By Walter Broeckx
I have been banging on this a few times before and will bang on the same nail once again: the nail where I point at the importance of the fans being behind the team from the start of the game till the end.
Players have said it enough that if they feel the crowd behind them they can deliver magic. We all remember how the crowd was behind the team when we beat Barcelona. We all remember how the crowd stood behind the team when we beat the spuds 5-2 last season. And this season. I remember the dull atmosphere of the Fulham game even when 2-0 up the crowd just sat there in apathy.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t like the manager, the board or one of the players or even all the players. If you call yourself a supporter and you go to the Emirates is it too much asked to just support the team and get behind them from the start of the game?
If you don’t think this is important then fine but don’t come onto Untold and moan about the lack of passion from the players on the field. It should work both ways.
And I think I can show you the importance of the fans getting behind the team and creating a positive atmosphere during the games. We only have to look at the other side of London to see what happens when the fans who come to the game are more worried about protesting against the manager and thus creating a negative atmosphere for their own team.
Since the rich Russian threw away his former toy, err… manager, Di Matteo the Chelsea fans are unhappy because he brought in Rafa Benitez.
Since then Stamford Bridge has turned in to a place where the home fans use all kinds of ways to express their unhappiness with the new manager. The show boards with “Rafa Out” and they chant that they want him out. So how does this affect the Chelsea team?
Well let us look at the statistics:
Home: P 6 W 1 D 3 L 2 F 10 A 5
Away: P 7 W 6 D 0 L 1 F 21 A 7
So in the last 7 away games Chelsea has won 6 games. I can imagine that the Chelsea away support at those games is more busy trying to support their team in an unkind environment than being busy to slaughter their current manager. It resulted in a few impressive wins even. A few lucky wins also like away at Everton but that is the way it goes.
Just as the Arsenal away support is mostly only focussed on supporting the team I can imagine the same will be the case for the Chelsea away supporters. The togetherness of fighting the local team from an away fans perspective will get rid of the most chants against the manager and will bring chants in support of the team.
But at home these are rather disastrous numbers. Played 6 and only won one. And that was against Aston Villa a side that had lost its ability completely it seems since half December where it all suddenly went terribly wrong for them.
At the start of January Chelsea went to Southampton and trashed them 1-5 in the FA cup. Now they played them at home and only could get a 2-2 draw.
Chelsea lost at home to Swansea in the Capital One Cup. The lost at home against the last in the PL QPR.
They had a draw against Manchester City which can be seen as a good result. But a draw against Fulham is not a really great result.
And away from home they got good results. So the difference between home and away is astonishing.
The home atmosphere is seemingly killing off the team at Stamford Bridge. Now I don’t mind that really over there. I would urge them to carry on the way they are doing just as perhaps Chelsea supporters are pleased that a vocal minority of Arsenal fans in the stadium has turned on Mr Wenger.
But maybe some Arsenal fans should learn their lesson from this. And stop acting like a customer when entering the Emirates. And start acting like a supporter. One that will support his team from the start.
From the evidence presented by Chelsea fans it is clear to see that a negative home support has a big influence on a team. The club needs our support. If you don’t agree with the manager, fine. If you don’t agree with the board, fine. If you don’t agree with the players on the field, fine. But if you really don’t like the club any more you have to consider stop going and give your ticket or sell your ticket to those who still enjoy the team.
I heard from people who went against Swansea in the FA cup that it looked as if the moaners had stayed at home. And it had a great influence on the atmosphere they said. And the players who went for it for 90 minutes showed that they reacted to the support. As they have done a few occasions in the past.
So let us learn our lesson from the Chelsea case and stop moaning when a ball gets lost. Let us each and every game get behind the team from the start. Even when things go wrong at times. Just give your support and maybe you can lift the team. As you did on many occasions.
Let us leave the negative atmosphere out of the Emirates when we go to see the Arsenal. For once I would say we could learn from the Chelsea fans. Let us take advantage of them and do the opposite. Support the club even if you don’t like the manager, the board and all the players. Because that is what we can do and should do.
