'Easy targets': 26-year-old Newcastle man speaks out about the criticism he and other players face online

As useful as social media can be, there's absolutely no denying that the majority of the time it's just a toilet.

Anonymity emboldens loudmouthed clowns to speak what little of their mind they have and they choose to do so regularly.

They are the minority, for sure, but so often you see comments online with absolutely zero room for nuance and you can tell that no filter has been applied between the gestation of the thought and them pressing send on their post.

Footballers get it a lot as you can imagine, and Newcastle United have a few scapegoats who get the absolute brunt of it online.

Sean Longstaff admits the players do see the abuse they get

The Shields Gazette recently spoke to Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff who comes in for a lot of stick online, as well as Dan Burn and Miguel Almiron and Longy told The Shields Gazette that they do see it.

"I think me and Burny are sometimes easy targets when it’s not going well. It’s probably the same for Miggy.

"We’re not stupid, we see a bit of it, but good or bad we stick together as a group, try our best and stay as level as possible."

Take a minute to think before you post

Unfortunately, those three are easy targets for a reason, and in fairness, fans will call out anyone who has had a bad game.

The difference is, you can criticise a player, that's your right, but when that criticism is in the form of direct insults and abuse, that's way too far.

We are guilty of it too. We've openly critcised a few players, and the three aforementioned featured heavily in our criticism last season, and maybe we've made the odd joke at their expense, but the difference is that we didn't post the story and then go and tag them in it on social media to make sure they got to see what we felt about their performance.

Footballers are people, they have feelings. They're out there trying to do a job, and they will know more than anyone when they've had a bad game or done something wrong. They don't need a pile-on on social media of people tagging them in posts calling them a donkey or other things that we can't repeat here.

So next time Longy blazes a shot over the bar from three yards, just shout at your TV or wherever you're watching and move on, don't feel the need to attack him personally online. Remember as well, that in the case of Longstaff and Burn, it means just as much to them as it does to us, they're Geordies too.