Without wishing to stand in the way of a good story, just 80 of the 1,208 tweets (less than 7%) directed at @dgibbo28 prior to him deleting his account were negative or abusive towards him. This suggests he did indeed quit because he was overwhelmed by the SMS updates he signed up to receive, rather than the small amount of abuse. I’m certain many more footballers have received a far less enthusiastic welcome in the past week alone.

Critique is one thing, but abuse is intolerable.
Stay classy, fans.

Darron Gibson in people-being-mean-on-the-internet shocker!

“…after the 23-year-old became apparently unwilling to put up with negative comments about his footballing ability.”

Is there anything other than presumption to suggest this is actually what happened? Genuine question.

I agree with Leia, can we have a “Yes, but there has to be a line.” option?

The vote is a bit misleading. There’s a difference between criticism and abuse. It’s ok to say he lacks speed or accuracy. It’s not ok to call him shit and tell him to quit.

Then again, there’s always the block button

There is nothing wrong with fans criticising a football online, but there is a difference between criticism and abuse… in my opionion Gibson should stop bigging himself online and should be contcentrating on his football. Lucas at Liverpool was abused by the fans for years, but now he is a key player and future captian for the club, aswell as a fan favourite… Gibson should know tgat criticism is part of the job, I hope he does well and wins the fans over, but thats up to him to do,.. from a liverpool fan.

http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GetGibboBack
the great man utd fans!!

I wonder how many people would say the same to him if they had to meet him face to face…

i am a LFC fan and many of our players are on twitter but i have never really heard a single abuse directed towards them considering our topsy turvy season….but i would like to say one more thing….why join twitter if you cant accept what the fans say….twitter is meant for interaction with any and everyone…..and one should have the guts to face critiscm or praise…. :P

According to Oliver Kay (London Times) on twitter, Gibson apparently quit as he was annoyed by the number of tweet notifications on his phone, rather than the abusive content of those tweets – http://www.tweetdeck.com/twitter/oliverkaytimes/~r6Wx9

I don’t think it matters how much you are being paid, you shouldn’t have to put up with such abuse from supposed ‘fans’. Criticism is one thing, vile abuse is another entirely.

The abuse is a bit out of order, but to be expected these days, especially if you haven’t the intelligence to turn off text alerts.

Sure, maybe he should expect to receive some criticism, but why should he be expected to just sit there and take it like a fool, or offer people a platform to do it?

If I was getting nowt but abuse on Twitter, I’d probably not be arsed using it either.

Northern Ireland “fans” bitter and nasty

Is this not being taken rather too seriously. He wasn’t threatened or anything as far as we’re told. I’m sure many footballers and other prominent figures who tweet receive negative feedback. It may not be right and nor do I agree with it but it is the nature of the beast. I think what was unexpected here from his point of view was that so many negative comments would emanate from his own club fans themselves. Gibson is not a top class player and probably never will be and this is recognized by Utd fans who, let’s face it, were always used to having serious central midfield players a la Keane, Ince, Robson, Strachan etc etc. Everyone knows that Gibson would be better off leaving the club to try and get more regular first team action. It would benefit himself, club and country and help him improve. The Utd fans are saying what they think but he has given them the means to do so. Criticism is part and parcel of the game and these fans pay player’s inflated wages. No big deal.

30% of people are idiots.

I want to say for the record that I apologise to Darren Gibson. (My comment is the 4th along).

I joke with friends about his movement and how he seems like a senior pro in the midfield in terms of movement. I said this to Gibson in what was intended as a harmless banter tweet. No swearing, personal abuse, mention of nationality etc. Just banter intended.

Now along with the other tweets (of which some I find disgusting) I have been tarred with the brush of an “abuser” and “bully”.

I couldnt bully a paper bag! I’d say it to Gibson’s face, as Im sure if he met me he would see it was banter, and he would fire back at me. Im sure he could as he is a top football player, and im an average Joe.

Been getting abuse on twitter since this came out, so just wanted to set the record straight.

Apologise to Gibson and anyone else who takes offence.

Thanks

Tweeted this a moment ago to Rio Ferdinand:

@rioferdy5 @dgibbo28 It’s a shame that haters has put an end to Gibbo’s brief Twitter career… #Showsomerespect

Then, 9 minutes after, Ferdinand tweeted the following:

Darron Gibson says he came on to see what the lads were up to….he came off because he couldn’t be bothered with it not any other reason.

I made contact! Yesss!

84,000+ views, holy moly!!

