Total Digital Football Awards 2012- Team of the year

Team of the Year

Winner: Manchester City

They may trail their neighbours at the pinnacle of the Premier League as 2012 nears an end but Manchester City can add TDF’s Team of the Year to their growing list of accolades.

No one football club – or should that be franchise? – has provided more food for thought on the blog in terms of content with multiple dealings effecting the Sky Blues both on and off the pitch.

One of our first items on the side documented its ambitions to expand to the Far East with the launch of a Japanese mobile website followed by club captain Vincent Kompany taking part in one of its first post-match interactive interviews.

This was followed by the small matter of Manchester City inking seismic kit sponsorship deal with global sportswear giant Nike – indicating the scale of the club’s ambitions – in a deal that comes into effect from next season.

Plus a deal with Hugo Boss seeing it become the official fashion provider of the club – building on a similar ‘fashion provider’ deal the German brand had with the Nazi Party.

There are too many others to mention each individually.

Subsequently there was the snatching of the title Champions of England in the most dramatic fashion since the Premier League era began and the ensuing online celebrations.

MUFC: Second place (again). 

Honourable mentions must be made of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United but for the sheer mass of activity the Premier League champions Manchester City can call themselves deserved winners of TDF’s Team of the Year, 2012. 

Total Digital Football Awards 2012- Man of the year.

Man of the Year

Winner: Joey Barton

He many be no angel but he knows his way around a football pitch and can also create a social media storm in 140 characters or less, at least in one go.

Note to Rio: There's no shame in coming second. 

Joey Barton’s use of Twitter has helped him fend-off stern competition from the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Cristiano Ronaldo (who’ll just have to console themselves with their on-pitch accolades) to win TDF’s Man of the Year gong.

Barton’s use of the social network to share his learnings from philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche and also rival Sky’s Gary Neville as one of the country’s most outspoken pundits was already a well-known phenomena.

Joey Barton was not awarded MOTY for this .

However, it was on the final day of last season when after being sent-off for violent conduct during QPR’s crunch match with Manchester City – in one of the most talked about games in Premiership history – that Barton etched himself into TDF history.

Joey Barton: Football's first true social media pundit?

During the multi-tweet tirade Barton apologised to QPR’s fans for his actions but also alleged that his attack on Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez was provoked by the
Argentine.

However, that said, he did finish off his missives by congratulating his former club on claiming their first Premiership crown.

The click-count rocketed as football fans took to social networks to both share their thoughts on the day’s action while watching it on their screens.

The post still ranks as one of the most popular on the blog and for that Mr Joey Barton Esquire claims the crown of TDF’S Man of the Year 2012.

What now for Brand Beckham?

So it ends. David Beckham has played his last game for LA Galaxy, so after 5 years & 2 MLS trophies has Brand Beckham worked in the USA? After a scout on YouTube alone you can see Golden Balls being the face of  H &M Burger King & Sharpie pens over in the states. Whilst aside from advertising Beckham has appeared on the likes of the Elen Show, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman & Jay Leno.

All of which are major shows on American TV and will only serve to boost the game. Whilst Beckham has moved to the Galaxy the league has seen an influx of European players coming to the MLS towards the end of their career. In recent years Alessandro Nesta, Freddy Ljungberg, Rafael Marquez, Tim Cahill & Thierry Henry have all moved to the MLS.

Beckham was the trailblazer in many respects. The Midfielder had plenty of other options to join elsewhere when Galaxy came calling in 2007 with a salary cap busting wage offer and the promise of some shares in the club. Something that according to reports Beckham is interested in taking up.

Realistically now whatever the next stop is for the Brand Beckham bandwagon it should be his last. At 37 now Beckham perhaps has two maybe three good seasons left in him, and a move to a lower profile league would be a likelier option, where Beckham can wind down and count his sponsorship millions.  So whats more refreshing than a run down of some of the least fancied options for Beckham on his next club move.

Australia

Recent speculation has link Beckham with the A-league in recent weeks. Something which has just as last week was rejected from Beckham's camp. The Australian league is in its relative infancy having just formed in 2004. This year marked a serious change of tact from the sides, with selected clubs choosing to  pursue 'Marquee signings'. With former internationals  Shinji Ono, Brett Emerton & Err Emile Heskey all joining up. 

