Football and social media are quickly intertwining. It’s hard to find a club or player without a Twitter account nowadays, while sides over in America’s MLS even actively get stars involved in the day-to-day running of accounts to help break down the boundaries between the fans and the action.
For most supporters the first port of call for trusted news online is their team’s own Twitter account. Breaking team developments, starting XIs and transfer stories become official when the club put their name to it, and such tweets generate massive amounts of attention. So, with teams like Manchester United widely followed you’d expect them to get the most responses, right? Well, it’s actually Leeds United’s supporters who get most involved with their side, interacting with the official feed on average more than any other group of supporters.
- Leeds
- Middlesbrough
- Everton
- Preston North End
- Arsenal
Official research from CrowdScores – who analysed interaction with each of the 92 Football League Clubs’ official Twitter feeds over the last six months, looking at the amount of followers each club has compared to the number of tweets which included the Twitter handle - reveals that the Whites top this particular league table from the last six months with 7.7-posts-per-fan, while another Championship side in the shape of Middlesbrough come in second. Everton are the most ‘popular’ of the Premier League sides with 6.3-per-fan, while Crystal Palace and AFC Bournemouth make up the ‘Champions League places’ behind Arsenal.
While all tweets are by no means positive, Sheffield United supporters are the friendliest, with nearly nine times more positive interactions than negative.
Here’s how the 2015/16 season could end if judged on the results:
Premier League
Champions – Everton
Champions League – Arsenal, AFC Bournemouth, Crystal Palace
Relegated – Sunderland, Swansea City, Norwich City
Championship
Champions – Leeds United
Promoted – Middlesbrough
Relegated – Nottingham Forest, Cardiff City, Fulham
League One
Champions – Bradford City
Promoted – Southend United
Relegated – Chesterfield, Coventry City, Wigan Athletic, Peterborough United
League Two
Champions – Northampton Town
Promoted – Yeovil Town, Wycombe Wanderers
Relegated – Dagenham & Redbridge, York City
*Not including play-off contenders