Writer, analyst, podcaster, Spurs fan. Three out of four is not bad. If there is a data angle, I will find it.
Although the best clubs in English football are known to compete for Premier League honours, there is a substantial battle emerging off the pitch and it is one that comes in the form of social media.
No longer are footballing institutions simply competing for silverware both at home and abroad, but they are also competing for the attention of a worldwide audience, and this can be gauged via the metric of social clicks.
Brand New Football League Based on Social Following
Social media follower bases far outweigh the fans we see at games. Where does your team sit in the social media football league?
Whether it be likes on Facebook or retweets on Twitter, these are the currency that drives football clubs in the digital world and for those who ever wondered just who the social media league champions are, we can now provide the answer.
An answer that comes courtesy of tracking the “big three” follower data – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, for each of the 92 professional clubs that currently operate within the structure of the English football pyramid.
From here, a simple addition of all three platforms, will then give us a league table in terms of overall followers and for those who cannot wait any longer, it is time to dissect the data and hand out the silverware.
SOCIAL MEDIA SUPER LEAGUE
To the surprise of hardly many, the top half dozen teams in our 92-team table are comprised of each of the six clubs that planned to leave the Premier League behind and depart to a rival European Super League instead.
Something that gives credence to the fact that the six biggest sides in the land, are also backed up by a hefty social media following and whether it be Manchester or Malaysia, fans across the globe are ready to lend their online support.
While with the makeup of the top six now revealed, it is time to highlight just who is the current pioneers of social media and the answer is as follows:
| Club | Division | Total | Combined Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester United | Premier League | 82,000,000 | 63,000,000 | 37,000,000 | 182,000,000 | 1 |
| Chelsea | Premier League | 54,000,000 | 41,300,000 | 25,300,000 | 120,600,000 | 2 |
| Manchester City | Premier League | 48,000,000 | 49,000,000 | 16,900,000 | 113,900,000 | 3 |
| Liverpool | Premier League | 46,000,000 | 43,400,000 | 24,100,000 | 113,500,000 | 4 |
| Arsenal | Premier League | 42,000,000 | 27,900,000 | 22,000,000 | 91,900,000 | 5 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Premier League | 33,000,000 | 16,300,000 | 8,800,000 | 58,100,000 | 6 |
As you can see Manchester United are not only top of the table, but they are considerably clear of Chelsea in second and although the latter may be kings of the transfer market during the past 12 months, there is some way to go before they are the kings of the internet.
Because the Red Devils currently find themselves with 61.4 million more overall followers than that of Chelsea and although Erik ten Hag’s men have stuttered on the pitch in recent times, they are head and shoulders above the rest on the world wide web.
Not only that, but they are consistent in their route to the top of the standings, as in each of the three platforms, the Old Trafford outfit have recorded the most followers at the time of the data capture.
With Manchester City managing to do the treble at the end of the 2022/23 season, they have managed to move past local rivals Liverpool and Just like their battles on the pitch, there is very little difference between the two.
Just 400,000 total followers split the two clubs. Manchester City reigned supreme when it comes to both Facebook and Instagram. Liverpool’s legion of supporters managed to claw back some of the deficit on Twitter.
Often betting fans might cry that odds for their team with betting sites are not as big as they should be, but if all of these fans who follow on social media are also betting on their own teams to win, it is no surprise bookmakers have to tread cautiously with some of the most popular football teams on social media platforms, especially if the social popularity is mirrored in football betting tips.
THE TOP 20
Now that we know the make up of the top six, it is time to shine a light on those who would compete in the ‘Social Media Premier League’ and for those who would assume that the top 20 teams would also have the 20 biggest online followings, their assumption would be wrong.
| Club | Division | Total | Combined Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester United | Premier League | 82,000,000 | 63,000,000 | 37,000,000 | 182,000,000 | 1 |
| Chelsea | Premier League | 54,000,000 | 41,300,000 | 25,300,000 | 120,600,000 | 2 |
| Manchester City | Premier League | 48,000,000 | 49,000,000 | 16,900,000 | 113,900,000 | 3 |
| Liverpool | Premier League | 46,000,000 | 43,400,000 | 24,100,000 | 113,500,000 | 4 |
| Arsenal | Premier League | 42,000,000 | 27,900,000 | 22,000,000 | 91,900,000 | 5 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Premier League | 33,000,000 | 16,300,000 | 8,800,000 | 58,100,000 | 6 |
| Leicester City | Championship | 8,600,000 | 7,800,000 | 2,700,000 | 19,100,000 | 7 |
| Aston Villa | Premier League | 5,300,000 | 3,400,000 | 2,300,000 | 11,000,000 | 8 |
| Everton | Premier League | 4,500,000 | 3,000,000 | 3,000,000 | 10,500,000 | 9 |
| West Ham United | Premier League | 3,900,000 | 3,900,000 | 2,600,000 | 10,400,000 | 10 |
| Newcastle United | Premier League | 3,900,000 | 2,400,000 | 2,600,000 | 8,900,000 | 11 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | Premier League | 3,100,000 | 2,500,000 | 1,200,000 | 6,800,000 | 12 |
| Southampton | Championship | 3,400,000 | 1,300,000 | 1,600,000 | 6,300,000 | 13 |
| Crystal Palace | Premier League | 1,800,000 | 1,700,000 | 1,400,000 | 4,900,000 | 14 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Premier League | 1,700,000 | 1,700,000 | 979,500 | 4,379,500 | 15 |
| Watford | Championship | 1,600,000 | 1,100,000 | 907,400 | 3,607,400 | 16 |
| Leeds United | Championship | 1,300,000 | 1,100,000 | 1,000,000 | 3,400,000 | 17 |
| Sunderland | Championship | 1,600,000 | 566,000 | 1,000,000 | 3,166,000 | 18 |
| Fulham | Premier League | 1,200,000 | 1,000,000 | 758,200 | 2,958,200 | 19 |
| Swansea City | Championship | 1,300,000 | 392,000 | 1,000,000 | 2,692,000 | 20 |
Here we see that six clubs have disrupted the order within the world of social media and although Leicester may have suffered relegation to the EFL Championship at the end of last season, they currently find themselves with the seventh overall fanbase.