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The books…
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC: crowd behaviour at the early matches
The sites…
- Referee Decisions – just what are the refs up to this season?
- Parent News – what is going on in schools these days?
- The weight loss programme: The only guaranteed way to stay fit
- The Arsenal History Blog from the AISA Arsenal History Society
You charge opera prices… You get opera fans!
All the noisy hardcore football fans are mainly in the pubs or sitting at home these days due to Arsenal pricing then out! You want better atmos… Blame the club!
Good point Walter.
Walter:
But maybe some Arsenal fans should learn their lesson from this. And stop acting like a customer when entering the Emirates. And start acting like a supporter. One that will support his team from the start.
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It’s Arsenal FC who treat fans like customers. Thats the perception by everyone young & old.
If you look at the price of beer in Islingotn pubs, then you’d know that spending an afternoon in the pub is hardly cheaper!
good one walter.
People who do that wont understand. Instead they point their finger at the club, the board, manager, players, the so called tourists………..
The crowd do need to get behind the team. But the crowd need an inspired team performance but also a player/s to excite them, to drive at opposition, to inject passion and leadership, possible home grown types fans can identify with. Oh wait……….
The strange thing is, some Chelsea moaners on the radio say they are against the manager, but others say they are fed up with the owner, just the sort of owner many of our moaners are praying for.
Some truths need to be said….
1.There are tens of thousands of Arsenal fans, world-wide, who would be only too glad to be able to turn up at the Emirates and give 100% support. They have to rely on TV,radio and the internet in order to follow their heroes.
2.The price of food and drink at a football ground should have no bearing on the support of those attending.
3.While there is a season ticket waiting list of 40,000 or so, there is simply no incentive for Arsenal FC to lower ticket prices, I’m afraid.
1% of the crowd 0f 60,000 is 600 . Morons who would have more fun self harming. are starting to upset me when I go to support my team ( win or lose ) I am there for arsenal football club not for wenger not for wilshere not for Henry or Ramsey but for the love of my club when I hear someone scream gervino your a pile of s#it I wonder why that person has bothered to buy a ticket where all entitled to our opinion but to spoil a young fans day because he has gervino on his shirt is not acceptable if you do not like the manager the players the style of play and you feel the need to scream abuse maybe it’s time to support another team or give up going to games we all have players we do not like and the occasional Moan is acceptable but to effect other people’s enjoyment is not on.please Look first at the effect your having on the team and ask yourself why you only have the answers when it’s going wrong it’s like declaring the ball will not stop on number 31 on a roulette table and then scream at the top of your voice I told you so when it lands on another number you actually sound like an idiot many players and managers will come and go but arsenal will always be arsenal so enjoy what we have and respect your fellow gooners
Doublegooner……….more hyperbole and wildly outrageous BS excreted from your fetid brain!!!
¨It’s Arsenal FC who treat fans like customers. Thats the perception by everyone young & old.¨ And WHO, may I ask made you the chief tallier of everyone young and old’s perceptions? your idiotic statement is so absurdly and patently invented that you must credit all true supporters (the vast majority) having very little credibility and wit. That describes you and the rest of the whiny,entitled moaners perfectly BUT nobody else! Crawl back under your rock at LeGrove and leave UA and the Arsenal in peace.
Do hope that we get something at the Bridge . Maybe we can nick a win if their fans keep their boos going ,while the rest cheer the booing!
I’d be happy to get 4 points out of six this week’s games .
@ Nicky – Agree and a big LIKE on all three counts !
@ The Font – Sweet !
@ Dom – Well swatted again !
@Mandy, well seeing as we don’t know what Usmanov would be like as an owner we can’t tar him with the same brush. Certain Chelsea fans are upset with their owner. Have they forgotten all those shiny trophies they’ve won? Or do they want the Chelsea that used to yo yo between first and second division to return? They should be careful for what they wish for.
What of our owner? Who knows? Does he care about Arsenal? Let’s hope he’s not another Randy Lerner. Time will tell and when we have all that money we’re expecting I hope we’ll spend some of it.
