Twitter is for Twits

Tottenham star risks action as he blasts club chairman on Twitter

LONDON - Departing Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent has risked possible action after attacking the Premier League club via his Twitter feed as he seeks a transfer to rival team Sunderland.

The £16.5m player, who is expected to leave Tottenham before the start of the new season, posted about his impatience with the transfer process and his club's chairman Daniel Levy.

In one post, Bent said: "Do I wanna go to Hull City NO Do I wanna go Stoke NO do I wanna go Sunderland YES so stop f**king around Levy."

Other posts on the difficulties of the transfer process included: "Seriously pissed off now" and "Why can't anything be simple. It's so frustrating hanging around doing jack sh*t".

A local newspaper in Sunderland launched a campaign urging the Wearside club's supporters to follow Bent on Twitter and persuade him to join their team. However, Bent's feed -- db10thetruth -- has now been closed down.

Speaking to The Sun Tottenham board member Donna Cullen, said: "We have put calls into Darren’s agent. We are trying to establish whether the Twitter account is actually Darren’s. If it does turn out to be Darren, we’ll deal with that as an internal matter."

The paper contacted Bent's sponsor Umbro, which confirmed the account was genuine.

Bent's outburst comes as more sportsmen circumvent the standard PR procedures and publish comments directly. Recently, Australia batsman Philip Hughes was warned by team management after he posted that he had been dropped by the side.

During this year's Tour de France, Lance Armstrong sidestepped journalists and used Twitter to deliver his views on rival Alberto Contador, which were then followed up in the press.

However, it is not only sports stars and celebrities who have got into trouble using Twitter. In Chicago a tenant is being sued by her former landlord after she complained on Twitter about mould in her apartment.

Horizon Group Management filed a lawsuit against Amanda Bonnen, accusing her of defaming the company in May, when she tweeted about her former apartment.

Her tweet said: "Who said sleeping in a mouldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it is."

Horizon admitted that Bonnen's apartment was one of several affected by an overnight leak in March but said it had resolved all Bonnen's grievances and that she moved out on June 30.

One person who will not be getting himself into trouble using Twitter is Conservative leader David Cameron. When asked about the site by Absolute Radio's Christian O'Connell he said: "Too many twits make a twat."

by James Quilter, Brand Republic 31-Jul-09, 09:05