'Do I not Like that?!' - England's growing influence on Facebook

Source: The FA

Words: Art Bugmann 

England’s qualification for the Quarter Finals of UEFA’s Euro 2012 tournament was accompanied by a dominating performance over Ukraine earlier this week during the sides' final group stage game.  

Sound like a tenuous conclusion? That’s because we’re not talking football, we’re talking about the England Team’s performance on its Facebook page.

While England’s football was widely regarded as adequate on the night, its performance on Facebook was far superior to Ukraine’s according to research from social media agency.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Taking into account posts and fan engagement, Wildfire found that despite a slow start, the England’s Facebook fan page grew throughout the match, in terms of comments, ‘Likes’, score predictions and shares.

Source: Wildfire

Even after taking into consideration the vast disparity between the size of the two pages to get a fair comparison (England 1.5m fans - Ukraine 10,023), England’s posts still got up to twice as much engagement.

England was also ahead on the absolute figures. For example, regarding shares on Facebook posts, England scored more than 32,000 while Ukraine only got 711.

England’s Facebook page used comments and direct questions to boost engagement with fans, see below.

Meanwhile, Ukraine preferred to use more picture-based posts from the ground itself, see below.

Source: Wildfire

So what can we draw from Wildfire’s analysis?

England’s population is marginally greater than that of Ukraine, so it is evident that England’s fans are far more inclined to engage with their team on Facebook than Ukraine’s fans.

In a 60,000 seat stadium, England’s 4,000 fans were far outnumbered by the vociferous home crowd. Yet England’s Facebook performance showed that the team did not lack for support online. 

What of Ukraine’s lesser Facebook showing? It was the biggest game in Ukraine’s football history, so maybe Ukraine’s fans were in and around the Donbass Arena, rather than in front of their computers. 

Speaking of the English football team and ‘Likes’ we decided to link below to a documentary following the national side’s doomed bid to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup where then manager Graham Taylor coined the malapropism: ‘Do I not like that?!’ 

Kit launches spark Twitter-joust in ongoing LFC & MUFC saga

Words: Ronan Shields

^{Source: Liverpool Football Club}

Before a ball was kicked in anger on the last day of the domestic season, Liverpool’s kit-launch marked the UK entrance of Warrior Sports while Manchester United’s seemed to rub salt in the wounds. 

Friday saw the unveiling of next season’s replica kits of England’s two-most successful clubs with Nike unveiling its latest offering for the Manchester side and Warrior Sports with its debut Liverpool designs.

The Boston-based sports manufacturer has reverted to the Anfield side’s red with yellow-trimmed colour scheme and has dispensed with its Shankly Gate crest in favour of its original Liver Bird one, see video below. 

Source: YouTube

The move has won favour with traditionalists reminiscing for the days when King Kenny and the Koppites truly did reign supreme over Europe.

^{Source: Liverpool Football Club}

But Liverpool, a team and City traumatised by the Hillsborough tragedy of 1989, has also experienced criticism from some unhappy with the symbols commemorating the 96 that died that day being moved to the back of the jersey.    

Emotions aside, the partnership between Liverpool and Warrior Sports could presage the emergence of a major new sports brand in the football industry given that Liverpool is the fourth-biggest selling replica shirt in the world.

This is behind Spain's Real Madrid, Catalan giants FC Barcelona and of course Manchester United. 

Plus, if the hype purported by Warrior Sports on its website anything to go by, then we’re surely set for a swarm of high-impact marketing activity from next season onwards, see below.

^{Source: Warrior Sports}

How many more clubs it has in its sights is anyone’s guess but with this Liverpool deal you’d have to say it really is laying down a marker. 

Almost simultaneously, Manchester United and Nike revealed the kit Wayne Rooney, etc, will be lining up in at Old Trafford from next season, see left and below. 

Also interesting, was the fact that Manchester and Nike are highlighting the club's roots at the centre of its marketing activity 

The new kit, features “gingham check” which was supposedly synonymous with Manchester’s cotton mills which helped fuel the industrial revolution, as well as the rivalry with their Merseyside neighbours dating back two centuries. 

Have a closer look at the ‘gingham check' both below and left courtesy of Nike. A design Liverpool fans are likening to ‘table clothes’. 