I just read some of the abuse given to Gibson. Whether he is overpaid,not good enough to play for UTD or whatever, these abusive comments have one thing in common. They are made by uneducated,jealous hypocrites.
You are the exact reason why Gibson 1st, doesn’t play for N.I,2nd. Is overpaid, just as is every other premiership player.3rd The reason that people under perform and are overpaid in any national and international British/Irish stage. This Nation, including Irish and British, are by far the best in the world at degrading and putting down any sort of people/be it celebs or your next door neighbor, and, in the next breath sing their praises to their faces. Why do you think this entire set of islands is such a mess. Unrealistic evaluations of oneself coupled with bitterness and depression. The economy is a joke and any decent talented people leave the country. You would never see this sort of BS in a developed country like Germany,Austria or any of the Scandinavian countries. These comments and behaviour stem from the playground, where anyone with more talent than themselves was put down or criticized in any possible way instead of praised and supported. Football in this country is not a team game and this clearly reflects in the national teams. You are just the same as the pathetic tabloid media. Uneducated,overpaid,depressed bullies. Cheap laughs!

United fans dont like Darron. Anyone who’s been to Old Trafford will tell you that. An audible moan every time he gets the ball. He knows it and it’s affected his confidence. Probably time for a fresh start.

He’s more than over compensated in pay for this abuse….. Fans should be allowed say what they like about them… Its not like they really understand the big words (Over four letters) anyway…..

fuck off haters!

Gibson has a wonderfully over-inflated opinion of himself.

It may be a surprise that it’s an opinion not shared universally.
What was he expecting? Hero worship?

Maybe Carrick should join up too.

#Fergiesrightyourfansareshite

Twitter is crap, i deleted my account within about 15min. any chance he not only didnt like the abuse but maybe also though getting into what twitter was ect.. was just not worth the effort..? what a non story!

My comment is the 4th one along…I compared him to Pirlo! How is that being classed as bad ;)

Gibson is not good enough to be even a squad player at United. He rarely offers anything constructive to the team. There are several young players coming through the ranks or out on loan that would offer mush more. Sure he is, hundreds of times better at football than I will ever be. That is why he gets paid tens of thousands of pounds of fans money every week to do it. Fans are fully entitled to their opinions about his footballing ability and whether on not they feel he deserves their money.

Players are subjected to abuse week in week out on the pitch. Why do they think that this is going to be any different on the internet. Sport is a very passionate thing. It generates huge passion among fans and that is why people love it. Why should this passion then be censured? Sport wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for fans.

Good work people. Now let’s hound out rio ferdibland

For a 23-year old sports person, he has an awful to learn. Man up.. I know abuse is intolerable, but he is very well paid for a few hours, here and there. Man up.. and learn your sport. Get over yourself.

For those haters who doubt Gibson’s ability, I ask that you take a look at this video right here:
http://youtu.be/NiOZpOqXAgI

Does anybody care. Overpaid and an arrogant lot.

Man utd is going to win the match

Nobody should have to put up with that kind of abuse. Although the guy who told him he was better than Carrick clearly knows nothing about football so I wouldn’t listen to idiots like that. Darron Gibson isn’t a bad player but he’s nowhere near as good as Carrick. Hence why Carrick is playing for the premiership leaders and Gibson is playing for a midtable side.

I LOVE IT. The Mardonnas, Messi’s and Ronaldo’s of the work taking time out of their busy sporting calender to slag off a fellow pro!!! NOT. If they were any good themselves they would be playing at the same level. TROLLS

Well said Lars, I agree with your comment totally.

a

He should distinguish negative opinions (like those of an ex wife or ex husbands crew) as inferior to his own and those of true fans. Besides online friendship & support makes social utility communications a gift. Delete the crap, block the losers, & keep it moving.

My point proven

He gets paid enough. Tough if he gets some abuse for being a useless idiot far too often on the pitch.

Well, much is said, and the minute Rio was announcing that the G-Bomb joins Twitter i knew what will come. If Gibson expected sth else, he must be dumber as his overall play. If he is too bothered with his text alerts, fine. Switch it off. What must Wazza say lol. So this drama is due to the G – Bomb himself. But: he cannot play worse after that. Still worse enuff. Want Bebe and the C – Bomb on Twitter too ;) and NO, i didn`t abuse Gibson. Not worth one tweet

gibson is a millionaire. I dont feel sorry for him

http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23getgibboback

I don’t question about his footballing skills, but he need to put on more effort on his speed and be more active in midfield if he think he can replace Paul Scholes. If he cannot accept the critics and comments then show the FANS and the people on what he can do in midfield. Anyway, it is not nice to use any abusive language with people. Com’on Gibson return to twitter and face the reality.

lol

He is not even Irish, he is Northern Irish ! He is a traitor to his country and an overrated player. He needs to man up the soft git.

Cone On down Darren… I need your words of wisdom. Otherwise I have to listen to this lot again…PLEASE!