The Twitter Footballer - How Social Media is Changing the World of Transfers

Jake Tabor is a goalscoring sensation at Step Six of the Non League pyramid and is a demonstration of the power of social media in the modern game.

“With all the stuff online I’ve been invited to a lot of things that I wouldn’t normally have been invited too,” says Jake Tabor, a 22-year-old who recently became a free agent after scoring 127 goals in just 91 appearances for Amersham. “On Wednesday, I played against Tottenham under-21s, I’ve also played Wolves and Club Brugge’s under-23s.”

It’s not your average post-season tour for a player who spent this summer playing in the Combined Counties League Premier League North. But then Tabor’s journey to this point hasn’t taken the average modern route. And, in many ways, that’s his USP, the fact that his potential has so much room for growth. It might also explain why his story has generated so much interest on Twitter.

“A lot of the players I’m suddenly playing with have been training full-time their whole life, day-in, day-out at perfect facilities,” he says. “Obviously they’ve got better and better but these boys are maybe already reaching their full potential. Me? I’ve never been introduced to any of this. I’ll have a much bigger increase in ability within a year. That’s why I’d be perfect for so many of these clubs. Yes, you would probably prefer a player who was training all the time but I can show that if you invest a bit, the sky could be the limit.”

Tabor has, somewhat predictably, been dubbed ‘the new Jamie Vardy’, with the soon-to-depart Leicester man pioneering the route that Tabor now hopes to follow. The difference is that the 22-year-old’s rise has been helped enormously by the power of social media.

Despite having fewer than 3000 followers, Tabor’s goal reels have proved enormously popular on the platform. His latest hat-trick against Wolves under-21, has been viewed almost 100,000 times. His announcement that he had become a free agent hit close to half to million.

The irony is that the man himself would much rather be keeping off social media, rather than leaping on it to trumpet his feats. His Twitter posts are, he says, out of necessity, rather than any attempt to establish himself as an influencer.

“The facts are that I love the attention because of the way it’s helping my career massively,” he says. “Without the attention, some of the things I’ve done wouldn’t have been possible - the YouTube videos, the interviews - being a low, low level and being able to look back on all the things I’ve done already, that doesn’t happen very often.

“I’m already a rare case. The opportunities that it has brought have been amazing but I’ve really just learnt to market myself. I don’t use social media outside of Twitter, and I don’t really like posting on Twitter either if I’m entirely honest. I hate all the personal stuff and tweeting about myself, my goals and being busy online - I hate it, I absolutely hate it.

“But it’s the best thing for me. I’ll send a tweet and it’ll get 500,000 views, 1000 likes, 100 comments. It’s brilliant because that’s what’s going to get me my chance because you don’t know who’s reading them, who’s watching the videos. A lot of these people wouldn’t have seen me play without Twitter.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool having all these interviews but it’s only for my personal gain and progressing my career. If I got a contract in the Football League, would I walk away from Twitter?

“I’d make the occasional tweet, the way I used to, but I’d probably be putting out less than one month - if you’re happy, there’s no need. For me, it’s solely a marketing tool - ‘look, here’s my talent, here’s what I can do’.”

Tabor has already received offers from National League clubs but, for the moment at least, is combining his career selling gym equipment with the odd self-promotional post.

In reality, his goals speak for themselves. And, given the absence of an agent, Tabor believes his ability to hit the back of the net will ultimately be the difference between making a breakthrough and not getting the chance to play at a higher level.

“I don’t know how anything is going to go, if someone did take me on it would be a gamble, of course it would be,” he says. “But Richard Kone (Wycombe Wanderers’ in-demand striker) is showing it can be done. He was playing at the same level and now he’s worth £10m. What’s the outlay going to be on me? I'm a free agent and would probably be among the lowest earners. It’s a low risk deal for any clubs.

“I’ve had a lot of agents approaching me, trying to work with me. I’ve said I’m happy to work with you but I’m not going to sign anything unless they get me a move. If I sign for a National League side and score every week then people are going to be after me anyway.”

Goals are his currency. In every sense.