Victor Anichebe Twitter gaffe shows perils of social media
The player took to Twitter to show depressed Sunderland fans that things can be turned around but instead just highlighted what his social media manager thinks should be said.
Social media can work for or against you
There's nothing better as a fan who is disappointed with their team's performance than to read a message from one of the players thanking the crowd for their support and giving a positive emotional statement on getting the team going again.
Well, that's almost what Sunderland fans got from free signing Victor Anichebe after they lost to a demoralising last minute goal to West Ham - a loss that keeps the Black Cats propping up the Premier League table. The only problem with the social media post from the player is that he clearly didn't write it himself, and that's got fans of other clubs laughing.
Who manages your account anyway?
Many top level footballers these days employ someone to look after their social media accounts. And it would appear that the person doing so for Victor sent him a great idea to help his profile - his 13 minutes of playing time this season isn't doing much for it. But rather than take the idea, Anichebe copied and pasted the whole message, somwehat detracting from the intended response.
Although quick to amend the post, it didn't go unnoticed. Maybe his real disappointment in the club's current form affected his concentration.
Update: Anichebe tries to explain what went wrong
Just past 20:00 Anichebe posted the following tweet to explain what had happened:
Whether Sunderland fans will feel any better knowing he got a member of his family to tweet about the "unbelievable support" rather than doing it himself is debatable. As @Gerry_McGregor said: