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How the Premier League table would look if it was based on clubs’ Twitter followers

Chelsea Twitter feed

Yes, points matter, but what if the top flight was purely based on how popular a club is on Twitter. And would the Premier League look much different to how it does now.

No matter what Sheffield Wednesday fans might think, earning a place in the Premier League comes via results on the pitch and not how many fans you've got in the stands.

Nevertheless, that hasn't stopped Planet Sport compiling a Premier League based entirely on the number of Twitter followers clubs have got.

And, sorry Wednesday fans, you're not in the top flight on this metric, either.

20. Watford (@WatfordFC) - 883.8k

Close to 900,000 followers and not one of them is Elton John, who would rather follow @sherlockgnomes

They've sent out 59.1k tweets since joining Twitter in 2010, with a pick of the recent ones being Mattie Pollock's 'welcome to my crib' which saw the defender say 'obviously' 13 times in three minutes - a Watford all-comers' record.

19. Leeds (@LUFC) - 927.6k

Relatively late arrivals to Twitter, Leeds' came onboard in December 2012, more than four-and-a-half years after Manchester City.

It is reflected in their number of tweets, with the West Yorkshire side having tweeted 53.3k, the lowest of our 20 clubs.

18. Sunderland (@SunderlandAFC) - 992.9k

Football fans are going to look elsewhere for their comedy after Sunderland finally got their act together under Alex Neil and got out of League One.
Actually, I'm forgetting we've still got this comedy gold from former Black Cats striker Victor Anichebe.

17. Swansea City (@SwansOfficial) - 1m

Can justifiably claim to be the biggest club in Wales, with their one million followers dwarfing Cardiff (377.9k).
Another latecomer to the party, Swansea only joined Twitter in January 2012.

16. Wolves (@Wolves) - 1m

Wolves' social media department/person has certainly been prolific in the 13 years the club have been on Twitter, with the West Midlands side sending out 109.8k tweets, second only to Manchester City.

Among it is lovely stuff like this about Cath, who sadly passed away recently.

15. Stoke City (@stokecity) - 1m

An impressive figure, presumably made up of all those people who don't fancy a cold Tuesday night in Stoke.
Content includes possibly the first 'we go again' of the new season, featuring a far off clip of players walking past a housing estate. Cracking stuff.

14. West Brom (@WBA) - 1.1m

Deserve to lose at least a million of those followers for the font used in the following tweet alone.

13. Crystal Palace (@CPFC) - 1.3m

Palace have an impressive following, perhaps because they don't get the same person to do their tweets that did Christian Benteke's. This impressive gaffe came from his account shortly after he signed for Palace.

12. Southampton (@SouthamptonFC) - 1.5m

Scrolling through Southampton's Twitter feed only increases my dislike for their 2022/23 home shirt.
A following of 1.5m is decent though considering they averaged less than 30,000 for home games last season.

11. Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) - 2m

Apparently Bruce Springsteen is playing Villa Park in 2023, with the announcement coming via Villa's Twitter feed.

It's not the midfield signing announcement the club were after but as some wag pointed out, Springstein would be a worthy addition as he is Born to Run.

10. Newcastle (@NUFC) - 2.2m

The Magpies already had a good following on Twitter but their takeover has resulted in a spike which has added 300,000 followers.
And it's content like this from Bruno Guimaraes that keeps drawing them in.

9. West Ham (@WestHam) - 2.3m

The Hammers boast 2.3m followers, which is predominately made up of opposition managers looking for early team news.

That follows a Twitter gaffe in 2017 when a pre-match graphic advertising a game at Stoke showed the back five in stylised form, including James Collins who was returning from injury.

8. Leicester (@LCFC) - 2.5m

Bolstered by their South Asian connections and their fairy-tale run to the Premier League title in 2015/16, the Foxes are now a true global brand.

They still can't get anyone to sign for them, however.

7. Everton (@Everton) - 2.8m

Early adopters having joined Twitter in August 2008, Everton's position in this table is in stark contrast to where they find themselves in the real Premier League pecking order.
Is worth following just to see the regular updates on how the Toffees' new stadium at Bramley-Moore dock Is progressing. It'll be the best ground in the Championship, don't you know.

6. Tottenham (@SpursOfficial) - 7.5m

There's a bit of a leap from Everton to the first of the 'Big Six', with Tottenham on 7.5m followers.

Their Twitter landing page is going big on their new away kit which, thanks to "Spurs detailing lets everyone know which team you support". That'll be the club badge on the shirt, then.

5. Manchester City (@ManCity) - 12.8m

City hit Twitter in April 2008, the earliest of our top flight and have as a result churned out close to 150,000 tweets, by far the most of the 20 clubs.

Despite their social media experience and run of recent title wins, they still find themselves some way behind our top four when it comes to Twitter followers, however.

4. Arsenal (@Arsenal) - 19.4m

They may not be in the Champions League but their account has produced some Champions League level gaffes in its time. Twice the club have accidentally featured sexual acts on their Twitter and once a pre-match graphic featured a whole team of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains.

Mo Farah follows them. Or does he, really?

3. Chelsea (@ChelseaFC) - 21.2m

A sterling effort from the Blues who this week revealed the signing of a certain former Manchester City forward with a raft of content and videos.
I can't help thinking that his shirt was too tight across his shoulders, though.

2. Liverpool (@LFC) - 21.3m

Runners-up again, Liverpool actually entered the world of Twitter five months after their cross-city rivals.

The place to come for your daily dose of Jurgen Klopp chest thumping.

1. Manchester United (@ManUtd) - 31.7m

The biggest club in England, at least when it comes to Twitter followers, United's popularity is even more remarkable considering they didn't send out their first tweet until July 2013.

After the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson and ahead of David Moyes' first game in charge it read: "New era, same spirit. The season starts here. Let's do this."

Presumably "Let's do this" meant let's slide down the table, appoint a succession of high-profile yet under-performing managers and slowly fade into obscurity.

READ MORE: Reece James delighted to see Raheem Sterling at Chelsea, 'Playing against him is a nightmare'

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