Post by QPR Report on Dec 9, 2009 8:19:51 GMT
Guardian/David Hytner
How the bloggers got the better of hot-headed Bobby ZamoraThe Fulham striker has lashed out at his internet critics but he is not the first footballer to get caught in the web
The Premier League match between Fulham and Sunderland at Craven Cottage on Sunday contained an unusual sub-plot. Going head-to-head were arguably the most IT-literate strikers in the country. In the white corner stood an aggrieved Bobby Zamora, hoping to give vent to his frustrations. In the red was Darren Bent, the hard-hitting tweeter. Zamora scored the only goal of the game and, on the face on it, emerged as the victor. But did he?
Zamora is over 6ft, hails from the East End and is not the sort of bloke you would generally bad-mouth – at least not to his face. But this is the thing. The people who have irked him so greatly are not all hurling their abuse from the Hammersmith End of Craven Cottage, in between mouthfuls of hamburger. They are seated behind keyboards in the comfort of their bedrooms and they are posting their criticisms to the fan forum section of the club's official website.
The forum is sometimes browsed by the players in their lounge after matches. It is a source of predictable banter. Yet some of Roy Hodgson's squad, Zamora chief among them, have wondered why their club has offered such a medium for them to be abused. Zamora has taken flak for his poor record in front of goal.
But here is the other thing. There are precious few posters to the forum. Zamora knows this; he has been told so time and again. The overwhelming majority of Fulham fans appreciate the shift he puts in. They know not to measure his contribution solely in goals. The Hammersmith End regularly sings his name.
If this appears a case of the stereotypical "noisy minority", it is one with a 21st-century twist. In generations gone by it would need scores of fans on the terraces to communicate an angry message. Now, all it takes is an anonymous handful and the touch of a button.
After his goal against Sunderland, Zamora repeatedly yelled "Shut your F***ing mouths" in the direction of the Hammersmith End. He pushed away two celebrating team-mates, John Paintsil and Damien Duff, to give him room to shout some more. At full-time he made straight for the players' tunnel in the corner of the ground and did not acknowledge the crowd at all.
"Maybe he reads too many of these blogs that people write in to," said Hodgson. "These people who write into the club's blogs, they're the real experts."
Zamora is not the only modern footballer to be sensitive to the power of the internet. Many use it to get their own messages across and Bent is a prime example. He expressed his frustration, via his Twitter page, at the Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy's initial reluctance to sanction his summer transfer to Sunderland. More recently he wrote that his mother had been racially abused by a Sunderland fan, which led to a man's arrest and subsequent bail.
Some of the world's leading players tweet to their followers. For example, Cristiano Ronaldo revealed that he had apologised to his Real Madrid team-mates for his red card in Saturday's 4–2 victory over Almería. "I made a mistake but I am human," he wrote.
Theirry Henry said sorry on Twitter for his crucial handball against the Republic of Ireland in last month's World Cup play-off in Paris. In an age when players are rarely allowed to stray off-message by their clubs or countries, they can find liberation and empowerment in 140 characters or less. Either that or their publicists can use them to wield further influence.
Henry could tell Zamora a thing or two about cyber-bullying. After the France striker's controversial handball he was savaged on the chat forums. Someone even posted a derogatory alternative to his Wikipedia page. Like Zamora he is not oblivious to such comments. Henry no longer appears on Twitter.
Perhaps the lesson for Zamora is not to react. He has only given ammunition to his critics who, since the Sunderland game, unsurprisingly, have been in brow-beating form on the official Fulham forum. One such post read: "The nitwit proved today he lacks any class, he's been backed more than any other player this season by the Hammersmith End (even when he doesn't deserve it) and today was the final straw for me. Bobby if you're such a big man and dislike the support you receive then why don't you hand in a transfer request and waddle on (bringing your soppy mug and massive persecution complex) somewhere else."
It is not only the official Fulham website's talkboard that has seen the issue has been debated. There was plenty of support for the striker on other sites, with many contributors attempting to silence the dissenters. "Just to prove bloggers and those who sing his name aren't mutually exclusive, I was singing Bobby's praises for much of Sunday afternoon," said one.
The concern for Zamora must be that the damage has already been done by his own attempt to quieten the "experts".
What the bloggers have to say about Zamora
"When I saw on TV what he did I have to say I called him every name I could think of at the time, and with five or six pints in me I can say some even shocked my pals in the pub"
COTTAGER 4 LIFE, The Independent Fulham Forum
"Bobby needs to rise above it, but the way he ran off at the end was pretty disgraceful. He only shook hands with two Sunderland players and stormed off"
Michael Carter, Cottage Corner forum
"A week after Jimmy Bullard and Hull City provided the goal scoring celebration of the season we find ourselves producing one at the opposite end of the scale"
Andrew Joyce, Vital Fulham
"The celebration does suggest Bobby Zamora spends time checking the internet to see what people think of him. I'm a bit surprised by that, especially as it seems to have a negative affect on him"
Chopper, Craven Cottage Newsround
"He needs to change his shushing celebration as it's getting tiresome. Yes, last season he had his critics but this season I have not heard a bad word said about him. I want him to know that he is a crucial part of our team and I am over the moon he is playing so well for us. Bobby – hear my cry. Fulham loves you. Love us back!"
Timmsie, Craven Cottage Newsround
"Zamora in an England shirt? Jesus wept"
roykzzz1369, Guardian sportblog
www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/dec/08/bobby-zamora-fulham-twitter-blog
How the bloggers got the better of hot-headed Bobby ZamoraThe Fulham striker has lashed out at his internet critics but he is not the first footballer to get caught in the web
The Premier League match between Fulham and Sunderland at Craven Cottage on Sunday contained an unusual sub-plot. Going head-to-head were arguably the most IT-literate strikers in the country. In the white corner stood an aggrieved Bobby Zamora, hoping to give vent to his frustrations. In the red was Darren Bent, the hard-hitting tweeter. Zamora scored the only goal of the game and, on the face on it, emerged as the victor. But did he?
Zamora is over 6ft, hails from the East End and is not the sort of bloke you would generally bad-mouth – at least not to his face. But this is the thing. The people who have irked him so greatly are not all hurling their abuse from the Hammersmith End of Craven Cottage, in between mouthfuls of hamburger. They are seated behind keyboards in the comfort of their bedrooms and they are posting their criticisms to the fan forum section of the club's official website.
The forum is sometimes browsed by the players in their lounge after matches. It is a source of predictable banter. Yet some of Roy Hodgson's squad, Zamora chief among them, have wondered why their club has offered such a medium for them to be abused. Zamora has taken flak for his poor record in front of goal.
But here is the other thing. There are precious few posters to the forum. Zamora knows this; he has been told so time and again. The overwhelming majority of Fulham fans appreciate the shift he puts in. They know not to measure his contribution solely in goals. The Hammersmith End regularly sings his name.
If this appears a case of the stereotypical "noisy minority", it is one with a 21st-century twist. In generations gone by it would need scores of fans on the terraces to communicate an angry message. Now, all it takes is an anonymous handful and the touch of a button.
After his goal against Sunderland, Zamora repeatedly yelled "Shut your F***ing mouths" in the direction of the Hammersmith End. He pushed away two celebrating team-mates, John Paintsil and Damien Duff, to give him room to shout some more. At full-time he made straight for the players' tunnel in the corner of the ground and did not acknowledge the crowd at all.
"Maybe he reads too many of these blogs that people write in to," said Hodgson. "These people who write into the club's blogs, they're the real experts."
Zamora is not the only modern footballer to be sensitive to the power of the internet. Many use it to get their own messages across and Bent is a prime example. He expressed his frustration, via his Twitter page, at the Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy's initial reluctance to sanction his summer transfer to Sunderland. More recently he wrote that his mother had been racially abused by a Sunderland fan, which led to a man's arrest and subsequent bail.
Some of the world's leading players tweet to their followers. For example, Cristiano Ronaldo revealed that he had apologised to his Real Madrid team-mates for his red card in Saturday's 4–2 victory over Almería. "I made a mistake but I am human," he wrote.
Theirry Henry said sorry on Twitter for his crucial handball against the Republic of Ireland in last month's World Cup play-off in Paris. In an age when players are rarely allowed to stray off-message by their clubs or countries, they can find liberation and empowerment in 140 characters or less. Either that or their publicists can use them to wield further influence.
Henry could tell Zamora a thing or two about cyber-bullying. After the France striker's controversial handball he was savaged on the chat forums. Someone even posted a derogatory alternative to his Wikipedia page. Like Zamora he is not oblivious to such comments. Henry no longer appears on Twitter.
Perhaps the lesson for Zamora is not to react. He has only given ammunition to his critics who, since the Sunderland game, unsurprisingly, have been in brow-beating form on the official Fulham forum. One such post read: "The nitwit proved today he lacks any class, he's been backed more than any other player this season by the Hammersmith End (even when he doesn't deserve it) and today was the final straw for me. Bobby if you're such a big man and dislike the support you receive then why don't you hand in a transfer request and waddle on (bringing your soppy mug and massive persecution complex) somewhere else."
It is not only the official Fulham website's talkboard that has seen the issue has been debated. There was plenty of support for the striker on other sites, with many contributors attempting to silence the dissenters. "Just to prove bloggers and those who sing his name aren't mutually exclusive, I was singing Bobby's praises for much of Sunday afternoon," said one.
The concern for Zamora must be that the damage has already been done by his own attempt to quieten the "experts".
What the bloggers have to say about Zamora
"When I saw on TV what he did I have to say I called him every name I could think of at the time, and with five or six pints in me I can say some even shocked my pals in the pub"
COTTAGER 4 LIFE, The Independent Fulham Forum
"Bobby needs to rise above it, but the way he ran off at the end was pretty disgraceful. He only shook hands with two Sunderland players and stormed off"
Michael Carter, Cottage Corner forum
"A week after Jimmy Bullard and Hull City provided the goal scoring celebration of the season we find ourselves producing one at the opposite end of the scale"
Andrew Joyce, Vital Fulham
"The celebration does suggest Bobby Zamora spends time checking the internet to see what people think of him. I'm a bit surprised by that, especially as it seems to have a negative affect on him"
Chopper, Craven Cottage Newsround
"He needs to change his shushing celebration as it's getting tiresome. Yes, last season he had his critics but this season I have not heard a bad word said about him. I want him to know that he is a crucial part of our team and I am over the moon he is playing so well for us. Bobby – hear my cry. Fulham loves you. Love us back!"
Timmsie, Craven Cottage Newsround
"Zamora in an England shirt? Jesus wept"
roykzzz1369, Guardian sportblog
www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/dec/08/bobby-zamora-fulham-twitter-blog