26/07/2012
Rate Your Player
Manchester United's Ashley Young and Swansea City's Danny Graham are among the professional footballers endorsing Rate Your Player, a new online social networking site developed by Kingston alumnus Russell Whitter.
On the free site, users can discuss all things related to football. Since going live nine months ago it has already attracted 4,000 members. "Unlike other sites, we're the only one designed to enable football fans to talk about players," says Russell, who graduated in 2009 with a first-class honours in Information Systems BSc(Hons). "Football is a very opinionated game, and fans need somewhere to air and share their views."
The site gives live updates in discussions, and shows current discussion trends. The idea was triggered by the closure of BBC 606, the BBC football discussion website. At the time, Russell was working as an e-commerce manager but, in February 2011, he left his job and used his salary bonuses to set himself up in business. His half-brother, Swansea City footballer Wayne Routledge, has also endorsed the site.
Russell, who grew up in Scotland but is now based in London and Swansea, was also a talented footballer who played for the Celtic Youth Team, and he manages and moderates the site with three staff.
Check it out: www.rateyourplayer.com.