A Premier League-sized online fanbase supporting what is now a second tier club and if their impressive start to the campaign continues all the way through to May 2024, the Foxes will soon be back amongst English football’s elite.
While the same can be said for the other relegated outfits Southampton and Leeds. Their internet armies have not decreased since they also suffered the drop a few months ago. Whether they can earn promotion at the first time of asking remains to be seen.
Then again, one should not overlook the online the digital footprint that the trio of Watford, Sunderland and Swansea have amassed. All with more than 2.5m total followers across three platforms, all nestling nicely in the overall top 20.
OUTSIDE THE TOP TIER
Of course, what goes up means something else must come down and of those Premier League clubs who cannot match their status online, it is Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Burnley, Bournemouth, Brentford, and Luton who have suffered the ignominy of virtual relegation.
Although what is more interesting here, is the fact that these four clubs are not simply ranked 21 to 26 in the league ladder, their fortunes are far more varied than that, and it is certainly not good news for Premier League newcomers Luton – as is highlighted in the table below:| Club | Division | Total | Combined Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stoke City | Championship | 1,200,000 | 399,000 | 1,000,000 | 2,599,000 | 21 |
| Nottingham Forest | Premier League | 875,000 | 1,000,000 | 646,200 | 2,521,200 | 22 |
| Norwich City | Championship | 1,100,000 | 491,000 | 879,700 | 2,470,700 | 23 |
| West Bromwich Albion | Championship | 876,000 | 420,000 | 1,100,000 | 2,396,000 | 24 |
| Sheffield United | Premier League | 1,100,000 | 670,000 | 568,800 | 2,338,800 | 25 |
| Burnley | Premier League | 817,000 | 692,000 | 811,500 | 2,320,500 | 26 |
| Bournemouth | Premier League | 699,000 | 805,000 | 692,200 | 2,196,200 | 27 |
| Hull City | Championship | 1,000,000 | 549,000 | 581,000 | 2,130,000 | 28 |
| Wrexham | League Two | 293,000 | 1,100,000 | 549,700 | 1,942,700 | 29 |
| Brentford | Premier League | 716,000 | 479,000 | 347,400 | 1,542,400 | 30 |
| Derby County | League One | 583,000 | 454,000 | 398,700 | 1,435,700 | 31 |
| Queens Park Rangers | Championship | 736,000 | 198,000 | 487,200 | 1,421,200 | 32 |
| Cardiff City | Championship | 558,000 | 200,000 | 397,100 | 1,155,100 | 33 |
| Birmingham City | Championship | 452,000 | 257,000 | 434,200 | 1,143,200 | 34 |
| Middlesbrough | Championship | 484,000 | 135,000 | 392,300 | 1,011,300 | 35 |
| Reading | League One | 513,000 | 112,000 | 369,900 | 994,900 | 36 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Championship | 375,000 | 135,000 | 375,500 | 885,500 | 37 |
| Luton Town | Premier League | 302,000 | 331,000 | 189,600 | 822,600 | 38 |
For the Hatters, they may be a Premier League outfit for the next few months but their online presence has yet to catch up. As a consequence, the Kenilworth Road outfit find themselves lying 38th overall.
16 places worse off than Nottingham Forest who are the highest-ranked Premier League team that is currently not in the top 20. Not only are they outside the elite, but they have also been beaten to the mantle of best of the rest by Championship outfit Stoke.
In the virtual League One, it is celebration time at Ashton Gate, as Bristol City are declared champions, while League Two Salford City are certainly punching above their weight while lying 46th overall - a position better than Charlton Athletic who operate at a league above.| Club | Division | Total | Combined Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol City | Championship | 221,000 | 151,000 | 217,400 | 589,400 | 45 |
| Salford City | League Two | 70,000 | 284,000 | 167,300 | 521,300 | 46 |
| Charlton Athletic | League One | 217,000 | 101,000 | 192,400 | 510,400 | 47 |
Within the confines of virtual League Two, the champagne corks are being popped at Northampton Town, as they pip Cambridge United to the crown by a rather slender margin of just 400 followers.