Pick of the star signings was Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero  who signed up for Sydney FC. Understandably the frenzy was inevitable and the league even created a 'Del Piero day' to market tickets for the games. Currently two teams have thrown their hat into the ring from the A-League in the form of Perth Glory & Melbourne Heart. The move certainly could make sense for Becks if he wishes to boost the profile of football in a far flung land. Just like he did when he signed for the Galaxy in 2006. 

Russia

 Perhaps a slightly left field shout would be Russia. In recent years the Russian Premier league has managed to snare the talents of  Hulk, Guus Hiddink, Slaven Bilic, Samuel Eto & David Bentley . The league is getting more competitive, and after winning the right to host the 2018 World Cup, the addition of Beckham would serve as a significant boon for the league and country.A move would definitely highlight the league to more established stars.

Money certainly would not be a problem for any potential buyers, as Russia is home to the world's most highest paid footballer in Samuel Eto'o. The Cameroon international earns a staggering £364,583 per week with Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala. So if Beck's is looking to add to his status as the worlds richest sports person, he certainly could benefiting from receiving some pocket money from Russia's mega rich Oligarchs. 


China



Finally the last option on the Brand Beckham radar could be China. The country has in previous years gone to Beatle Mania like lengths of frenzy when Golden Balls visited Guangzhou with Real Madrid. Like Russia the league is furnished with a number of millionaires who are fast filling up teams with former European based players.

In the last two years Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Lucas Barrios  Yakubu &  Marcello Lippi have all made the Chinese Super league their home (along with a hefty pay rise).  Foreign players are on a quota of four per team, however teams competing in the Asian Champions league can call upon a extra foreign player. Perhaps Beckham could serve as a glamorous signing for a top 4 Chinese side.  

Beckham will of course not be the first English superstar to play in China. Notable players include Paul 'Gazza' Gascoines stint in 2003 with  Gansu Tianma & former Aston Villa 'danger man' Marlon Harewood lacing up with Shenzhen Phoenix for a six month stint in which he scored an impressive 4 goals.

Wherever Beckham decides to call home he will be inundated with offers from all the right places. Us at TDF will be looking on with interest hoping, wishing & even praying that Golden Balls heads to one of these destinations. Just so we can say 'we told you so!' 

Van Der Sar makes Marketing Move.

Ajax’s newest signing sees the return of Dutch goalkeeping legend Edwin van Der Sar as the club side’s marketing director (no seriously).

A report in UK business title Marketing Week, reports that the ex-Holland no.1 will head up the Amsterdam side’s marketing activity meaning he will now concern himself with organising Ajax’s Facebook wall as opposed to one defending a free kick.

Van der Sar’s publicly commented on his new appointment with his below post on his official Twitter profile merely remarking on his joy returning to Ajax.





This was after a glittering playing career that also saw him between the sticks at Juventus and Manchester United that saw him collect two Champion’s League Winners medals among others.

In light of the laboured Facebook/defensive wall pun made above – sorry we just wanted to get a digital angle on it – we’ve included the below video of some highlights of Van der Sar’s playing career, where indeed his prowess for organising walls is in evidence. 

Inter Milan’s Sneijder joins Twitter’s footballer blacklist

Inter Milan has banned Wesley Sneijder from using Twitter making him the latest in a long line of footballers to fall foul of authorities over their use of the social networking site.

The revelation was made last week via a post on the Holland-born midfielder’s wife’s official Twitter page where she said: “My husband @ sneijder101010 can not write more about Twitter, the choices of society…”

The actual post, in Italian, can be seen below, and the above translation is one using Google translate but it appears the sidelined Dutchman has been asked to remain silent on his feelings at the club.  

 

Although neither Twitter nor Inter have officially responded to the reports, since his wife’s original post on the social network earlier this month, the only post on Sneijder’s official profile has been the below post cheering on his native Holland against longtime foes Germany.
 

 

So it would appear that Sneijder, who has never caused much controversy on the social network, especially when compared to his English Premiership counterparts such as Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney to mention a few, now finds himself served with a gagging order from his employers. 
 
In fact the conduct of professional players in the English leagues prompted the FA to issue guidelines on what they can and cannot post on such public forums, with on-field sanctions threatened should they fall out of perceived public decency. One report on the matter attributed this quote to an English FA spokesman:

“If players do not adhere to the rules they could face a range of sanctions including monetary fines, warnings and suspensions. This goes for all our rules.”






