The Social Media Premier League Table

According to data presented by NewBettingSites Manchester United are comfortably the Premier League’s most popular side if measured by social media following. That most likely won’t come as too much of a surprise considering the Old Trafford club are renowned for having fans in almost all corners of the globe.

It may however come as a slight shock to see just how far ahead of the competition the Red Devils are. Topping the pile on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, Manchester United are fully 60 million followers clear of nearest rivals Chelsea when measured by the combined number of followers across all three platforms.

Social Media Performance vs Actual Finishing Positions

One interesting pattern which emerges when analysing the data is just how closely the Social Media League Table correlates with the actual league finishing positions. For comparison, we used the final table for the 2021/22 Premier League season, and an adjusted Social Media table – replacing the newly promoted clubs of Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest, with the three sides who were relegated last season – Burnley, Watford and Norwich City.

Team Social Media Table Position 2021/22 Finishing Position Difference Manchester City 4th 1st 3 Liverpool 3rd 2nd 1 Chelsea 2nd 3rd 1 Tottenham Hotspur 6th 4th 2 Arsenal 5th 5th 0 Manchester United 1st 6th 5 West Ham United 10th 7th 3 Leicester City 7th 8th 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 18th 9th 9 Wolverhampton Wanderers 12th 10th 2 Newcastle United 11th 11th 0 Crystal Palace 14th 12th 2 Brentford 20th 13th 7 Aston Villa 9th 14th 5 Southampton 13th 15th 2 Everton 8th 16th 8 Leeds United 16th 17th 1 Burnley 19th 18th 1 Watford 15th 19th 4 Norwich City 17th 20th 3 Total Difference 60 Average Difference 3

As we can see, the makeup of the top six sides exactly matched in both tables, albeit in a different order, whilst nine of the 11 sides to finish between 7th and 17th in the Social Media Table, also finished between 7th and 17th in the actual league table.

Seagulls Soar, Toffees Stuck in the Mud

Contained within the table, there are of course a selection of sides who either over or underachieved when compared to their social media status.

The league’s biggest overachievers were Graham Potter’s Brighton & Hove Albion outfit. Only 18th in the Social Media standings, the Seagulls finished an excellent ninth. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain that status in 2022/23 now that Potter has departed to Chelsea – although they have certainly made an excellent start.

At the other end of the spectrum, we have Everton. Eighth in the Social Media standings, the Toffees flirted with relegation for much of the campaign before scraping home in 16th spot.

Social Media a Solid Predictor of League Finishing Positions?

The most interesting finding from the above comparison comes when looking at the average difference between positions in the Social Media Standings and the Premier League Table. On average, Premier League sides finished within three places of their social media ranking – with a solid 35% finishing within one spot of the Social Media prediction.

Thankfully – unless you are a Manchester United supporter – the Premier League table continues to be decided by points gained on the pitch rather than social media status. Nevertheless, social media following seems to boast a strong link with the finances available to a club, and as such can provide a useful guide as to the realistic expectations of each side.