As a fan and user of social media myself I think it would be great to read Tweets and updates from players in the World Cup. But as someone who has worked in the media side of football for many years I know that the expectancy of fans and media needs to be managed alongside the needs of the team to get results.

If a coach feels that controlling social media channels (or blocking them for a few weeks) will help the team get results then they should exercise that position. The teams will make players available for media interviews as they see fit and the world's media will lap it up but as a media manager you would not want to be taken by surprise by a player making an inappropriate remark through a social media platform. It could also put a strain on the squad as a whole due to the huge magnifying lens that is put on every single aspect of every nation competing at the World Cup.

Whether or not a comment made on Twitter would have a detrimental effect on a player or team's performance is open to debate of course but if you were in charge of a team you would want to ensure every chance of success in the world's greatest sporting competition.

There remain hundreds and thousands of pundits having their say on the World Cup via social media so to block players' comments I don't feel is a major loss. Social media also provides an appropriate conduit to what is being said by players via the mainstream media so I don't feel I am missing out by not receiving direct updates from players.