Article by Jason NunnSo its Swansea away this weekend. Great, can’t wait, really excited by this game. No I’ve not lost the plot, I just prefer away games at the moment as we play so much better. It’s no surprise really considering the pressure we are under at home.
Which brings me onto the real topic of this piece and that’s booing by supporters, if supporter is the right word, maybe I should use the term follower? The word support or supporter explains itself really but just for the sake of avoiding confusion “a person who approves of and encourages a public figure, TEAM, political party, policy, etc.”, hopefully that explains it all.
When we play at home, after 15 minutes with no goal there are “followers” that start to boo every missed pass, every missed tackle, basically any backwards pass etc. It’s no surprise then that once this booing starts that you can see the players start to struggle even more. After the Palace game I had this discussion with friends, all be it that support other teams. It was a mixed bag of opinions really. The general consensus was that booing was not a supportive action in the purest sense of the word. There is the view that if people pay their money to be entertained, and they feel they are not ,then they can boo. Well that’s true but then you are a not being supportive. This is our team we are watching, not a second rate comedian that we don’t give a damn about.
This really is having an impact on the players. They look nervous, like every home game is their debut. Surely if the team struggles then being as positive as we can would be more proactive than simply booing any and everything. So it’s no surprise that this season we are playing better away than we are at home. There are issues in the team. We know we’ve had a change of manager ,a new man is there now and naturally players are learning new ideas and all this does take time. But it will never click if they are under what seems to be ever building pressure during home games.
If you really want to boo then maybe wait until the end of the game to show your dissatisfaction, but for 90 minutes sing, chant and do what you can to get behind the boys. We are after all the 12th man.
COYS
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My opinion is that there are too many football 'followers' now who just think they understand way more about the game than they do, and are obsessed with being shown they are right in their opinions. So, when there is a manager/head coach to be appointed, they have all of these choices and opinions. That would be fine - in itself. But once a manager/head coach is appointed, it is like they are desperately looking for a chance to shout about how right they were - to extent where they seem less disappointed about the fact that what has happened has harmed their club, and more elated at being shown to be (at least partially) right.
ReplyDeleteConnected with this, is the division in the fan-base between those who wanted to keep the previous manager and those who wanted rid, carrying their preferences forward. So, those who didn't want BMJ gone, were desperate to see Ramos fail; those who didn't want to see Ramos gone (or fail) were never happier than when they could expose Redknapp's tactical naivity; those who didn't want Redknapp gone, were almost willing AVB to fail; those who didn't want rid of AVB are now hellbent on dissing Tim Sherwood at every possible opportunity.
This translates to the home fans seeming to look for the earliest possible opportunity to boo, to voice their generalised disapproval. It is not 'supporting' the club - as the author says. FFS just support the club.
agree with the article and the comment above. I have been going to every home game for the past 15 years and never have I seen such a disgraceful set of Tottenham fans. all game all I hear is miserable old men complaining about a conservative backwards pass but when someone tries something a bit more direct and risky they complain when it doesnt come off. a groan is fine but the abuse I hear towards the players is ridiculous. I heard one idiot tell ade to "fuck off and die". these people know nothing about the game and think just because they pay to see the game they are owed a perfect game from every player with no mistakes. its obviously affecting the players and frankly im bored of going to the lane to hear miserable men complaining. its like they're all 40 year old virgins ive never seen such miserable pessimism. please can we bring back the days when everyone sang and supported the team. I promise it will give you all a more enjoyable experience.
ReplyDeleteWe had a similar problem last season at Stamford Bridge. After Robbie was replaced by the hated Benitez, there was the cheering for Robbie in the sixteenth minute, anti-Benitez posters and banners, plus regular "you don't know what you're doing!" at substitutions. All this wrecked our home form & unsettled the players. We never booed the team, but the atmosphere was so negative.
ReplyDeleteAfter AVB criticised the Spurs crowd the atmosphere was brilliant in the next match. You need more of that spirit or it could wreck your season.