Sunday 3 December 2017

Which Premier League Team Is The Most Followed On Twitter? The Answer Won't Surprise You (But Other Bits Of This List Containing Every Team In Britain And Ireland Might.) (A Bit.)





Twitter, eh? It’s a funny old game, what with so many people taking it way too seriously, to an extent that bursts of pure unfettered vitriol and occasional violence can ensue. While it may have been founded with purely Corinthian ideals at the core, it ultimately became a gentleman’s game adopted by too many ruffians for any unabashed enjoyment. Those becapped early days aren’t coming back. Especially not now there’s money in it.

And yet, despite all the droning, the dimwittery and the dickishness, enough of that core remains to keep us coming back for more. It’s often not pretty, participants often spend too long rolling around the dirt in fictional anguish, but there are always those wonderful characters who drag it from the mudbath, wipe away the drek and in doing so bring a cheer to our heart and a spring to our step. When your side wins, it’s wonderful. And when your side doesn’t win, there’ll be another battle along in a few days. And that’s what keeps us coming back. Even though Piers Morgan seems determined to ruin it for everyone. 


So, for the allegorically-challenged amongst you, it’s a lot like football. Which might explain why we felt compelled to make a huge list of British Isles-based football clubs, sorted by their Twitter follower count. Who’s the most popular British or Irish football club on Twitter? Manchester United, obviously. But there are more than a few surprises along the way. Which Welsh Premier League side has more followers than two-thirds of the Scottish Premier League? Which Championship side attracts more than a million followers? And which National League North side enjoys a six-figure follower count? 

All answered here, taking in The Premier League, The Football League*, The National League (all three divisions), The SPL, The SFL, and the top tiers of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Why? Because we wondered where Wrexham would be in such a list and nobody had made one yet. So here it is. Enjoy. 

(*Not ‘EFL’. Never ‘EFL’. Unless you’re weirdly determined to throw away 126 years of proud history to try and trick a few dozen Americans into watching Derby v Brentford.)


 BRITISH ISLES FOOTBALL CLUBS BY TWITTER FOLLOWER COUNT


Pos League Team Followers (000s)
1 Premier League  Manchester Utd 16000.0
2 Premier League  Arsenal 12300.0
3 Premier League  Chelsea 10900.0
4 Premier League  Liverpool 9110.0
5 Premier League  Manchester City 5330.0
6 Premier League  Tottenham 2520.0
7 Premier League  Everton 1390.0
8 Premier League  West Ham Utd 1340.0
9 Premier League  Newcastle Utd 1180.0
10 Premier League  Leicester City 1080.0
11 Championship  Aston Villa 1070.0
12 Premier League  Southampton 891.0
13 Premier League  Stoke City 877.0
14 Premier League  Swansea City 852.0
15 Championship  Sunderland 802.0
16 Premier League  West Bromwich 767.0
17 Premier League  Crystal Palace 643.0
18 Scottish Premiership  Celtic 545.0
19 Championship  Norwich City 542.0
20 Premier League  Watford 396.0
21 Championship  Hull City 393.0
22 Championship  Fulham 392.0
23 Scottish Premiership  Rangers 386.0
24 Championship  QPR 385.0
25 Premier League  Bournemouth 333.0
26 Championship  Leeds Utd 319.0
27 Premier League  Burnley 299.0
28 Championship  Reading 285.0
29 Championship  Middlesbrough 263.0
30 League 1  Wigan Athletic 260.0
31 Championship  Nottm Forest 256.0
32 Championship  Wolverhampton 253.0
33 Championship  Sheffield Wed 246.0
34 Championship  Birmingham City 240.0
35 Championship  Cardiff City 231.0
36 Championship  Derby County 201.0
37 League 1  Blackburn 192.0
38 Championship  Sheffield Utd 183.0
39 Championship  Bolton 160.0
40 Premier League  Brighton & Hove 158.0
41 League 1  Doncaster 137.0
42 League 1  Charlton 129.0
43 Premier League  Huddersfield 127.0
44 Championship  Bristol City 123.0
45 League 1  Portsmouth 120.0
46 National League (North)  Salford City 118.0
47 Championship  Ipswich Town 117.0
48 League 1  Blackpool 117.0
49 League 2  Coventry City 105.0
50 Championship  Barnsley 96.4



