Fans get to vote on player, manager and goal of the month

Football fans will be able to have their say on the Premier League's player and manager of the month awards this season.

Traditionally decided by a panel of experts, the awards will now feature a shortlist open to the public via Twitter.

However, the player and manager with most support will not necessarily win as the fans' vote will carry equal weight to that of the panel and the captains of each Premier League club.

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Nevertheless, the public will be able to decide the goal of the month, with fans asked to pick their favourite from an online shortlist.

The move goes to show the growing influence of social media in the coverage of football, but also has risks, says the Daily Mail.

"Although the Twitter vote gives supporters the chance to have their say on the voting process, the new format does hold an advantage for the Premier League's traditional big clubs," it says.

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho and Mike Phelan of Hull are both in the running for August's manager of the month, for example. "Supporter bias could play a part and with Manchester United having well over eight million more followers on Twitter than Hull City, a public vote would likely favour Mourinho over Phelan," says the paper. Indeed, Mourinho was out in front on Friday.

Man United have 8.7m followers on Twitter, with Arsenal not far behind on 8m. Premier League title winners Leicester have just a tenth of that number.

Some clubs have a more active fan base on social media, says Bleacher Report, which singles out Arsenal's opinionated followers.

"Gunners fans in particular are notorious for being active in online polls," it says. "The first-ever Facebook Football Awards in 2015 saw Alexis Sanchez and Arsene Wenger named as the Player and Manager of the Year."