The age-old critique of the Adelaide Football Club as a “franchise” rather than a “club” was revived – albeit briefly – today, when Chief Operating Officer and past premiership player Nigel Smart took to Twitter to promote the revamped “Crows Show”.

The program – which first aired in the 1990s – is to be resuscitated on Channel 7 this year, hosted by two-time premiership captain Mark Bickley, who has returned to the media after a stint as assistant coach.

It will be produced by the club itself, so the sales pitch was all-important this morning. But Smart managed to get a few fans’ noses out of joint (and more than a few Port supporters in “I-Told-You-So” raptures) when he plugged “a new offering for our customers in 2015”.

One fellow tweeter fired back: “FYI, we prefer to be called members/supporters/fans. Please don’t call us customers, it is very cold.”

Another wrote: “Thanks for the laugh. Your “customers” will love watching it with their knitting needles.”

Smart told the first complainant: “Thanks mate…really we are talking about Fans.” He then deleted the offending tweet, which prompted a few more barbs.

“Why did you delete your tweet Nige? The customers won’t be happy,” wrote one social media user.

Nor, one presumes, will the club.