Pos League Team Followers (000s)
51 Championship  Millwall 90.8
52 Championship  Brentford 89.3
53 Scottish Premiership  Aberdeen 86.9
54 League 1  MK Dons 85.0
55 League 1  Bradford 84.7
56 League 1  Plymouth 83.3
57 Championship  Preston 81.8
58 League 1  Bristol Rovers 74.1
59 League 1  Peterborough 73.6
60 League 1  Rotherham 73.1
61 National League (North)  FC United 72.6
62 League 2  Luton Town 72.4
63 Scottish Premiership  Hearts 72.2
64 Welsh Premier League  The New Saints 70.4
65 League 1  Southend Utd 69.7
66 League 1  Northampton 69.3
67 League 2  Chesterfield 68.2
68 Scottish Premiership  Hibernian 67.6
69 League 1  Walsall 67.5
70 League 1  Oxford Utd 65.9
71 League 2  Swindon Town 64.3
72 League 1  Fleetwood 64.1
73 League 2  Wycombe 61.0
74 Championship  Burton Albion 60.5
75 League 2  Cheltenham 58.6
76 League 1  Gillingham 58.5
77 League 1  Bury 57.3
78 League 1  Wimbledon 56.5
79 League 2  Cambridge Utd 56.5
80 League 2  Exeter 55.9
81 League 1  Shrewsbury 55.5
82 League 2  Colchester 55.3
83 League 2  Accrington 54.8
84 League 2  Carlisle Utd 54.2
85 League 2  Crawley 53.3
86 League 2  Notts County 53.1
87 National Premier  Hartlepool Utd 53.0
88 League 1  Scunthorpe 52.3
89 National Premier  Leyton Orient 49.5
90 League 1  Rochdale 48.4
91 League 2  Port Vale 48.0
92 League 2  Crewe Alexandra 47.1
93 League 2  Newport 47.0
94 League 2  Stevenage 46.8
95 Scottish Championship  Dundee Utd 46.8
96 League 1  Oldham 46.5
97 National League (North)  York City 46.0
98 League 2  Lincoln 45.8
99 League 2  Mansfield 43.1
100 League 2  Yeovil Town 41.6



Pos League Team Followers (000s)
101 National Premier  Wrexham 41.1
102 National Premier  Tranmere 38.9
103 League 2  Grimsby 38.6
104 Scottish Premiership  Dundee FC 37.9
105 Ireland Premier League  Cork City 35.3
106 National Premier  Aldershot Town 32.6
107 Scottish Premiership  Motherwell 32.4
108 National Premier  Chester 32.1
109 National League (North)  Darlington 31.7
110 National Premier  Dagenham & R 31.4
111 National Premier  Torquay Utd 30.5
112 Scottish Premiership  St Johnstone 29.9
113 League 2  Morecambe 29.8
114 Ireland Premier League  Dundalk 29.4
115 League 2  Barnet 27.4
116 Scottish Premiership  Kilmarnock 25.9
117 League 2  Forest Green 25.6
118 Scottish Championship  Inverness 25.6
119 National Premier  Halifax Town 25.0
120 National Premier  Gateshead 24.9
121 Ireland Premier League  Shamrock 24.1
122 Scottish Championship  St Mirren 22.9
123 Scottish Premiership  Partick Thistle 21.6
124 National Premier  Sutton Utd 21.4
125 National League (North)  Stockport 21.1
126 Ireland Premier League  Sligo Rovers 20.3
127 National Premier  Eastleigh 20.2
128 Ireland Premier League  Derry City 20.1
129 National League (North)  Nuneaton 19.6
130 Scottish Premiership  Hamilton 19.3
131 Scottish Championship  Falkirk 19.3
132 National Premier  Maidstone 18.5
133 National League (North)  Chorley 18.2
134 National League (North)  Blyth Spartans 17.8
135 Northern Ireland Premiership  Linfield 17.6
136 National League (North)  Telford Utd 17.5
137 National Premier  Dover Athletic 17.4
138 Scottish Championship  Dunfermline 17.0
139 National Premier  Macclesfield 16.9
140 National Premier  AFC Fylde 16.9
141 National League (North)  Southport 16.6
142 Ireland Premier League  St Patricks 16.2
143 National League (North)  Kidderminster 15.5
144 National Premier  Guiseley 15.3
145 National League (South)  Dartford 15.2
146 Ireland Premier League  Limerick 15.1
147 National Premier  Barrow 14.8
148 National League (North)  North Ferriby 14.8
149 Scottish League 1  Raith Rovers 14.7
150 Ireland Premier League  Bohemians 14.5
Pos League Team Followers (000s)
151 Ireland Premier League  Drogheda 14.2
152 Northern Ireland Premiership  Glentoran 14.2
153 Scottish Championship  Morton 14.2
154 National Premier  Ebbsfleet Utd 14.0
155 Scottish League 2  Cowdenbeath 14.0
156 National Premier  Bromley 13.7
157 National League (North)  Harrogate 13.5
158 National League (North)  Boston Utd 13.5
159 National Premier  Solihull Moors 13.4
160 National League (South)  Braintree 13.4
161 National League (North)  Tamworth 13.3
162 National League (North)  Spennymoor 13.2
163 National Premier  Woking 13.0
164 National League (South)  Welling Utd 13.0
165 Welsh Premier League  Bala Town 12.9
166 National League (South)  Chelmsford 12.7
167 Scottish Championship  Livingston 12.5
168 Northern Ireland Premiership  Crusaders 12.2
169 Ireland Premier League  Bray 12.0
170 Northern Ireland Premiership  Cliftonville 11.8
171 Scottish Championship  Queen of South 11.6
172 Welsh Premier League  Bangor City 11.6
173 Scottish League 2  Stenhousemuir 11.4
174 Ireland Premier League  Finn Harps 11.3
175 Scottish League 2  Clyde 11.3
176 Scottish League 1  Albion Rovers 11.0
177 National League (South)  Gloucester City 10.7
178 National League (South)  Concord Rangers 10.6
179 Scottish League 1  East Fife 10.6
180 National League (South)  Poole Town 10.5
181 Ireland Premier League  Galway Utd 10.5
182 Scottish Premiership  Ross County 10.4
183 Northern Ireland Premiership  Coleraine 10.3
184 Scottish League 2  Stirling Albion 10.3
185 National League (North)  Alfreton Town 10.0
186 National League (South)  St Albans 9.9
187 Northern Ireland Premiership  Glenavon 9.8
188 Northern Ireland Premiership  Ballymena Utd 9.8
189 Scottish League 1  Airdrieonians 9.6
190 Welsh Premier League  Aberystwyth 9.6
191 Scottish League 1  Ayr United 9.4
192 Scottish League 2  Berwick Rangers 9.4
193 Welsh Premier League  Prestatyn Town 9.4
194 National League (North)  Brackley Town 9.2
195 Scottish League 1  Stranraer 9.2
196 National Premier  Boreham Wood 9.1
197 Scottish League 2  Elgin City 9.1
198 Welsh Premier League  Newtown 9.1
199 National League (South)  East Thurrock 9.0
200 National League (North)  Curzon 8.8


