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Wolves boss Mick McCarthy has hit down hard on social networking platform Twitter and believes that it is counter-productive for professional footballers to air inside information publicly through their twitter profiles. He was particularly riled by Steve Sidwell going to Fulham after virtually agreeing a deal at Wolves, due to someone disclosing on twitter that a deal with Wolves was on.
Speaking to reporters after Wolves were linked with a move for West Ham midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, McCarthy refused to be drawn into any talk and cited the example of Sidwell’s failed deal due to twitter ramblings.
He said-
“I think what really should highlight that [I won't discuss transfer targets with the media] is we had Steve Sidwell at the Chelsea game. Some twit tweeted it and it became common knowledge. He is on the running machine here and having a fitness test the following day and his agent gets a call from Mark Hughes and he goes and signs for Fulham. Do you think that had anything to do with the gravepine or that Twitter line? I think it probably did.”
He warned that players might get into serious trouble by mistakenly revealing the team selection prior to official announcement, an offence that could lead to them getting fined and more. While McCarthy stopped short of actually banning his players from using Twitter, he revealed that Wolves had hired a media law form to educate the players over proper Twitter use.
He said-
“Players are going to get themselves into trouble over Twitter, I can tell. I can’t ban it and I’m not going to try. But they have to be careful what they say on it about the club and its policies. If they put a team selection up, which I’m sure some disgruntled numpty will at some stage, they will be in trouble. Then I think they can get fined. It is forbidden and I think it’s unforgivable anyway [to] make it known just because they are not in the team.
“We are in the process of educating them, having a media law firm come in and speak to the players about it. Having pictures of yourself misbehaving as a 16-year-old is OK until you become a famous footballer and that picture is still there and is there forever.”
It remains to be seen whether McCarthy completes the signing of Hitzlsperger or if some ‘twitter numpty’ ruins it again. Stay tuned for more in this regard.
