How Not to Support a Team

There are some things in life which will never change. The weather in Britain will always be unpredictable, Sam Allardyce will always be a twat and Sky Sports News will always be breaking news about Ricky Hatton calling Floyd Mayweather a knobhead. Of course, I and many other people do not care about these forseeable events taking place. There is one predicable aspect of life I would change; the fans of Arsenal FC being miserable pricks at every home game at the Emirates Stadium.

Every time I attend an Arsenal match, I hope against hope that things will have changed. I pray that the fans won't get on the back of the players if the team is not winning within 5 minutes, people won't groan and shout obscenities because of a misplaced pass, people won't shout 'shoooooooot' when Phillippe Senderos is 35 yards out with 3 defenders in front of him... the list is endless. As I approached the stadium last night for the most important game of the club's season, I was relatively optimistic that the fans might be able to create a positive atmosphere with a little bit of noise for once. Looking back on those hopes, I was being incredibly naiive.

As I sat in my seat last night, I was unfortunate enough to be sitting next to the most miserable git I have ever had the displeasure of listening to. He did not stop moaning and criticising the team the entire way through the match. He did not join in songs, or clap the team, he simply stood there and complained about every single aspect of Arsenal's play for the entire match. Of course, none of this was constructive or informed, his comments were simply the ramblings of an enormous twat. Unfortunately, there are many Arsenal fans of this build, and this was particularly evident during the match against Liverpool. 

I am not suggesting that watching a football team is never frustrating. Of course it is. We want the team we support to win, and sometimes this urge can be so strong that we act irrationally. However, I have no excuse for the Arsenal fans who 'support' the team in this manner every single game. Who do our fans believe that it is helpful to moan and groan for pretty much the entire 90 minutes? If they (or 'we) believe this is helpful, then they really need to rethink what they think the affect this has on the team. When Hleb misplaces a pass, does shouting 'oh for fuck's sake Hleb, you're shit' spur him on to perform? When the team walk off at half time having tried their bollocks off to play well and nobody claps, do the Arsenal fans think this will inspire the team to come back and play better in the second half? Well, it doesn't. It is counter productive, and does nothing but spread a feeling of negativity amongst the players. 

It is interesting how people discuss holding the second leg at home in a Champions League tie being a massive advantage. For some clubs it might well be. Liverpool, for example, have excellent home support, and there is little doubt that their supporter's vociferous nature and never-say-die attitude gives the players an extra spring in their step and desire to perform for the thousands of people who are behind the team. However, it is never an advantage for the second leg to be played at the Emirates. All one needs to do is look at the match against PSV last season. Again, I turned up at the stadium praying that the fans would get behind the team and show some appreciation for their efforts, but all I got was the usual silence pierced only by the moaning of people who do not realise how fortunate they are to enjoy such excellent football on a very frequent basis.