• Former Everton goalkeeper uses strange imagery to criticise Theresa May • Wales’ most-capped player takes anti-austerity stance on social media

In an era when professional athletes are expected to be present on social media, but also under pressure not to say or do anything of significance in case it offends politicians, some sporting heroes of yesterday aren’t afraid to speak their minds.

The Match of the Day presenter and former England striker Gary Lineker has come under criticism for commenting on politics on Twitter, but it is another former Everton player who has caught the eye on social media in the last few days: Neville Southall.

How Neville Southall won the Player of the Year award in the 1984-85 season Read more

The goalkeeper during Everton’s 1984–85 title-winning season, and Wales’s most-capped player, Southall has issued a series of increasingly bizarre tweets about skeletons – many with an anti-austerity or anti-Tory theme.

At first glance, the skeleton tweets just seemed a bit surreal.

Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) I love the thought of recycled skeletons

Imagine walking down your street and all you dead relatives were lampposts

Brilliant

Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) Wouldn’t it be great if all names of towns were put up in skeletons on entrance to town

Art for arts sake

Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) Imagine skeletons handle bars on your motorbike

Made from arms

Hear changes and braking so eAsy and fun

But actually Southall first started talking about skeletons in the context of Tory austerity policies

Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) Tories new policy

Save money on burial s

Make your nans skeleton into a coffee table and your uncle into a lamp

Saving the country money

Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) 2 skeletons overlooking an old coalfield

One says to other

Is this where the Tories started killing communities and its people

Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) 2 skeletons sat in prison one says to other what's a prison officer

Tory Britain

Built for the rich

Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) 2 skeletons walking past a homeless man

One says to other who gives a fuck

Tory cuts

Killing people

Southall, who also frequently retweets pictures of dogs in among the politics, has also attacked the government for a lack of funding for the army and navy.

Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) 2 skeletons in a rowing boat

British Navy

Tory cuts killing people

His repertoire has expanded to including a supporting cast of crows and jackdaws alongside the skeletons.

Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) A crow & jackdaw looking over hundreds of dead soldiers

One says to other

If only the Tories paid for the guns they would have won

Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) A crow and a jackdaw sitting on roof of Goodison

One says to other wasting our time here Tories have already shit on these people

During the 2017 general election campaign Southall was vocal in backing Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party, writing for the Daily Mirror to explain: “I might have been a blue nose all my life. But on June 8 I’ll be a die-hard red.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Neville Southall playing in goal for Wales in 1996. Italian Fabrizio Ravanelli and current Wales manager Chris Coleman are also in shot Photograph: Bruno Mosconi/AP

In particular, Southall praised Labour plans to force the Premier League to redistribute 5% of their television income into grassroots football.

Not all of his fans are enjoying the recent foray into skeleton-related political punditry.

Lee Forrest (@leeforrest8) Nev I love you to bits, a true EFC legend - but give it a fucking rest will you FFS it's getting boring now.

Southall himself, however, seems unworried by the criticism.

Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) I enjoy it mate just block me no problem

Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) People moaning about my skeleton s put them in some grounds atmosphere would be better

I

But there’s always a limit – even for Neville Southall.

Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) Imagine 2 skeleton s wearing number 10 shirts

Too far even for me