Of course, the simultaneous nature of the launches has sparked with it a war of words between the respective teams’ fans and following their respective hash-tags on Twitter, the Koppites seems to be happier with their offering that those of the Stretford Enders. 

Famed for their wit and fondness of banter, Liverpool fabs also appear to have the upper hand on Twitter when it comes to  the gentle-ribbing of the other side although the Mancunians were able to retort although in sometimes more controversial terms, see further below to read more.

The joke made below (dated May 12 before the last day of the season) is arguably one of the more poignant given United relinquishing their Premiership crown to Manchester City, in the most dramatic last day of the season for many years. 

And of course those blessed with more IT skills really started to make things personal:

^{Source: Twitter}

^{Source: Twitter}

However, not taking things lying down, some Manchester United fans took aim at their rivals in a more controversially manner by speculating that Liverpool’s away kit might look like below, as mentioned above.

This of course references the horrible race-relations incident between Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra, one of the darker episodes of the last season, and an unwelcome phenomena that worryingly appears to be creeping back into the game, especially via online social networks.

Hopefully the game's governing bodies will take appropriate measures to assign such ugly incidents to the past by the time we kick-off for next season.  

However, on a much more positive note, the mixed reaction to the gingham kit and power of social networking has prompted similarly-creative Manchester United fans to share their ‘fantasy kits’. 

One even speculates what a Manchester United kit manufactured by Adidas might look like, all images were sourced via Twitter. 

Barca poised for mobile expansion‏.

Barcelona is about to launch the latest addition to its mobile app range FCB Regal Shootout as it puts mobile at the core of its global expansion. The Catalan footballing giants announced the launch as it prepares to take on Chelsea in London this evening in the first leg of the UEFA Chamion’s League semi-final tie. It remains unclear as to just how FCB Regal Shootout will play out, as does the initial launch date, but the title makes it pretty clear what the theme will be. Just see below for a taster of what to expect.

 

In an interview with news site new media age  Didac Lee, Barcelona’s head of technology and member of its board of directors, said the launch was part of its ongoing FCB Apps programme.

“We have made an important commitment to becoming the leaders in the technological industry which is growing around the world of football,” he said.

“Just as Barça are a reference point on the pitch, so we want to become a technological reference point in the sporting world. That is being achieved through an ambitious programme called FCB Apps,” added Lee.

FCB Apps is open to mobile app developers who can sign up to the programme which lets them access exclusive club content – like images and updates like new club signings.

“We are very happy with the way this idea has been received: we are getting 2 to 3 proposals a day and we are sure that this will prove to be the best way to expand our catalogue of apps,” added Lee.

Apps already launched via the programme include: FC Barcelona Fantasy Manager, FCB Watch, FCB Live or FCB World Tap all of which can be downloaded from the App Store. The Champion’s League holders, who are attempting to emulate the AC Milan side of the early 90s by winning the competition in consecutive years, also sees 15% of its online traffic come from mobile phones.

The club launched its first mobile optimised site in February this year as part of a Google-led initiative ahead of the mobile industry trade conference Mobile World Congress, hosted in the city. The site itself was developed by design studio Psycle, which has offices in London and Barcelona itself, who helped launch mobile-optimised sites for over 26 different institutions around the Catalan capital.

From the usage statistics on the site which is written in three languages – Catalan, English & Spanish – it is mostly used by fiercely loyal locals. Mark Gristock, commercial director of Psycle, also told new media age that approximately 80% of the traffic to Barcelona’s mobile site came from within a 3Km radius of the club’s stadium Camp Nou. 

By Ronan Shields  

 

Fulham alert Twitter over fake player account.

Fulham have taken the steps to notify Twitter over the fake account for their Republic of Ireland international winger Damien Duff. In a statement on the Fulham FC website the club implored fan's not to follow the account. 

"Fulham Football Club would like to make supporters aware that Damien Duff does not have an official Twitter account. In recent months online messages have been published impersonating the Republic of Ireland international. In no way are any of these messages or opinions related to Damien Duff."

In a further twist to the story the fake Duff account has also been called out by sarah Brook's the communication's director of the West London club. So far the account which has over 7,000 followers and has so far not been shut down by Twitter. 

Fulham are set to play West Brom at Craven Cottage tomorrow night. The Lily Whites have also just signed Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak in a £4million pound deal from Bundesliga side Stuttgart.