Are the fans part of the problem?

[JimmyK]

It’s pretty simple really it’s hard to get that worked about games which you know won’t mean anything. We finish mid table every year and it takes its toll because you feel like whatever happens in that game we’ll still finish between 8th and 12th so what’s the point getting worked up about it. Big games at either end of the table are different and the crowd responds to it.

 

[Librarian]

Ideally the fans should be given a bit more time but if they lose to Palace on Sunday then I think we’ll have to pull the trigger and bring in the Brighton ultras

 

[windymiller]

Throwing this out there but I knew we were going to do something special tonight after Richies second disallowed goal. When Goodison gets angry, it is a very special place. More so that the plastic palaces of the Sky luvvies.

The problem is that it happens rarely and that half the time the atmosphere is like that of a funeral home.

We go nuts with injustice and perceived injustice but little else.

Reminds me a lot of what a Boca mate says about their fans " we dont care how bad we play, the result at the end is all that matters" and "if you dont support the players, stay at home and let a fan who wants to support them go to the game". We can win games on our own but we do it far too rarely.

Weve had to pút up with loads of muck, granted but the toxic atmosphere we regularly have, is not a place I would like to have to work in.

And lots of our players too by the looks of things.

Point made with lots of love and respect.

UTFT.

PS - May not get to Goodison before the new stadium is built. Could start crying even thinking of that.

Weird night to put forward this theory, when the fans carried the team over the line tonight. The fans can make a difference, positively and negatively, but those reactions are determined by what they see on the pitch. If they're getting on the players backs or grumbling about the form of the team it's because they see a lack of effort or are baffled by the tactics or team selection. The fans aren't to blame for anything, they offer encouragement when it's deserved and opprobrium when it's not.

 

[barneygumble]

Goodison is a soulless trap most of the time nowadays.

The reality is, we’ve got nothing to get worked up about, so it takes a snide tackle or VAR or a fan protest to turn the game on its head.

 

[Spart]

Absolutely we are.

I don't get how we as supporters can pat ourselves on the back and readily acknowledge the part we played in a victory when everyone gets right behind the team but then also deny that angrily barracking our own players can have the opposite effect.

You often see fans saying stuff like certain players deserve to be harassed by their own fans and they should be big enough to take the grief without realising how counterproductive this stuff can be.

Goodison must be one of the few places in football where home players probably great playing at more than away ones do. The number of times a confident, decent player's career has been broken by a spell at Everton must be in the dozens and had more to do with how many of our players turn to [Poor language removed] when they sign for us than anything else. Do the other lot genuinely sign better players than us, or is it just easier to do your thing at Anfield when most of the crowd is bigging you up as the best in the world in your position, most of my the time?

Blurting out a few words of frustration at someone is one thing and understandably what we all can do, but I feel some blues take it so much further than that, with personal vendettas against individual players they just can't stand. Some seem to almost take glee at their booboy making a mistake so that they can vent at them....does anyone really believe this will make a man player better for the team ?

My booboy days ended with Barry Horne in 1994. I as much as anyone have him grief prior to that for a series of underwhelming performances, and I remember the audible groans when his name was read out at the start of the Wimbledon game.

Then came that wondergoal, that fightback from relegation and the man seemed to have bought himself some kudos with those who had previously barracked him. His performances the following season were much better as a result of this and he went on to enjoy a decent career with us.....never for me again will I pick on certain players at the match. Even Iwobi, Rondon and Delph should get the benefit of our backing because do we genuinely believe screaming at them with veins bulging in our heads is going to make them better players?

 

[ToffeeTim]

We've already won as many home games this year as last year behind closed doors. That season showed how we actually do need the goodison crowd and it ain't the fans fault.

 

[AsiaAsia82]

As season tickets are held often for an extended period of years/decades the demographic of the Everton fan at the game has shifted to the right.
Therefore now we have many over50’s who don’t sing and are scared to shout in case their teeth fallout.

 

[Papa Shango]

Fans are always part of the problem.

However they pay a quite frankly ludicrous amount of money to be there so they can say and do what they want as long as its legal.

 

[Tom Hughes]

They're part of the problem and part of the solution. The two are inextricably linked. If the fans have belief in what the club is about and what it is trying to achieve then minor failings of individuals will be ignored and the fans will help push the team. If we're seeing years of failure and lack of direction generally then eventually you reach a point of apathy where there's barely any encouragement, or even anger where every mistake on the pitch is jumped on. Confidence is a major issue for both players and fans.

 

[Raino85]

I had always pondered on this, but if the Covid season taught us anything, that fans aren't the problem.

Goodison is magical on a moody narky night, because it isn't manufactured, it all comes natural and a specific set of things need to happen for it to go electric.
If that happened all the time it would dilute the effect!


We could do with some decent songs though like in the Martinez good season! (side note, atmosphere was great that season.....because the team were good)

 

[Spart]

Fans are always part of the problem.

However they pay a quite frankly ludicrous amount of money to be there so they can say and do what they want as long as its legal.

Why is that acceptable in Football though and why can no-one see how totally counterproductive getting on your own team's back is?

Plenty of us have sat through [Poor language removed] films, theatre show and concerts but no-one would dream of standing up and screaming abuse at the performers for their lack of effort. Even in other sports, you don't generally shout abuse at the people you are there to support.

I don't really get it, if the team's performance is bothering you to the point where you feel you need to rant endlessly at individuals then why not just get up and walk out instead? Its got to better for your own sanity and blood pressure and in that mood you are absolutely no use to your team as a 'supporter'.

 

[Nymzee]

Win, lose or draw fans always get the knife in a thread.

 

[Mikey_Fitzgerald]

*insert Mad Max "that's bait" meme here*

 

[JimmyK]

Why is that acceptable in Football though and why can no-one see how totally counterproductive getting on your own team's back is?

Plenty of us have sat through [Poor language removed] films, theatre show and concerts but no-one would dream of standing up and screaming abuse at the performers for their lack of effort. Even in other sports, you don't generally shout abuse at the people you are there to support.

I don't really get it, if the team's performance is bothering you to the point where you feel you need to rant endlessly at individuals then why not just get up and walk out instead? Its got to better for your own sanity and blood pressure and in that mood you are absolutely no use to your team as a 'supporter'.

You wouldn't cheer all the way through the play or loudly sing the actor's name just for remembering their lines either so it's not a great comparison.

 

[Spart]

You wouldn't cheer all the way through the play or loudly sing the actor's name just for remembering their lines either so it's not a great comparison.

Fair point, I still don't get why people allow themselves to get so angry at individuals on their own team though. If they bother you that much, just say nothing, withdraw the cheering and singing and save it for someone else who you think deserves it more.

I can't think any of us can truly understand how receiving abuse from a few thousand people in the stands can affect a player's performance when none of us actually have any experience of it in our own day to day lives. Especially when we are so quick to acknowledge that giving a player our support will sometimes lift them to perform better......we can't have it both ways.