s so terrible that I have to believe it is by design in some way. There is no way they can accidentally be so tone deaf.
 

Solius

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It’s so terrible that I have to believe it is by design in some way. There is no way they can accidentally be so tone deaf.
It must just be purely about clicks. That’s all that they’ll be demanding of the social media manager. I find it ridiculous that they are not aware of how damaging it can be for the image of the club though.
 

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Not sure it’s remotely that easy, Phil Jones for example would have to become a complete recluse and cut himself off from the World to not be well aware that he’s possibly the biggest meme in football.
Deleting social media won’t help that.
Also, why would the 'reward' for being known be that you have to cut yourself off from social media?

It might be a more realistic step than changing the world, but it's still ridiculous to have to accept that.
 

Irwin99

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It's pretty horrible.

I often wonder how a great player like Andy Cole, who was absolutely electric for us from 97-00 and played a big part in our Treble would have coped with social media if it were around in the mid 90s.
 

padr81

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I find the idea of bullying footballers on social media such a strange idea. There’s such a simple solution. Maybe for kids finding their way in the world, deleting Facebook or Twitter or Instagram would make them feel too cut off from the world. Or maybe it’s a necessary evil if, say, you’re trying to get a career in media. But these are fully grown men who surely want for very little and have a fantastic job that doesn’t need any online profile at all. Just delete the damn apps off their phones!
The issue I have with this is maybe they want to keep in contact with friends and family online? Share photo's etc... Maybe they want to stay in groups of people that live hundreds if not thousands of miles away.
Maybe they just want the money that comes from sponsored ads. They shouldn't have to leave because someone else is the bully.

Not having a facebook or twitter account doesn't mean they aren't going to see/hear of the abuse either. A prime example being Rashford, Saka and Sancho after the Euro's. Social media accounts or no, they aren't escaping the unfair abuse they took online. Footballers aren't the only ones, the social media abuse goes too far in general. I think the solution here is deeper than turn off the app and don't read the nasty messages.
 

Pogue Mahone

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The issue I have with this is maybe they want to keep in contact with friends and family online? Share photo's etc... Maybe they want to stay in groups of people that live hundreds if not thousands of miles away.
Maybe they just want the money that comes from sponsored ads. They shouldn't have to leave because someone else is the bully.

Not having a facebook or twitter account doesn't mean they aren't going to see/hear of the abuse either. A prime example being Rashford, Saka and Sancho after the Euro's. Social media accounts or no, they aren't escaping the unfair abuse they took online. Footballers aren't the only ones, the social media abuse goes too far in general. I think the solution here is deeper than turn off the app and don't read the nasty messages.
I mean, you’re not wrong. And obviously the whole notion of targetted abuse of individuals on social media is vile.

It’s just that sometimes you take a step back and think how can this person go through hell by looking at apps they could so easily choose not to look at? I know I’m always banging on about this but I dip in and out of Twitter intermittently and it always sours my mood, just a little bit. Not because I’m being abused. It’s just a pretty miserable place. During the spells when I delete the app of my phone I don’t miss it at all. And my life is improved.

I’m as bad as the footballers really. Such a simple step to better mental health. So weird that people are so reluctant to take it.
 

Sandikan

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For all the great improvements to life the internet has brought us, I hate the whole hatefulness of there not being a game that go past without everyone jumping on one player, or making memes or comments about how this player or that player was "owned", or made some simple mistake.

As well as every twat having a phone out the whole time it really is a hard time to be a player compared to 15-20 years ago.
 

padr81

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I mean, you’re not wrong. And obviously the whole notion of targetted abuse of individuals on social media is vile.

It’s just that sometimes you take a step back and think how can this person go through hell by looking at apps they could so easily choose not to look at? I know I’m always banging on about this but I dip in and out of Twitter intermittently and it always sours my mood, just a little bit. Not because I’m being abused. It’s just a pretty miserable place. During the spells when I delete the app of my phone I don’t miss it at all. And my life is improved.

