My burning question this morning is who are THFC are selling home tickets to these days? Did anyone else feel the hate in the room last night? We seem to revisiting that whole ’emotional investment’ conversation again and again.
Look, I’m not advocating we routinely accept daft results like only taking a point off habitual losers like Sunderland at home. But we perhaps need to think about what support actually is.
I cannot recall an incident where a football team either collectively or by individual player were booed into playing better. But going to the The Lane these days there seems to be an upward swing in the volume of those who are outraged not only when Spurs don’t win but when a specific pass or shot falls short in the ‘magnificent’ stakes.
The internet is different. That’s what I told the cops. But it is. Brutally sledging Bob Keane online is a victimless crime. Nobody dies. Traveling to north London, paying £30 and standing on tip toe screaming despicable and vile abuse at someone wearing the Lilywhite shirt is bordering on psychotic.
Bentley of course was savaged. But his refusal to burst into tears and flee the pitch only served to provoke more hate. 3MP got his. Then Bale, then Modders.
The arrogance amongst our support is becoming increasingly suffocating. Try this for size. Ever heard the phrase, ‘As I Am You Shall Be‘ ? It’s a rough approximation of a not uncommon Roman grave inscription, Quod tu es, ego fui, quod ego sum, tu eris.
If Spurs fans continue along their current path, then they will become an arrogant foul mouthed version of the Woolwich Wanderers down the road.The Gooners haven’t won anything in a dog’s age. Their path instead has taken them on routine qualification for the Champions League.
We laugh out loud at Arsenalization, but you can’t help but wonder if some of our fans were put in charge of Tottinghamization at wherever our new home might be, complimentary scarves draped over seat backs would be replaced with placards marked, ‘W*nkers!’ and ‘F*ck Off Back To Wales!’,
So yes we lost two points. And excuses like our 3 best defenders are out and we haven’t got a striker you can rely upon are boring to hear. But we stand to lose a hell of a lot more if we aren’t careful.
Check These Mothers Out!
Tell me where the boo’ers live. I’ll bring along Chuck Norris and take an industrial strength hoover to their knuckle-dragging ugly hairy assh*les.
Y’know, its not going to help having fans booing, but they are paying their money and do have a right to express their feelings about what they are getting for their money. What value is there in cheering when people cheer everything, good, bad and indifferent.
The management of the club did not perform as required during the transfer window with obvious consequences. Certain players are not performing to expectations. If no-one lets the club know that that situation is not one which the fans find acceptable, then the lack of a negative can easily be construed as a positive.
The reason behind booing is frustration and not having reasonable expectations met, I don’t necessarily support booing, and probably would not do so myself, but I can understand it and I can see a place for it; its the only real way to provide feedback that the product needs improving.
A bit of booing now may increase pressure on the club to start taking a little bit more of a pro-active approach in bringing in the one or two quality players we need, rather than hoping for a cheap deal creeping in just under the wire.
The effect is not without cause.
Finn, I’m usually on the same page with you, but in this instance – it seems as if we’re reading different books. I don’t think you need to tell Levy that losing games, and not being in the CL spots at this stage of the season, with some lacksadaisical performances displayed is going to hurt the club and it’s ambitions.
The risk of us not being in the CL is going to hurt financially, and will certainly not help us obtain the much desired sponsors and backers for the new stadium which is really the only way ENIC can sell us for the profit margin they’re ultimately after.
Even if they weren’t fans, which Levy surely is, results hurt the bottom line as much as it frustrates us fans. Sucess on the pitch equates to success off it. We are not doing a Newcastle, we are not doing a Leeds. There is no reason yet to want the manager out, the board out or any of that sort – so booing can only really have a negative effect on the people whose confidence needs building…the players.
Trembly, as I said I might not do so myself, and I’m sure Levy now knows the ramifications of his shut-purse summer. However the point of view that people should be able to air their displeasuer, as well as their delight stands I think. If a guy is screwing up at work because he’s having a lazy day or not got his mind on the job, you don’t give him a bonus and a round of applause on the way to the pub!
Harry’s comments after the game about just how good we were and how good we are playing shows a wonderful belief in the spirit of heroic failure….sometime (and I’ll have to brush my teeth after saying so) I would prefer to see him up there like Fergie or Wenger, angry and red faced at losing two points and have the likes of Gallas and Kaboul shitting it back in the changing room, waiting for Harry’s hairdryer!
Will it help? Probably no more than the booing, but you need a stick as well as a carrot!
As for Levy, he has to held to the same standard and both he and Harry need to know that the fans, who buy the tickets and the merchandise want them to perform better in their capacities. This whole ‘wrap them up in cotton wool’ stuff is slowly strangling the English game. We are creating soft, self indulgent popinjays, coddled by managers and inflated by sychophantic agents…….”don’t listen Peter, you were awesome, it was the others that let you down”
The terraces (hmmm, there’s a term) are far more honest in their opinions.
Trembles, whilst i usually agree with you, im not sure i see it quite the same way.
I am not sure what kind of fan boos. What is the generalisation there? can i see or could someone describe which fans boo?
I personally will never do it, although one should never say never so i will give the boo’ers the benefit of the doubt and say that they are fans who are simply fed up and frustrated and cannot control their outbursts.
At the same time, the average footballer is no Stephan Hawkings. Heck, not even close. Sure they can run, but i dont know if they see booing like us fans do and more particularly fans who frequen this blog.
