Football’s relationship with Twitter has always been a rich tapestry.
Some of us miss the early days, when Wayne Rooney had the handle @WazzaRoon08 and Darren Bent used the platform to mouth off about the Tottenham top order in an attempt to force through his move to Sunderland.
That forced plenty of clubs to crack down on things, though other incidents slipped through the net, like Saido Berahino pretending his angry response to Steve Clarke’s sacking was about something else altogether.
Remember when Saido Berahino tweeted angrily about Steve Clarke being sacked then tried to claim it was because of a screw in his car tyre.
— Jonny Sharples (@JonnyGabriel) August 16, 2014
These days, media training and harsher sanctions mean you tend not to get the same variety from Premier League footballers.
But if you look further afield there’s plenty to enjoy from footballers’ tweets, like former Chelsea striker Mikael Forssell’s philosophical questions.
My biggest question for today is: why on earth is McDonalds called Mickey D:s and not Mackie D:s? Stayed up all night for that one…
— Mikael Forssell (@MikaelForssell) May 10, 2011
Not to mention Victor Wanyama’s film reviews.
Morning tweeps yesterday i watched the paranormal activity 3 and today am going to put it in the bin. too scary to watch
— Victor Wanyama (@VictorWanyama) April 26, 2012
And, of course, Louis Saha’s parenting advice.
#Tips. Yesterday my son and I said no TV when we eat dinner. Allowed us to have a really nice family conversation with good banter.
— Louis Saha (@louissaha) December 19, 2012
But when it comes to footballers on Twitter, there’s no beating Wales international striker Rob Earnshaw.
The veteran spent last season in MLS with the Vancouver Whitecaps, and the North American close-season seems to have given him plenty of time to pontificate.
He’s weighed in on existential matters.
Humans are the only species that pay to live on the planet.
— Robert Earnshaw (@RobertEarnshaw) January 22, 2016
And we mean some really deep stuff.
What if when you die,They ask you "How was heaven"?
— Robert Earnshaw (@RobertEarnshaw) March 20, 2015
He knows exactly how to bring #relatable #content to the table.
do u ever zone out but ur aware that ur zoned out but ur too lazy to zone back in
— Robert Earnshaw (@RobertEarnshaw) January 24, 2016
People who say “I hate to bother you” need to learn to hate it a little bit more.
— Robert Earnshaw (@RobertEarnshaw) December 20, 2015
And he’s always prepared to make you think.
The guy who discovered milk probably did a lot of other strange things too.
— Robert Earnshaw (@RobertEarnshaw) January 24, 2016
His sympathy for Mark Lawrenson is almost endearing.
I feel sorry for Monday,everyone seems to hate it more & more every week.Its not Mondays fault.
— Robert Earnshaw (@RobertEarnshaw) November 18, 2013
If mark lawrenson was a day of the week he would be Monday.
— Robert Earnshaw (@RobertEarnshaw) July 1, 2014
And he’s got an answer for everything.
In an era of footballers committed to their jobs to the point that they’re afraid to even give the impression of putting a foot wrong, Earnshaw serves as a reminder that they’re just people like you or I.
He’s a lad from Caerphilly doing the job he loves, and spending his downtime just having fun on the internet. And who wouldn’t want that life?
