Former Manchester United defender turned pundit Gary Neville has criticised England’s current stars for failing to manage their own social media profiles.
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Following their 2-0 win over Albania during Sunday’s latest World Cup qualifier, several of the Three Lion’s biggest names took to their social media to react to the side’s performance.
Of course, no player posted anything of genuine interest, just the generic “Brilliant performance, onto the next one!” type lines, followed by a series of predictable emojis.
Two wins from two. Focus now on Wednesday ????????? pic.twitter.com/YlWejguUrr
— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) March 28, 2021
Job done, looking forward to Wednesday! pic.twitter.com/eIRUaIKX9r
— Mason Mount (@masonmount_10) March 28, 2021
Two wins, two clean sheets and top of the group! Off to a good start ????????? pic.twitter.com/mujTLm2YUU
— Kalvin Phillips (@Kalvinphillips) March 29, 2021
However, one big name who does speak for himself in the public domain is Neville and he too has reacted to the barrage of inauthentic comments made by Gareth Southgate’s men.
Reading some of the England players tweets last night. Do any of the lads post themselves ? They don’t sound authentic. It’s a real shame they don’t manage their personal connection to the fans and media. #independentthinkers
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) March 29, 2021
Neville’s comments come at a time when Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Joe Hart had to issue a public apology following an error from his social media team.
When questioned on why he thinks players should bother given the toxicity of most social media platforms, Neville revealed that players should either be real or not bother at all.
I get that . Either be on it yourself with your own thoughts or stay off it completely. https://t.co/js3XIImdwx
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) March 29, 2021
Do you think players should be themselves on social media or continue to outsource third-party companies to tweet and post for them? – I mean, come on, there have been several calls for verification ID to be installed to ensure people are acting as themselves.
Social media companies have been urged to demand proof users are who they say they are… Only for social media interns to pretend to be some of football’s biggest names… In the words of Alanis Morrisette… ‘Isn’t it Ironic, don’t cha’ think?’