Football's gone all digital
Remember when goalkeepers didn’t wear gloves, goalposts were made of jumpers and 100,000 people regularly turned out to watch Wycombe Wanderers? No? Me neither.
The sport the traditionalists regularly harp on about is long gone and for most football fans, digital has been a well-established part of enjoying the beautiful game for some time. Even Fifa are getting in on the act by finally deciding to take a look at goalline technology.
With digital there are now countless ways fans can make their voices heard, making increasingly redundant the traditional favourites of shouting at the TV or bleating like a drunken llama at anyone in the pub who’ll listen.
Keeping one eye on the game and one eye on a Twitter feed is a skill a new generation of football fans have all but perfected. Within seconds you can get contrasting reactions to events on the pitch from footballers and celebrity fans. Plus, you get to stick your own oar in as well. You don’t need any coaching badges to compose and publish 140 characters.
Sky Sports Apps
The other day I was all set to eloquently describe a remarkable opening goal to a late-arriving friend, when he stopped me by saying: “Don’t worry about it mate, saw it on Sky Go.” Usually ahead on most things football, Sky have made their live coverage available to subscribers on mobile and tablet with Sky Go. They’ve also boiled down their peerless results service from Soccer Saturday to fit neatly into the free Football Score Centre app.
FourFourTwo Stats Zone
The success of celebrity stattos such as Life a Pitch columnists Michael Cox and Jonathan Wilson shows we can’t get enough of armchair analysis. To keep ahead of the game, this app gives you enough facts and figures to make Carol Vorderman weep with joy. You can track every blade of grass covered by your side’s left-back and prepare a dossier on the dangerous right-winger he’ll be up against next week. It’s a brave new world.
