players.json (matched on aka + lastname, word-boundary, accent-insensitive). Every matching post scored by VADER on a −1…+1 compound axis: ≥+0.05 positive, ≤−0.05 negative, in-between neutral. Net sentiment = pos% − neg%.| # | Player | Mentions | Share | Pos | Neu | Neg | Net | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xavi Simons | 10,012 | 2.50% | 41.0% | 26.4% | 32.6% | +8.3 | |
| 2 | Romero | 7,021 | 1.75% | 35.0% | 24.5% | 40.5% | -5.5 | |
| 3 | Guglielmo Vicario | 6,862 | 1.71% | 33.7% | 24.3% | 42.0% | -8.3 | |
| 4 | Mathys Tel | 5,424 | 1.35% | 42.0% | 28.1% | 30.0% | +12.0 | |
| 5 | Richarlison | 5,040 | 1.26% | 41.9% | 29.0% | 29.1% | +12.8 | |
| 6 | Mohammed Kudus | 4,795 | 1.20% | 43.1% | 25.6% | 31.3% | +11.8 | |
| 7 | Mickey van de Ven | 4,700 | 1.17% | 39.3% | 25.8% | 35.0% | +4.3 | |
| 8 | Porro | 4,181 | 1.04% | 33.5% | 26.3% | 40.3% | -6.8 | |
| 9 | Randal Kolo Muani | 3,978 | 0.99% | 37.5% | 27.9% | 34.6% | +2.9 | |
| 10 | Archie Gray | 3,614 | 0.90% | 47.0% | 24.4% | 28.6% | +18.4 | |
| 11 | Dominic Solanke | 3,485 | 0.87% | 40.3% | 26.8% | 33.0% | +7.3 | |
| 12 | Pape Matar Sarr | 3,051 | 0.76% | 39.1% | 28.9% | 32.0% | +7.1 | |
| 13 | Djed Spence | 2,999 | 0.75% | 37.4% | 26.6% | 36.0% | +1.3 | |
| 14 | Lucas Bergvall | 2,789 | 0.70% | 45.7% | 26.2% | 28.1% | +17.6 | |
| 15 | Wilson Odobert | 2,693 | 0.67% | 46.3% | 27.1% | 26.6% | +19.8 | |
| 16 | Bentancur | 2,539 | 0.63% | 38.2% | 25.1% | 36.6% | +1.6 | |
| 17 | Udogie | 2,094 | 0.52% | 41.1% | 26.9% | 32.0% | +9.0 | |
| 18 | Conor Gallagher | 2,015 | 0.50% | 36.3% | 25.4% | 38.3% | -1.9 |
Source: output/raw/EPL/*/TOT*/merged.json — posts and their replies flattened together. Reddit + YouTube only (no X/Twitter for these fixtures).
Matching: for each player tagged current_team: "TOT" in players.json we build a term set from lastname + every aka. Texts and terms are both accent-stripped before a case-insensitive word-boundary regex match — so Drăgușin matches dragusin, Vušković matches vuskovic, etc.
Double counting: a post that mentions two players ("Kudus to Tel") increments both. That's intentional — it reflects real share of mind.
Short aliases: pape, tel, vic, dj, dom etc. come straight from the taxonomy. Word boundaries keep most false positives at bay, but Xavi Simons (transfer-rumour player listed as TOT) and players with generic first-name akas will pick up some cross-team noise. Take the top-of-table bar at face value; the rest of the ordering is robust.