I don’t think so there is much to learn from chelsea fans. what arsenal fans should learn is between themselves. home fans learning from away fans. although fans cannot be entirely faulted. they are after all spectators and thereby need some inspiration. I doubt gervinho inspires a lot. on the contrary just seeing jack brings the fans some needed adrenaline. arsenal players should play how arsenal are expected to play: slick passing movement resulting into goals. this is the fan inspiration. nothing inspires an arsenal fan other than slick passing. while stoke fans enjoy orcs, we enjoy tiki-takas.
Speaking of Chelsea fans’ ways of protest, you can always trust the Chavs to take something wonderful and make it grotesque. I’m not sure it has survived, but one of the forms of protest they came up with, was to steal Aston Villa’ idea of applauding in the 19th minute of every game (For Petrov who’s battling leukemia) and use it in the 16th minute (Roberto Di Matteo’s chelsea shirt number) I know they are only applauding but the idea behind it, and the effect, is negative, and the distortion of Villa’s great gesture is pathetic.
I must say I don’t know why Chelsea fans are unhappy. They have an owner who has no other desire than to ensure they win everything. They may not like his methods but they have plenty to crow about. What do they want? A well managed club in every aspect? Accept your dictator’s crazy ideas and just bask in your temporary success, one that’s lasted ten nigh on ten years.
Because rupert, trophies, and having something to crow about, aren’t everything. I can’t speak for Chelsea fans, but speaking for myself and Arsenal, what I want most is to be able to identify with it. I would not be happy if Arsenal were run in the way that Chelsea is, and if we had a captain, and certain players, as repulsive as theirs, no matter the trophies we won. At most I’d exhibit a grudging acceptance. But never pride.
The spirit of Walter’s post I absolutely agree with. If you go to a game support your team. On Wednesday the crowd did get behind the team – in all areas of the ground. Excellent.
Some interesting replies as well….
I often wonder why some people go to matches and continue to go? There are three people that sit behind me; they often leave very early and on Wednesday and at the City game they left at half time. There are other similar examples I see regularly and I find them fascinating. Each to their own.
It’s true that a positive support is encouraged with the performance you see on the pitch but that correlation doesn’t always hold true. I’ve been at a fair few Arsenal games when we’ve had a right old spanking and the support has been fantatstic and of course most clubs don’t have a prayer of ever winning the FAC or FAPL or even the league that they are in but we can all think of wonderful examples of support from teams lower placed than Arsenal!
Expectations play a part in all of this. It is clear that a large number of Arsenal fans expect us to win every game they watch, expect us to challenge for and win the FA Premier League. Nothing wrong with having demanding expectations but expectations have to be realistic. Are they realistic to demand these things?
Some would answer my last point with high prices equate to high expectations. Perhaps, there is a point to this. You should get what you pay for. But what do you pay for? It might seem obvious or a truism but we pay to watch a game of football at the highest level in this country. When we pay our money there is no guarantee of winning the game(s) we watch.
It is expensive to watch Arsenal. No doubt, but this is a symptom of the game today and the standard we play at. Interestingly the nearest football league club to my home is Stevenage FC. They have an A and B match system. Tickets range from £17 – £23. My Arsenal season ticket averages out at £42 per game. Not bad but the initial out lay does make me think twice each June when I renew.
I hope we do well at Stamford bridge today. It will be difficult as I thought Chelsea looked pretty good when they visited Arsenal earlier in the season. I like the balance of the team from Wednesday and it would be interesting to see if Coquelin can perform against a strong Chelsea team.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/9812744/Chelsea-v-Arsenal-Jack-Wilshere-carrying-a-team-lacking-leadership-says-Sol-Campbell.html
Some very interesting comments from Sol. He says we need more leaders. But also, scroll down and you will see “I know they do not want to spend money, they want to put it back into the club”
He is also at pains to absolve Wenger for any lack of success at the club.
Only one mans opinion of course, but an indication of what Wenger is up against, and seems to contradict recent statements from the board. I have no doubt Wenger does have some money available, but is it enough to significantly improve what he has and what he is developing?