"Nice to see your home fans booing you. If that's what loyal support is..."
Those were the words of a frustrated Wayne Rooney to a TV camera as he trudged off the pitch at Cape Town Stadium last Friday with the catcalls of England fans ringing in his ears.
The Manchester United striker has since apologised for any offence his actions caused but it has sparked a debate about how far supporters are allowed to take their frustrations when the overpaid prima donnas representing them fail to deliver.
If Fabio Capello's men bow out of the tournament tomorrow afternoon by failing to take maximum points off Slovenia, many a hatchet job will be performed in the post-match autopsies of national newspapers, with the axe falling solely on the Three Lions squad.
But supporters also have to take culpability for their actions and enhanced levels of expectancy, which appears to be weighing heavily on Rooney himself thus far. However, that does not entitle them to subject the players to excessive booing like they were last week.
Performances like the one in Cape Town do not warrant goodwill and gentlemanly applause, far from it in fact, but by the same token they also don't deserve the height of abuse from so-called England 'fans'.
Unfortunately, like football itself, that term has changed drastically over time.
The 'customer is always right' argument seems to carry more weight in football than it really should because people feel entitled to sound off having paid good money to see the team play so they'll act in whatever manner they see fit.
Once upon a time football supporters were reserved and gracious in defeat and continued to offer unconditional support, whether it be for club or country.
Somewhere in between the arrival of Sky Sports and the national hysteria of England reaching the semi-finals of Euro '96, those morals have conveniently been forgotten.
Pantomime antics and catcalls are the order of the day on stands up and down the country, including parts of the traditional hotbeds such as Anfield and Goodison, and typify everything that it wrong with the modern football fan.
They have been brainwashed by the likes of Soccer AM that this is how to behave in a stadium on match days; wear the most outrageous fancy dress costume, wave and gurn ridiculously when the jumbotron camera pans on you and boo when things don't go your way.
Rooney should not be chastised for speaking out against what is essentially a part-time pantomime crowd on the basis that they have 'paid their money', but commended for showing the same level of fight he showed on the pitch - something England fans have yet to show off it.
Loyal support indeed, Wayne.
Giant Spectacular Waste of Money
(Sun 22/04)
The End of the World
(Sun 10/07)
A Taste of Their Own Medicine
(Sat 04/12)
A Dangerous Precedent
(Tue 23/11)
...And the Circus Leaves Town
(Sat 11/09)
Post a comment