More and more clubs in England are clamping down on footballers using Twitter – and I can’t help but feel this is counterproductive in terms of bridging the gap between players and fans.

A few years ago you would struggle to find any top players on the micro-blogging site. Today, however, it is becoming increasingly hard to find one who doesn’t spend his free time (and they are blessed with plenty of that aren’t they?) tweeting.

But instead of embracing this new way of players being able to interact with their fans, clubs are living in fear of it.

Last week, Wolverhapton Wanderers became the latest team to get tough on Twitter usage, with boss Mick McCarthy promising to fine players who use their 140 characters to either criticise the club, reveal any of its secrets or generally say anything he doesn’t like.

And while I can understand you don’t want players revealing team line-ups to opponents before a match, for example, I still feel the whole footballers-on-Twitter thing should be viewed as a good thing.

Let’s face it, if one of your own players is stupid enough to reveal team secrets on Twitter then he is probably stupid enough to do it in a number of other ways – through Facebook, on the phone, at a party, out shopping for a new Bentley… lying in bed with a teammate’s wife.

If a player is mentally challenged, taking away one method of him being stupid isn’t going to solve that particular problem. Alternatively, if he genuinely has a vendetta against the club then he will still find a way of going public with his grievances – how do you think newspapers get their stories?

On the other hand, there is whole positive side to footballers on Twitter, the importance of which simply can’t be underestimated. This media is giving fans the chance to get a glimpse into the lives of the players that would otherwise simply not happen.

It is a line of communication between multi-millionaire players and the people that ultimately pay their wages. Over the past couple of decades players have become increasingly detached from supporters. Footballers’ huge wages and lavish lifestyles mean fans are finding it increasingly impossible to relate to them on any level.

Twitter, love it or loathe it, has helped to bridge that gap. And stopping footballers from using it will only serve to widen the divide.

Personally, I’ve been using Twitter for a few weeks now and one of my main reasons for doing so was because I thought it would be fun and revealing to see what professional footballers get up to in their private lives. Yet, for the most part it is surprisingly dull.

Robin van Persie telling the world he is sitting on the sofa watching TV and eating pizza is not the sort of thing that gets your pulse racing. Neither is the fact that Jack Wilshere has just won a Playstation tournament against three of his teammates.

And don’t get me started on Rio Ferdinand. That lad needs to get out more. I don’t know if it is a result of the large amount of time he has spent on the treatment table in recent seasons, but the Manchester United and England defender is a Twitter addict.

There are days when he tweets 30 or 40 times, and others where he probably goes into the hundreds. In fact, I stopped following him due to information overload. But that still leaves 1.3 million others hanging on his every word.

And that is the whole point – the fans are loving this access. They are again feeling a part of a world that was becoming increasingly alien to them. In some small way it is making them feel like their heroes actually care about them.

Managers and clubs should think seriously before taking this clampdown too far. Yes, having your players on Twitter may have some drawbacks, especially when you are dealing with people who don’t know the limits.

But for the sake of football as a whole and for the sake of the relationship between fans and players in particular, I strongly believe it is a technology that should be warmly embraced by the modern game.

Johnny’s last chance

It’s a bit early in the day to be handing out any ‘signing of the season’ awards – without a ball having yet been kicked in anger – but I get a sneaky feeling Jonathan Woodgate could well be a serious contender.

The central defender was released by Tottenham Hotspur after an injury-plagued spell in London, with Harry Redknapp no longer prepared to keep paying a player who has spent more of his career watching football than playing it.

To be fair to Redknapp and Spurs it was an understandable decision considering he last played for the club in 2009 and only managed 49 appearances in four years.

Added to that, Spurs already have to contend with the fact that another of their central defenders – Ledley King – has glass kneecaps.

However, I still think Stoke City have got themselves a superb bargain. After all, this is a player who was good enough for Real Madrid to sign him (even thought he hardly played there either) and who has never looked out of place at international level either.

And let’s not forget, he is still only 31, which is arguably the time when a central defender reaches his prime – the pace hasn’t yet gone and there is a wealth of experience to make up for any that might be missing.

Woodgate could conceivably have another four or five years ahead of him at the top of the game.

Of course, there is no denying Tony Pulis has taken a gamble by giving the player a one-year deal. Woodgate’s injury record is truly atrocious, and if he breaks down again I would think the player himself would call it quits.

But he has been working hard in pre-season, come through a friendly unscathed, and looks like he could, just maybe, be ready to play some serious football again.

If that happens, I don’t think there are many Premier League teams who wouldn’t want him on their books.

Your say

“As you argued a few weeks ago in this column, River Plate’s demise to the second tier of Argentinean football will, without doubt, incur a change in rules to either ensure they will bounce back to the promised land or make this possible.

“In fact, the Argentine Football Association said that the country’s first division will be reorganised, a guarantee of an immediate return to the top-flight for relegated River Plate.

“This plan, which will see the top two divisions unified but segmented into two regional divisions, if approved by October 18, will ensure that River Plate play top division football within two years. This is expected to be enacted for the 2012-13 season.” Justin Schembri, e-mail.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade