For a worrying amount of folk, being a football fan in this day and age means being an absolute dickhead on social media above anything else.
While everyone is entitled to their opinion, and social media offers a way for anyone to share their opinion with the world, twitter feeds are full of "trolling" and other forms of complete bullshit in the name of.. A word we have banned on Balls.ie that starts with 'b' and ends with 'ter', but while I can understand ridiculing a Premier League footballer who's social media account is managed by a PR agency, it really pisses me off when people personally attack someone who will directly read what is being said, just for a few 'favs' and the odd retweet.
The case in point is Freddy Adu.
Adu scored his first professional goal at the age of 14, prompting Pele to claim he was one of the most exciting players on the planet. MLS mania was just starting up, and Adu was seen as the future of US soccer. Over there he is seen as someone who failed to live up to the hype, but over here he is also seen as someone who was one of the greatest players ever in Football Manager.
Being so good on football manager and turning out to not be able to find a career as a professional footballer is reason enough for many to abuse Adu on his personal twitter account, but a tweet he sent out yesterday made me genuinely feel for him.
No mess can beat me thanks to my new @HooverUSA Cordless 2-In-1 Stick and Handheld Vacuum #NoCordNoBull #sponsored pic.twitter.com/cBcD9ghHAV
— Freddy Adu (@FreddyAdu) November 18, 2015
That is a tweet from a player who has played for Benfica and AS Monaco as well as a number of clubs in the MLS, now even offering a giggle at himself for promoting hoovers on twitter.
The tweet isn't what made me sad. While it is sad to see his fall from grace somewhat, he's still getting paid to promote hoovers. Get your money Freddy.
What made me sad is the amount of people that are attacking this semi-professional footballer for no reason other than a video game thought he was going to be one of the best footballers in the world by now.
Look at some of these tweets:
@FreddyAdu @hamesnotjames @HooverUSA Ahhhh did it suck up your career?
— TOM (@FUNKYT0WN49) November 18, 2015
@FreddyAdu @mattyhew96 @HooverUSA Should've stuck to Football Manager 2005, chief. All been downhill since then.
— S (@attwood10) November 18, 2015
@FreddyAdu kiddo you've gotta move out of your college apartment
— EASTSIDE CAM (@camdunkcity) November 19, 2015
@FreddyAdu From being one of the most talented young players in the world to selling vacuuum cleaners on Twitter.Don't try this at home
— stathism (@StathisM27) November 19, 2015
Hey @plangeypants, I guess the the only thing @FreddyAdu and @HooverUSA have in common is they both suck and can't deliver on promises
— Collin Willardson (@cwillardson) November 19, 2015
What has Freddy actually done to deserve that?
Championship Manager 4 was the game where Freddy Adu really had his way with the entire footballing world, but do you know what else happened in Championship Manager 4? I had Wayne Rooney partnering Robbie Keane up front for Ireland.
It's a game. It's a game that got one prediction badly wrong, and now a footballer who, lets be honest, physically developed much quicker than anyone else in his age group until he was 20 is taking dogs abuse for something that isn't even his fault.
The worst thing is that he's ok with people constantly bringing up Football Manager. This interview while he was on the books at Blackpool paint him as a genuinely nice guy who understands that people mostly know him from a game. He doesn't need to be ridiculed for it.
Maybe I'm being too sensitive here, but I just think that it's unfair for someone who was tipped for the top and didn't make be slandered for it at every possible opportunity. Adu has shown his 391,000+ followers on twitter his humble financial situation, and he's been laughed at for it.
The argument will be "He's a footballer, he's made millions, he should have a thicker skin", but that's bullshit. He was thrust into the limelight at 14 and told he would be the best player to ever live. What was supposed to happen? He's been chewed up and spat out by football, and he's the but of a joke because of it nearly every day.
Leave Freddy Adu alone, let him play football and use his impressive social media following to allow him to live.
