‘You’re probably better off’ – Postecoglou responds to player’s social media criticism
In the wake of the negative messages that Ryan Sessegnon received after his latest injury setback, Ange Postecoglou has suggested that being on social media may not be the wisest idea for footballers.
Just when Sessegnon had worked hard to return to fitness from the hamstring operation he had to have on his left leg during pre-season, he suffered the same injury on the right side in the recent U23 fixture against West Ham United.
That meant that the 23-year-old has had to go under the knife once again, with the injury expected to keep him out of action for 10 to 12 weeks (Alasdair Gold).
Sessegnon took to social media last week to admit that he is heartbroken to have another massive setback just when he started seeing some light at the end of the tunnel but vowed to put in the work necessary to return to action as soon as possible.
The former Fulham man also reminded some fans to watch what they say online, pointing out that he is not responsible for his body failing him and admitting that he has been stung by some of the things he has read.
Postecoglou responds to Sessegon’s social media criticism
Postecoglou has now remarked that players who are on social media should expect negativity to come their way, given the nature of the platform.
When asked about the reactions Sessegnon has received, the Tottenham head coach told Football.London: “I didn’t read it, they [the club] made me aware of it. I guess the easy thing to say is ‘look just stay off social media’ and that’s easy for me to say and I can do that but I guess for younger people it’s a vehicle for them or a platform for them to have a voice which I kind of understand.
“But they’ve also got to be mature enough to also know that sometimes the audience … I think for want of a better term, social media is like walking into the prison yard and saying you’re innocent. You’re not going to get a hell of a lot of sympathy.
“Most of it is going to be coming back at you so if you’re kind of prepared for that then … but if you’re jumping into there to try and feel good, my sense of it is, I’m not all over it but you’ll rarely come away from it feeling really good about yourself, even with the most genuine of reasons for saying what you want to say or putting out what you want to put out. It’s just that kind of platform you’re invariably going to come away from thinking, ‘I probably shouldn’t have said anything’.”
Postecoglou revealed that while he is always ready to speak to players about their experiences, he insisted that he does not prescribe what they should do.
He added: “I give them advice, but I’m always reticent to dictate because I’m not in their shoes. Who’s to say if I was in my early 20s living today as a footballer that I wouldn’t be all over social media? It’s like when people say you can’t get kids off their iPads or Playstations and in our day we were always outside. To be fair, we had no option. If we had an option maybe I would’ve been inside too. So you have to have some understanding.
“But at the same time, I do try to provide a little bit of counsel. They need to understand for all the access you have in your life and all the good stuff you get out of it there’s always a responsibility and understanding, and needs to be a maturity that there’s a possibility of not such good stuff being there as well, and you have to be prepared for that.
“If you’re not or if it affects you really badly if it comes the other way then you’re probably better off, and there’s probably a sense that you’re not ready to enter that world. That’s advice from an old bloke. I don’t know how much they listen or how much of it is right. All I can do is provide counsel from my experience.”
Spurs Web Opinion
While it is understandable why professional athletes have social media accounts to build their brand, it is not a great idea for them to handle their own accounts or read the messages they receive as there is a lot of hate on these platforms.
Footballers and other celebrities are not seen as people in these platforms by some due to the privileges they have and they are thus seen as fair game, which is quite unfortunate.
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