The Premier League season on social

The Women’s World Cup is almost upon us and England U21s do battle in Italy so it won’t be a football-less summer, but as the domestic season is now firmly behind us and the ‘[insert number] days until the Premier League is back’ memes get their yearly outings, we take a reflective look at some of the stand-out social media moments of the 2018/19 campaign.*

*this is not an exhaustive list, just some stuff that stood out as good, not so good, fun, brilliant, cheeky and best in class. 

Cast your minds back to the start of a new season – the only time in the year where optimism is unanimously rife… Man City were installed as the bookies favourites, Mourinho was entering his notorious third season at a club, Spurs still had no stadium, Liverpool loitered among the favourites and much of Arsenal’s social media fan base were about to see a team led by someone other than Mr. Wenger for the first time. 

They say the only guarantees in life are death and taxes but that was before the time of memes, GIFs, ‘going viral’ and transfer signing videos. I certainly know which I prefer.

Indeed, Everton were busy in the summer and strung together some well-received transfer videos, the glitchy effect became a common theme with Mahrez eventually completing his switch to the Etihad and Kepa becoming Chelsea’s keeper. It’s always interesting to see what clubs conjour up to announce news that is almost certainly doing the rounds on Twitter for weeks before it’s ‘official’ but nothing in the run-up to last season matched the #Pogback showing of 2016.

Another of the joys of social media is that it gives us ordinary folk a window into the world of the game’s elite. Not only that, sometimes we see high-profile talent engage with one and other. There is, perhaps, no cheekier example of this than Jan Vertonghen’s excellent ‘observation’ of how happy Spurs team-mate Eric Dier was to see some former colleagues. 

A different aspect of social media that would make you want to swipe right is that it gives sports stars a platform and the audience to make a difference. The fallout from the deplorable racial abuse Raheem Sterling suffered at Stamford Bridge on 8 December highlighted this and brought the issue of racism in the Premier League to the fore. The 650k likes Sterling’s Instagram post received doesn’t do the importance of highlighting it justice - as an issue in the media or in football generally.

Not long after their viral campaign in support of NFL star Colin Kaepernick, Sterling’s sponsors Nike also added their weight to the topic – providing the Man City and England star with a poignant graphic of his own to post. All this shows how social media, despite the trolls and negative press, can be a force for good. Sometimes. 

From the serious to the somewhat eccentric. Some footballers, past and present, are famed for being boring. Not Patrice Evra. His exploits occasionally land him in social media hot water but when most were posting generic ‘Festive Greetings’ messages, his Christmas Day speech hit the spot – a snapshot into what his 2018 entailed. His ‘I Love This Game’ message transcends supporters of different clubs, you don’t even need to know about football to enjoy his Instagram offering. 

Earlier in December, Arsenal’s comeback victory against Spurs sparked changing room selfies, celebrations from car windows and all the sort of content you lap up when your team has got one over your local rivals – there’s nowhere better than Insta stories and Twitter for ‘in the moment’, reactive celebrations. The club’s official channels also made the most of a derby win, producing a seven-minute highlights video with guest commentators Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette. It’s the sort of slightly longer form YouTube content fans enjoy and a great use of match footage rights (after the exclusivity window, of course). 

However, six days before Christmas, Spurs got some immediate revenge knocking their north London counterparts out of the Carabao Cup. Harry Kane celebrated by trolling Piers Morgan. Four words, two question marks and over 109k likes. To rub salt in the wound, the Good Morning Britain presenter lost his ‘bet’ with Peter Crouch for the cup’s sponsors and presented the draw for the next round in a Spurs shirt, sparking a further stir on social media. It seems what’s bad for Piers Morgan, is good for Twitter. 

It was a quiet January transfer window with few clubs prepared to dip into the market. One move that did catch the eye was everyone’s favourite ‘good touch for a big lad’, Peter Crouch. His switch to Burnley from Stoke caught a few fans off guard but the content team at Turfmoor had their wits about them, producing an excellent signing video. 

The nod to Crouch’s famous robot celebration was viewed over two million times – not bad for a team with just shy of 400k followers at the time. The simplicity and light-hearted entertainment value made it a good watch – it also required very little of the player’s time which is normally a pressing issue when new signings come through the door at a club. 

The trend of increased use of Twitter and Instagram over Facebook continued into 2019. A report done by Newton Insight, released not long after Facebook’s 15th birthday in February, stated that “fan activity on Facebook slumped by 42% in 2018.” Indeed, it’s no surprise that examples of stand-out Facebook usage among clubs and players are much harder to find. 

However, one craze which transcended all platforms was the #10YearChallenge. If you’ve read this far then you won’t need telling what it entailed. From a fresh-faced Ander Herrera to Rio’s baggy jeans, a #Pogback in time and two German clubs having a pop at each other, there was something for everyone to enjoy. 

It wouldn’t be social media without a faux-pas to cause concern. Pogba’s alleged fallout with Jose Mourinho followed by the manager’s departure and an ill-timed “Caption This” post for Adidas suggested there was indeed no smoke without a fire. Was Pogba mischievously poking fun at his now former boss? Or just seeking high engagements levels? In all likelihood, despite social media going into overdrive, it was most probably a commercial obligation, scheduled ahead of time and the implications of the post not considered by those around him. Either way, Mourinho’s departure was certainly a talking point. 

From a faux-pas to arguably the pièce de résistance of the season: BT Sport’s #NoFilterUCL series. Different camera angles, ‘real’ fan footage, raw passion and so much more. It’s an amazing example of a broadcaster capturing the emotion of matches – emotive content is good content. 

It’s storytelling at its finest, using imperfect shots and behind-the-scenes clips to bring fans closer to the action with longer form video. It has been signposted superbly by BT Sport’s social channels and amplified by their presenters and pundits. A real triumph for content, for social media and it was incredibly fitting that after Liverpool claimed their sixth European crown on 1 June, it was the final episode of #NoFilterUCL which brought the season to a close.