Footballers are people who earn quite literally a fortune doing something they love. Its not really a job is it? What else do they do? play golf and TV games? They should feel like they owe the fans a heck of a lot for the life they lead.
They are well aware of what they earn and what they do in their private lives (not very much imo) and booing is then something they that they should relate to when they very well know they have not played or playing well. They deserved to get booed because they dont exactly volunteer in africa for the U.N.
If there is a player on the pitch who believes they are playing well, those boo’s are going to in one ear and out the other. Because they simply do not think so far ahead to tell themselves that they do not want to play for this club anymore just because some fans boo.
Thats like saying i dont want to live in New York because I dont want to get mugged. (i dont live in New York)
I dont know if footballers who are on the pitch completely understand the relationship fans have with them, i think they become disillusioned by the extravagant life they lead and eventually find booing an acceptable way of receiving criticism from the general audience. Where else are they going to reflect? I dont know if they remember that football means so much to some people. But why should they, they play for themselves dont they? But if you play for yourself, dont take the massive pay cheque at the end of the month then…
Hi Spurlative. What you’re saying I think, is key to the relationship of fans with their clubs players. Gone are the days when most of us can properly associate with them, meet them in the pub after the match, let alone understand the lifestyles that some of them lead – the antics of dog terry, grannypro ruiney and the like separates us even more.
This is the malaise of the modern game. The question I think you’re asking is whether we can trust these players to give their all – to run through brick walls for the benefit of the club and its supporters.
After all, when they do get a chance to play, do the previous bench warmers try to do all the flicks and tricks, and audacious shots on goal in order to win the game for us – or do they do it to try and get in the spotlight and earn a more lucrative move elsewhere? Or perhaps they try and save themselves for a world/european cup/qualifier, CL game, and try not to get injured?
If a job is defined as doing something regularly that people pay you to do – then these football players, and coaches are doing a job. The coaches risk more if the team goes on a poor run of games, whilst the players might seek a change of management to get a look in. Some players in this league have openly mutinied to get their manager the sack.
So. To the question. Do they do it for them, or do they do it for us? I think it’s obvious that they do it for them. They do it for the money. They do it for the adoration. They do it for the glory. In that particular order.
You see it all the time – pulling out of headers, tackles, leaving someone else to chase a ball down. Thing is, this lack of work rate, of effort is detrimental to the goals of the manager and the club. So its back to the fault of the players then. Or the manager who picks the players? Or the club for not allowing the manager to buy the right type of player?
All we can ask (not demand) of the lot of them is that they put the club success at the top of their
priorities through being professional – through doing their job properly. Defending well, scoring goals, dropping players who don’t perform and giving people chances who deserve them, scouting the globe for the right talent we need to make us better and making funds available for it.
If we didn’t boo – would it make a difference to if we did? The same pressure would exist on the manager, he would exert the same pressure on the players and we’d still have an awkward relationship with people that get paid ridiculous amounts of money by the club we support.
There’s no real way to rectify the divide, except if the Premier League went t*ts up and nothing came to save it. The divide exists because it’s part of a product we’re addicted to. Unfortunately, regardless of the money – it’s the emotional investment that hurts us most when we’re faced with the threat of failure. If everyone does their job properly, and puts some effort into it, then surely that’s all we can ask?
Will booing really help us achieve success? Eitherway, I wish I was a footballer being booed or cheered on regardless – shame I never had the physical attributes for it. For the record, I would’ve run through brick walls and not spouted out nonsense on blogs or twatter.
Thank god results were what they were last night. It could look a lot worse!
It could look a lot worse but because of results yesterday and weeks before, it could also look a lot better…(if we won more games)
But i’ll take what it is now and hopefully we can build up a head of steam and not go gently into the night.
@trembly .
Agreed.
Fans wouldnt boo if footballers didnt earn a ridiculous fortune.
No one would boo at military service men back from a war they lost, would they?
you’ll have to excuse my use of extremes, but thats how i like to put things in perspective.
What im trying to say is that if you can see someone has tried their best, you cannot complain.
Do we all think that the players are trying their best right now?
I tried to blame Harry by saying he is out of form but i got slated for that.
What are we trying to build at Tottenham? Are we not trying to build an empire?
Im sorry, but if my coach and manager comes out every five minutes and says he wants to coach england or the olympic team one day…that is going to filter down to the players.
If fergie turned around and walked away from Man U and they got in lets say Gareth Southgate, would players still want to play for and join the club?
We simply need a manager who commits vigorously to the club. who has the long term future in mind. Whilst Harry is a good manager im sure, he is achieving short term success for this club and we might very well crash to earth before we take that next step up again…
All im saying is that harry’s comments are more damaging than people realise…
I take your point and you’ve precisely hit the achiles heel where I have no belief in Arry. The England job.
We’ve got a window of one and a half seasons max. If we don’t make CL again next or the season after – then our long term plan is screwed, never mind the short term.
I want Arry to take the England job after leading us into the Champions league again. Then we can rest assured that we can get better players, hold onto our best players and get a manager who might be in it for longer term success. As long as Arry’s got a chance with England, he’s not in the big picture long term – but we need him to do a job this and next season for sure. Levy is too shrewd for this surely, and is probably tapping up a replacement as we type.