Marc Iles takes a look at some of the ways Wanderers’ signings were paraded long before the modern-day phenomenon of social media reveals

BACK when first-person camera shots and jazzy soundtracks were the exclusive property of Hollywood directors, football was happier taking a belt-and-braces approach to announcing new signings.

A hardy hand-shake, a table and a contract, perhaps even a scarf to hold aloft on the pitch – it was a time-honoured tradition which lasted for decades. Even smiles were optional.

Nowadays, clubs compete to find increasingly complex and inventive ways to unveil their latest additions to the squad.

From Aston Villa’s fake Snapchat conversation to ‘reveal’ John Terry’s arrival to Crystal Palace’s bizarre white smoke from a takeaway to signal Frank De Boer’s appointment as manager, this summer has seen football’s online community have a bit of fun.

Wanderers haven’t missed the boat either, giving new right-back Stephen Darby the big build up with the use of the GoPro first-person camera and also adding a touch of pizzazz when Adam Le Fondre finally signed for good back in June

The approach isn’t for everyone, and while most people see it as a bit of harmless fun to pass the time on Twitter until the football starts, others find the whole thing a bit unnecessary.

Within a couple of hours of posting Darby’s ‘reveal’ Wanderers had been given some distinctly mixed feedback on their efforts.

“Very inventive,” said Whites fan Lee Tennant, his enthusiasm countered by Karl Witts, who said: “Can we just stop all these awful announcement videos and just go straight to a picture of the player holding the shirt with his name on?”

Wanderers aim to carry on regardless, however, and it is understood they are already brainstorming their next video - which could happen as early as this week with the squad in Scotland, if all goes according to plan.

Like them or loathe them, it seems transfer reveals on social media are here to stay.