The Exiled Robin

The latest publication of my 'On the Social' column from the Bristol City matchday programme, Red Alert : Reading, Setpember 15 th 2011 This week I’m delighted to welcome Reading fan Rob Langham, co-founder of the excellent www.thetwounfortunates.blogspot.com website, which comprehensively covers all things Football League. Follow them on Twitter @twounfortunates Your blog specialises in the Football League, why did you decide to set up specifically excluding the Premier League? My fellow blogger and I both supported then Championship clubs in Reading and Plymouth so that was our main area of interest.   The Premier League was already well covered by a range of excellent blogs. Until a couple of years ago bloggers were fairly niche, known to each other in quite a small world, but Twitter has allowed some fairly major-scale expansion and PR. Would you agree and how have you used Twitter to benefit your site? I still think it is quite a small world compared to online ...

The latest publication of my 'On the Social' column from the Bristol City matchday programme, Red Alert : Hull City, September 24 th 2011 Joey Barton: X-rated or X Factor? One of the reasons for the existence and growth of social media is that it gives everyone a voice.   Anyone can write a blog, contribute to forums or tweet their views on any topic they like.   Whilst your average Joe has embraced this opportunity gleefully, many celebrities have also taken the opportunity to prove they’re not just a pretty face/talented sportsman/musical genius. One such contributor is doing so with an ever-growing impact on Twitter.   Joseph Anthony Barton (@Joey7Barton ) has attracted publicity ever since he burst onto the Premier League scene back in 2002 with his well-publicised on and off-field antics ensuring he’s never far away from the headlines.   Violence, petulance, general ill-discipline and apparently a world-record breaking chip on his shoulder have general...

Saturday’s result at Leeds was disappointing and caused a number of fans (who admitted later they hadn’t been to the game) to react with severe disappointment on Twitter.   There was an instant retort and a handful of arguments broke amongst some of those fans and others who had been to the game and were on their way home.   It’s one of the fascinating aspects of Twitter and online forums that you can have such an instant discussion, particularly for away games when fewer fans actually see the live performance. So was it good and unlucky?   Was it bad and deserved?   I have enlisted the help of some of those that attended - Dale Merry, Melissa Spencer and John Milsom - to put their view across of the game and the performance.   A Leeds blogger, Thomas Hill from www.Leeds.theoffside.com has also been kind enough to offer a view on City based on what he saw at Elland Road. The general consensus appears to be that the performance was decidedly improved o...

The latest publication of my 'On the Social' column from the Bristol City matchday programme, Red Alert : Brighton, September 10 th 2011 When the creation of a seasonal deadline for transfers was announced by UEFA a number of years ago, very few could have forecast the levels of excitement that would be created and the annual event it has swiftly become. The more cynical amongst you could perhaps now suggest it was a policy orchestrated by satellite television, such is the hype and sheer hysteria produced in the build-up to, and during, August 31st each year. However it is not just about television and that, in part, is what makes it such a success. Fans can become involved, whether it’s just listening out for a mention of their team, or by interacting with news sources to try and claim an exclusive. BBC Sport’s website quickly latched onto this roller-coaster of a day a few years ago with a live text commentary running throughout and have embraced fans interaction...

For a supporter who has grown up on a series of left-backs cast out of the same mould, it has become one of those quirky 'golden' positions for me at City. Martin Scott, Mickey Bell, Matty Hill and Jim Brennan (briefly) held the No.3 shirt for years and were all legends or cult-heroes to differing extents. It's fair to say Jamie Mac has been a dependable owner of the shirt for the past few seasons, and I'm one of those still loathe to overly criticise any of the players who brought us up and got us to Wembley in 2008. Although there has been an under-current of feeling amongst many fans that we could do better, there has certainly been a groundswell of pressure building to get decent cover in at the very least. It's been so long I can't actually remember who the last 'regular' reserve left-back was. So the signing of Ryan McGivern, on the face of it, was treated with some excitement. Surely a player recently handed a new two-year contract by gi...