An ode to Rob Earnshaw – the Twitter hero we don’t deserve

Football's relationship with Twitter has always been a rich tapestry.

Some of us miss the early days, when Wayne Rooney had the handle @WazzaRoon08 and Darren Bent used the platform to mouth off about the Tottenham top order in an attempt to force through his move to Sunderland. That forced plenty of clubs to crack down on things, though other incidents slipped through the net, like Saido Berahino pretending his angry response to Steve Clarke's sacking was about something else altogether. https://twitter.com/JonnyGabriel/status/500769434781626369 These days, media training and harsher sanctions mean you tend not to get the same variety from Premier League footballers. But if you look further afield there's plenty to enjoy from footballers' tweets, like former Chelsea striker Mikael Forssell's philosophical questions. https://twitter.com/MikaelForssell/status/67853771929174017 Not to mention Victor Wanyama's film reviews. https://twitter.com/VictorWanyama/status/195418273150541824 And, of course, Louis Saha's parenting advice. https://twitter.com/louissaha08/status/281381190634721281 But when it comes to footballers on Twitter, there's no beating Wales international striker Rob Earnshaw. The veteran spent last season in MLS with the Vancouver Whitecaps, and the North American close-season seems to have given him plenty of time to pontificate. He's weighed in on existential matters. https://twitter.com/RobertEarnshaw/status/690333737326772225 And we mean some really deep stuff. https://twitter.com/RobertEarnshaw/status/578961522237382656 He knows exactly how to bring #relatable #content to the table. https://twitter.com/RobertEarnshaw/status/691375767234555904 https://twitter.com/RobertEarnshaw/status/678608794868457472 And he's always prepared to make you think. https://twitter.com/RobertEarnshaw/status/691376490164826112 His sympathy for Mark Lawrenson is almost endearing. https://twitter.com/RobertEarnshaw/status/402397942365310978 https://twitter.com/RobertEarnshaw/status/484035125156794368 And he's got an answer for everything. In an era of footballers committed to their jobs to the point that they're afraid to even give the impression of putting a foot wrong, Earnshaw serves as a reminder that they're just people like you or I. He's a lad from Caerphilly doing the job he loves, and spending his downtime just having fun on the internet. And who wouldn't want that life?