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Posh’s Tomlin given social media ban: Tweeting can be a dangerous occupation
Peterborough United striker and tweeter Lee Tomlin. Photo: Alan Storer/Peterborough ET
WOW what a reaction to a home defeat by the reigning League One champions and a team two points off the Championship play-offs.
The Evening Telegraph website received 10 times as many comments as normal following Brighton’s 2-1 win at London Road.
That’s the problem these days when opinions traditionally voiced straight after a match to your fellow fans on the way home or to your mates in the pub, are now broadcast to the rest of the world within seconds of the final whistle.
In fact Joe Lewis and Lee Tomlin were getting hammered by some Posh fans on Twitter before the end of Saturday’s game. There’s no such thing as a considered reflection in the world of social media.
It’s also a fact that great performances don’t prompt anywhere near as much reaction as poor ones, but footballers should have the good sense and maturity to rise above it.
That’s why Darren Ferguson’s decision to ban his forward Lee Tomlin from Twitter is a good one for anyone with Posh’s good name at heart.
Tomlin may not have shown it too much this season, but he’s a gifted footballer. He has vision, he has a great technique and he is a scorer of quality goals, but he is let down too often by a suspect temperament on the pitch and an acute ability to be wound up off it.
You need to be playing better than he is to get away with some of those antics.
Some of the comments aimed in his direction on Twitter have been out of order as was the case on Saturday night. But his replies let the club and his manager down which is far more disappointing.
Ferguson has defended Tomlin on numerous occasions. He pleaded forgiveness for his player following a stupid first-half red card offence against Leeds earlier this season and was extolling his virtues again in last Friday’s ET - what a slap in the face Tomlin’s performance 24 hours later must have been.
Used sensibly, as in the case of Gaby Zakuani, Twitter is a great tool for footballers who wish to interact with their fans. Ryan Tunnicliffe even used Twitter to apologise for his first-half performance at the weekend.
Tomlin never seemed to grasp that potential. A period of silence while he works on a game that served Posh so well last season will be gratefully received.
What do you think?
Comment below, email alan.swann@peterboroughtoday.co.uk, comment on Twitter - @swannyPosh or use hashtag #pufc
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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Comments
There are 8 comments to this article
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Fenland Posh
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 08:16 PMThink Tomlin should take some lessons off Tunnicliffe who was man enough to come out and say sorry for a poor performance. You would think he was the older and supposedly wiser person. Not a spoilt brat like Tomlin.
aressee
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 02:43 PMThe pie man keeping a low profile, perhaps he'll have time to join 'Slimming World' then.
Gwendoline Horseradish
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 01:21 PM@5 - Nicely put! And for those who may have missed his wonderful vocabulary, accurate spelling and refined use of English, here's Mr T from Sunday commenting on the Man City match: "is that what he done? Must of been when I went out the room for abit".
Posh & Go
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 12:57 PMAww, I'm going to miss his tweets, an exquisite cocktail of self-delusion, stupidity, arrogance and bad spelling, laced with desperate RTs from his pre-teen fans saying how wonderful he is after another pants performance and witless use of hashtags #livingthedreamgetajoblikemineucouldownamercedes
DonB
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:46 AMIt would never have happened in Tommy Peak's days, a ban from the Peacock pub might have ensued. Seriously, I can empathise with Lee Tomlin, some fans can be cruel in the extreme. Many, including myself are not fully in the picture. Typed remarks are a false medium, a face to face encounter will temper any comments, therefore this Twitter thing is far from real life. I have not and never will use it. Lee should be left alone to contemplate on his performance and to accept his employer's comments. On my way home from officiating in a match, any match, I would stop my car and reflect on my performance. There were times I knew I had made wrong split second decisions, these thoughts were committed to memory and were there to pull on during my next appointment. The manager was right to protect Lee from this sort of activity by banning him from reacting and to also allow Lee to reflect, in his own way. When he next plays I hope Lee can express his talents and answer his critics in the proper manner.
It'sPOSHupNorth
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:38 AMI agree Swanny, Tomlin does need a period of silence like for the rest of his life on a football pitch. Can he not see that when he's been booked the last thing that he should be doing is gobbing off towards the officials every chance he gets? He shouldn't be doing it period. The ref on Saturday was very poor in my opinion, however, that said, he'd have been more than justified if he'd sent Tomlin off . He does have some potential but at this point it's just that, potential. If he can't put in a performance & is constantly a liability, you wonder why he's on the pitch.
doggo
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:16 AMMr Mustard - Though in Tomlin's case I would replace 'I' with 'A'.
Gwendoline Horseradish
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 09:51 AMTwitter. The clue is in the name.
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