Pos League Team Followers (000s)
201 Scottish League 1  Queen`s Park 8.8
202 Welsh Premier League  Connah`s Quay 8.8
203 National League (South)  Oxford City 8.5
204 Northern Ireland Premiership  Ballinamallard  8.4
205 Scottish League 1  Forfar Athletic 8.4
206 National League (North)  Leamington 8.1
207 National League (South)  Hemel Hempstead 8.1
208 Scottish Championship  Dumbarton 8.1
209 National Premier  Maidenhead Utd 7.9
210 National League (North)  Gainsborough 7.8
211 Welsh Premier League  Carmarthen 7.8
212 National League (South)  Truro City 7.7
213 Scottish League 2  Montrose 7.7
214 Scottish League 2  Edinburgh City 7.7
215 National League (North)  Bradford PA 7.6
216 Northern Ireland Premiership  Dungannon 7.4
217 National League (South)  Bognor Regis 7.2
218 National League (South)  Bath City 7.0
219 National League (South)  Havant & W. 6.8
220 National League (South)  Chippenham 6.6
221 Welsh Premier League  Llandudno 6.6
222 Northern Ireland Premiership  Carrick Rangers 6.5
223 Scottish Championship  Brechin City 6.1
224 Welsh Premier League  Barry Town 6.1
225 Scottish League 2  Annan Athletic 6.0
226 National League (South)  Hungerford 5.8
227 Scottish League 2  Peterhead 5.6
228 Northern Ireland Premiership  Warrenpoint 5.5
229 Scottish League 1  Arbroath 5.1
230 Welsh Premier League  Cardiff MU 5.1
231 National League (South)  Hampton & Rich. 5.0
232 Welsh Premier League  Cefn Druids 4.7
233 National League (South)  Whitehawk 4.6
234 Northern Ireland Premiership  Ards 4.6
235 National League (South)  Wealdstone 4.5
236 National League (South)  Weston 4.1
237 National League (South)  Eastbourne 3.9
238 Scottish League 1  Alloa Athletic 3.4
 All follower data from 25 Sept 2017. Source: Twitter, obvs.

And that's it. For those wondering how current football hipster darlings Billericay Town FC would have fared: 21.5k followers, so 124th. 

Want to see how your team fared only against others in their division? Or just want to delve into all that lovely data? Here's a Google Docs link to the data, just for you. 

NEXT UPDATE: The above table, cross-referenced against average attendances 1975-2016. (Not really.)

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