Take a look at how the wonderful world of football gets represented in 140 characters or less.
Football and Twitter are not always a happy match, as players, managers and even chairmen have found to their cost. However, when used right, it can provide addictive, informative and downright entertaining content. CHRIS BRAMMER lists his favourite football-based accounts.
This article comes from edition one of our Ipswich Town magazine Kings of Anglia, which has more than 100 pages of exclusive Blues content. You can buy it online here and from newsagents across Suffolk.
1. 1980s Football – @FootballinT80s
Take a nostalgic step back in time to an era of mullets, tight shorts, cheesy photo-shoots and league ladders.
This account is simple but effective and very enjoyable, providing a daily trip down Memory Lane.
It shares pictures of long-forgotten players, managers, kits and stadiums, as well as cuttings from newspapers and magazines from back in the day.
There is also a regular “On This Day” feature and quizzes to test the most-avid fan.
The account also gets followers to retweet and share their memories of games and players, both famous and obscure, while clips of old-school computer games and TV shows such as Saint and Greavsie and Jossie’s Giants are celebrated.
2. Celebrity Refs – @CelebrityRefs
Referees are supposed to officiate games with as little fuss as possible.
Yeah right. Since the advent of the Premier League and the fanfare that comes with that (the cameras, the round-the-clock analysis etc), referees are in the spotlight just as much as the players, and some of them seem to love it.
This account pays an ironic homage to some of the more eccentric officials and their officiating.
The Wirral’s Mike Dean is a regular with his over-the-top gesticulating (The “Thunderpoint” is a favourite of his), while Mark Clattenburg is a regular source of discussion, given his penchant for having tattoos to mark his officiating in the Champions League Final and Euro 2016. He even has his own hashtag – #ClattsTatz
3. Dirty Footballer – @DirtyFootballer
Does what it says on the tin.
Celebrating the shoulder barge, the two-footed tackle and more, this account is not for the faint-hearted and should be approached with caution.
I do not necessarily endorse some of the challenges on here but, having been a defender that resembled an elephant running in treacle, I was partial to a “meaty” challenge or two.
From Sunday morning football to the Champions League, no stone is left unturned.
Think Vinnie Jones’ FA Cup Final “reducer” on Steve McMahon and multiply that by 100 – welcome to Dirty Footballer.
4. Darren Farley – @DFimpressionist
One of the best sports impressionists I have seen, combining an uncanny accuracy with belly-laugh humour.
Farley is from Liverpool so as you can imagine, the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have come in for special treatment.
But Farley isn’t a one-trick pony as his impressions of Brendan Rodgers, Sean Dyche and boxer Kell Brook will testify.
Farley has more than 60,000 followers, his own Facebook page, and can be found on TV in a variety roles acting in the Coral bookmakers adverts.
One of my personal favourite sketches follows the #the3scousers Carra (Carragher) Stevie (Gerrard) and Wayne (Rooney) planning a trip to the cinema, while his Steve Bruce Geordie accent is something else.
You won’t be disappointed.
5. SteveBruceAtWeddings – @Bruceatwedding
Hilariously funny account yet very simple.
Take a picture of Steve Bruce patrolling the touchline, superimpose him on to a wedding picture and Hey Presto!
Sounds bizarre but it works.
6. Finished Players – @FinishedPlayers
Did you know that former Everton and Denmark international Thomas Gravesen retired and invested his earnings?
He is now worth £83m and lives in Vegas with his model wife.
Meanwhile, were you aware that ex-Manchester United and South Korea midfielder Park Ji-sung now studies at De Montford University in Leicester and plays for the student union team?
Give this a follow and learn something new every day!
7. Old School Panini – @OldSchoolPanini
“Got, got, need, got” was the cry from the school playground
There is something quintessentially English about growing up collecting these little Italian-made adhesives.
My first book was Mexico ‘86 which, I am sure would have been worth a lot of money now had I not given Brazilian striker Casagrande a felt-tip beard.
This account takes us back to the golden age of Panini stickers, celebrating the teams, players and managers of the past.
By doing this, the account also marries with the modern era, producing some fabulous montages, including a graphic of the Premier League’s 20 managers back in the day when they were players.
Some scary haircuts are on there, my personal favourites being Ronald Koeman’s bowl cut and Arsene Wenger’s wavy perm.
8. Funny Footy Quotes – @FunnyFootyQuote
“The minute’s silence was immaculate, I have never heard a minute’s silence like that” – Glenn Hoddle
“Will Chelsea qualify with ease? I think they will but it won’t be easy.” – Jamie Redknapp
These and more many more pearlers can be found at Funny Footy Quotes.
9. Mr Homes of Football – @HomesofFootball
Nostalgic account which showcases the pictures of Stuart Roy Clarke, predominantly pre-Premier League.
Clarke does not so much capture the action on the pitch but more the stories off it. Fans are captured at their rawest moments, without a selfie stick in sight, sitting on precarious-looking walls or climbing under prehistoric barriers to gain a glimpse of their heroes.
Stadiums, many forgotten, are captured in all their glory, every picture telling a story, while overgrown fields, once used to stage the beautiful game at the most grassroot of levels are documented.
I defy anyone not to get a little misty-eyed when looking at this account.
The modern-game is an impeccably-polished product with pristine stadiums and more prawn sandwiches that you could shake a stick at.
But lost in all that is a little bit of football’s heart – however the soul will never be forgotten while people such as Clarke are around and sharing their talent on social media.
10. Soccer Guy – @usasoccerguy
Such has been the success of this parody account that the creator behind it has worked for the BBC, TALKSport and Joe.co.uk
USA Soccer Guy behaves and talks in a way that you would imagine our friends across the pond to talk about soccer.
Tries to add glitz and glamour to everything he comments about, while getting stuff horribly wrong.
He recently gave his views on a Euro 2016 qualifier and came out with this belter – “GOALSHOT! Georgia make the equalization score against Whales. Imagine the score if they played the rest of the USA?”
Another favourite of mine is this piece of genius of Joe Hart’s recent indifferent form – “Hart in the subshack for Man City Franchise Club after doing a bunch of real lame hand denial fails for England Soccer Club. #threelines”
Just as funny are the genuine people on Twitter who fall for the parody and advise US Soccer Guy of his errors – often in less than flattering terms!
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