I’m as bad as the footballers really. Such a simple step to better mental health. So weird that people are so reluctant to take it.
I do think players should really take a step back too for their own sake and I totally agree thats its rarely a person comes off it feeling better than going on. I just think they'd still not avoid it even if trying.

I will also add I think the negative style of punditry that we get these days and critical analysis also emboldens those who do it. The internet and media in general are very negative places (misery sells and loves company). I mean my team are in with a chance of winning the league and CL and I'm still taking shots at Grealish etc.. The abundance of stats and stuff thrown at us everyday, I don't think it helps either.

Something about it just brings out the worst in people, twitter in particular is a cesspool (though I avoid football and political stuff on there as best I can).
 

Red the Bear

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It's always been like this, people would just get mails instead of a post on Twitter or whatever, its been definitely amplified and considered that most of the youth in these day and age are social media junkies , more accessible.
It kinda weeds out the weak minded at least.
 

pillo o'culture

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What you said bout player couldn't concentrate due to the abuse they'll later received on socmed further proves where their care lies, if it indeed whats happend.
It could happen to everyone, not only public figure. Not only football, but every other sport.
 

Solius

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What you said bout player couldn't concentrate due to the abuse they'll later received on socmed further proves where their care lies, if it indeed whats happend.
It could happen to everyone, not only public figure. Not only football, but every other sport.
It doesn’t prove anything. If you’re worrying you or your family will get abuse after a game it doesn’t mean you don’t care about your club. A player shouldn’t have to have that worry.

It’s worrying that the only real solution people have is “players need thick skin”. I think they do already for the most part. They play in front of fans calling them all sorts for the most part which comes with the territory. Asking them to have a mentality so elite that they can completely filter out all abuse on and off the pitch (Phil Jones was abused once whilst out with his daughter) is obscene really. You’re asking them not to be human.
 

pillo o'culture

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It doesn’t prove anything. If you’re worrying you or your family will get abuse after a game it doesn’t mean you don’t care about your club. A player shouldn’t have to have that worry.

It’s worrying that the only real solution people have is “players need thick skin”. I think they do already for the most part. They play in front of fans calling them all sorts for the most part which comes with the territory. Asking them to have a mentality so elite that they can completely filter out all abuse on and off the pitch (Phil Jones was abused once whilst out with his daughter) is obscene really. You’re asking them not to be human.
I mean for supposedly a person who do 8-10hrs training, conditioning, and mb evaluating their own game and their next opponent day-in day-out. What socmed said bout them should be the last thing on their mind.
 

Yagami

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Regarding social media, the first big trend of abusing a player was Cleverley that I can remember.

He had the non-stop abuse on his Twitter, which caused him to shut it down (along with his website), had the meme YouTube videos of his mistakes, had an online petition to stop him from being called up to the England squad, etc.
 

Skills

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Regarding social media, the first big trend of abusing a player was Cleverley that I can remember.

He had the non-stop abuse on his Twitter, which caused him to shut it down (along with his website), had the meme YouTube videos of his mistakes, had an online petition to stop him from being called up to the England squad, etc.
Darron Gibson was first i think. Got driven off twitter within a couple of days of making an account.

That's when we were successful. Our fans have always been horrible.
 

Champ

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Do people think footballers spend all day training or playing football?
They are realistically only training or 'working' for around 4 hours or so a day.
The rest is free time, whereas players used to socialize previously, now modern players cannot go out as before, so most of their time is predominantly spent online in some way.
There's no way that Maguire, Rashford or McT hasn't seen the pathetic vitriol, bile and general hate they get online.

This is detrimental to both the players and the club as a whole, as their confidence will take a further knock and lead to even worse form.

Supporters used to be just that, supporters. Unfortunately now fans seem to think that they have a devine right to put players down, chastise them online, send abuse etc.

It's quite frankly pathetic and unfortunately this place is becoming an echo chamber for these types of people.