Total Digital Football will be looking Mr Sneijder's situation with some interest in January. Especially after being linked so heavily with Manchester United in the summer. The midfielder has only appeared three times this season for Inter in Serie A with the Nerazzurri currently in second place, just four points behind rivals Juventus.
 

Best signs up with BT.

 BT Sport are set to strengthen again by recruiting Grant Best, as senior channel executive producer. Best is one of the most highly regarded directors of live sport directing and producing more than 1,000 live sports events worldwide winning a Sports EMMY for his work on the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

This also comes in the wake of BT poaching Jake Humphrey from the BBC, as presenter for the telecoms giant's Premier league football coverage. BT won the rights to show 38 live games a season for three seasons, including 18 of the best quality ‘first pick’ games,  which is the first time anyone but Sky has won any of the prime live Premier League matches. This comes in the wake of the mega £3Billion deal brokered in the summer, in which BT will be paying £246 million per season beating ESPN for the rights

Best will begin his new role on November 1 and will report to Simon Green, director of BT Sport.

Simon Green said: “We are delighted to have secured someone of Grant’s quality to help to mould the new sports channel. We know that we have to make this a top quality channel that sports fans feel they can’t afford to ignore. That is why we are bolstering the in-house talents at BT with some of the finest TV talents to work behind the scenes and in front of the camera. Grant’s quality and pedigree cannot be questioned and we are very happy that he’s decided to join us to be involved in this incredible opportunity to build a brilliant new sports channel.”

With BT set to step into the world of football broadcasting next season, we at Total Digital Football will be looking on with interest. It's also just been announced that the company have signed deals with MLS, Ligue 1 in France, Serie A in Italy & the Brazilian championship to broadcast over the next three seasons.

The brand will have to pull out the stops to prove itself as a credible rival to Sky Sports dominance in the arena, whilst the poaching of Humphrey and the hiring of Best seem wise additions to the telecoms behemoth's fledgling football broadcast team.  

Newcastle to end Virgin Money deal with Wonga waiting in the background.

Newcastle United is set to end it's association with Virgin Money canceling the deal with the Richard Branson owned company a year early.

The two year deal, which is estimated to be worth £10million will be cancelled early at the clubs request. Virgin Money came in early last January as the clubs principle kit sponsor in the wake of the Northern Rock banking bailout scandal.

The Magpies will now be on the look out for a new sponsor, with the club revealing a new deal should be announced soon. Controversial owner Mike Ashley has recently secured significant capital from the beleaguered sports retailer JJB. With the Wigan based company officially  going to liquidation yesterday. Ashley's company Sports Direct is set to secure the JJB brand, website and 20  existing stores in a £24m deal.

Of course this is not the first time that Newcastle have experimented with new sponsorship deals, the club renamed the iconic St James Park to the Sports Direct Arena in November 2011 with the club saying at the time the change is a temporary measure to "showcase" the sponsorship opportunitys to "interested parties". However little interest seems to have emerged on the deal, which was seen as an incredible PR mistake from the Newcastle hierarchy.

Speaking of the breakdown of the deal Jayne-Anne Gadhia, chief executive of Virgin Money said: "We were delighted to sponsor Newcastle United given the club's importance to the North East and had hoped that this would be a relationship that would flourish for years to come.

"However, they have found a different option and we have to respect that.We remain sponsor until the end of the current season and the Virgin Money name will continue to be worn on the iconic black and white shirts until then."

Speculation will now be rife as the potential new & stadium sponsors being lined up, recent reports linking the payday loans company Wonga with an £8million pound deal potentially on the cards. The company who already have a sponsorship with Championship side Blackpool, are the purveyor of loans which are payable back at extortionate rates of interest. Although the prospect of the Magpies of running out at the Wonga stadium is pretty funny, it's hardly the best example for a Premier League club of Newcastle's stature to take.

Newcastle have in the past have had a long and successful relationship with Newcastle Brown Ale in the past. With many of the kit designs transcending that tricky football stand to fashion boundary (well at least in Newcastle!) The awkward image below sums up the status of the kit in the late 90's of the shirt of choice for many North Eastern gents. With the bloke at the center of the picture, the toast of his friends.

Regardless of what happens with the deal, the powers at be should consider what to do in terms of the clubs next sponsorship opportunity. If all being well the club could have the potential to sell itself to a whole new world of fans, however if the proposed Wonga deal was to go through it could spell another PR disaster for the Toon Army.