While Cambridge’s varsity rivals Oxford United are just a further 1,000 followers behind.
| Club | Division | Total | Combined Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton Town | League One | 39,000 | 86,500 | 94,100 | 219,600 | 69 |
| Cambridge United | League One | 88,000 | 48,100 | 83,100 | 219,200 | 70 |
| Oxford United | League One | 66,000 | 54,100 | 98,100 | 218,200 | 71 |
| Rotherham United | Championship | 62,000 | 32,700 | 121,300 | 216,000 | 72 |
While spare a thought for Barrow, as with just 73,900 combined followers at the point of data capture, it is they who are ranked the 92nd and lowest side in the broadband-based English football pyramid. Something that suggest their social media team may need some more pre-season training.
A CERTAIN RATIO
Of course, another way to look at all this social data, is by looking at it from a stadium capacity angle and just how many times these respective followers could fill the stadium of their most beloved football clubs.
Now for this to happen we have to normalise the data and therefore, we must assume that a superfan is a follower of his or her favourite club across all three of the social platforms – in doing so, we can get a count of unique fans rather than a combined total.
When taking this count of unique fans and calculating as a ratio of stadium capacity, we then get another league table from our 92 clubs in question and although Manchester United may have been champions from one angle, they do not have all their own way.
| Club | Division | Total | Unique Followers | Capacity | Unique Capacity Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | Premier League | 120,600,000 | 40,200,000 | 40,173 | 1001 |
| Manchester United | Premier League | 182,000,000 | 60,666,667 | 74,031 | 819 |
| Manchester City | Premier League | 113,900,000 | 37,966,667 | 53,400 | 711 |
| Liverpool | Premier League | 113,500,000 | 37,833,333 | 61,276 | 617 |
| Arsenal | Premier League | 91,900,000 | 30,633,333 | 60,704 | 505 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Premier League | 58,100,000 | 19,366,667 | 62,850 | 308 |
| Leicester City | Championship | 19,100,000 | 6,366,667 | 32,262 | 197 |
| Everton | Premier League | 10,500,000 | 3,500,000 | 39,414 | 89 |
| Aston Villa | Premier League | 11,000,000 | 3,666,667 | 42,530 | 86 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | Premier League | 6,800,000 | 2,266,667 | 31,750 | 71 |
| Southampton | Championship | 6,300,000 | 2,100,000 | 32,384 | 65 |
| Bournemouth | Premier League | 2,196,200 | 732,067 | 11,307 | 65 |
| Crystal Palace | Premier League | 4,900,000 | 1,633,333 | 25,486 | 64 |
| Wrexham | League Two | 1,942,700 | 647,567 | 10,771 | 60 |
| Newcastle United | Premier League | 8,900,000 | 2,966,667 | 52,257 | 57 |
| West Ham United | Premier League | 10,400,000 | 3,466,667 | 62,500 | 55 |
| Watford | Championship | 3,607,400 | 1,202,467 | 22,200 | 54 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Premier League | 4,379,500 | 1,459,833 | 31,876 | 46 |
| Swansea City | Championship | 2,692,000 | 897,333 | 21,088 | 43 |
| Fulham | Premier League | 2,958,200 | 986,067 | 24,500 | 40 |
This time it is Chelsea who scoop the honours, by virtue of their unique followers being able to fill Stamford Bridge 1001 times over. Now of course, this figure is somewhat enhanced by Stamford Bridge’s smaller capacity to its counterparts, but it is still an impressive feat all the same.
As before, the biggest six clubs fill out the first six places, so now it is time to look elsewhere for the biggest stories in our ratio table and they perhaps do not get any bigger than Wrexham possessing the 14th highest Capacity Ratio in English football.
The club which is owned by the Hollywood pair of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has a capacity of 10,771 at present and although tickets are rather rare these days, they would still be able to fill the Racecourse Ground 60 times over when you consider their unique online followers.
Not only that, but the North Wales outfit have found online support from all over the globe. After their ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary was a smash hit, it has also surged the League Two side to 29th overall in the total followers table.
While there are no less than four Championship outfits among this particular top 20, as the likes of Leicester, Southampton, Watford and Swansea all find themselves mixing it with the Premier League elite.
Once again though, it does not make particularly good reading for Luton, as although they are now settled in the English top tier, they can only fill it 72 times over with unique followers and this makes the bottom ranked of all the Premier League teams. (32nd overall)
With the trophies now handed out, it is time for either celebrating or commiserating and the beauty of this particular league is that it never really ends. With more followers coming onboard on a daily basis, maybe their clicks will change the online fortunes of the club at the same time.
Data correct as of 13/10/2023 – social data captured from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Capacity data captured from Wikipedia.
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