Recently several players have had to suffer the anger of football fans. Adebayor has had to suffer this treatment and one could argue that the fans indulging in this kind of behaviour actually do more than attack one player, they also encourage the opposition and therefore harm the interests of the team as a whole.
Ex gunner Sol Campbell has had to suffer disgraceful slurs and chanting by Tottenham Hotspur fans who remain bitter about his free agent move to the Arsenal. Now we see that Ashley Cole has incurred the wrath of England fans following his error against Kazakhstan yesterday. Should Ashley Cole’s treatment be viewed with the same degree of condemnation as that meted out to Sol Campbell?
Here’s why not. Ashley Cole was described by Frank Lampard, no stranger to the Boo boys, as “the best left back in the world”. There are many gooners who disagree and see Gael Clichy as a better all round player. I argue that the treatment of Ashley Cole by England fans is unfortunate but not in the same league as the homophobic chants that he suffers at the hands of some Gooners.
I would go even further that the singling out by England fans of some England players for such treatment only shows that they are annoyed at the lack of effort and passion shown by some of these hyper inflated egos which wear England shirts. It is just and the only real way that fans can show their displeasure. The words used by Ferdinand to describe these fans as “Morons” is typical of the arrogance displayed by some of these players. When they fail dismally we are expected to still support them to the hilt.
I don’t much care for my England team anymore, they are inconsistent, pathetic and some of the players are not worthy of the three lions that adorn their chests. Only the introduction of Theo Walcott has stirred a return to the good old days when playing for your country actually meant something, and the pride and passion was sincere. I would argue that it was Sir Alex Ferguson who when making sure that playing for Manchester United was more important that your National side with the likes of Roy Keane and Paul Scholls, who is really responsible for the current attitudes of club v country.
I don’t much care for the rebukes of an England Captain, who once served an eight month ban for somehow forgetting to undergo a drugs test., and who is so overrated that the only way he can deflect his own flat footed contribution to the goal scored by this plucky Kazakhstan side is by berating the fans who paid a king’s ransom to see such pathetic play by some England players.
I view the treatment of Ashley Cole as quite acceptable, when it is clear that the players show contempt and disloyalty for the hands that pay their wages, by the kind of performance that indicates that they couldn’t care less about the fortunes of England, and all they want is to have that cap on their CV for the next transfer move. So my own dislike of Ashley Cole aside, when the fans on the terraces are left with no means of showing their displeasure other than not attending games, perhaps the FA would prefer a full stadium with ten minutes of Boos in disapproval, rather than a near empty stadium and the deafening sound of pins dropping in unison.
If the words of Kevin Miles, International co-ordinator for the Football Supporters federation is anything to go by, it seems that I am not alone
‘I hardly heard it, though I was aware of it. It seemed to be a minority,’ he said. ‘I can only speak personally. There are two sides to it; people have obviously paid their money and have every right to express their opinion.
‘However, I personally believe once the team have gone out there and are playing, fans should do what they can to try to improve or support what they are trying to do.
‘And I can’t imagine a situation in which a player being booed every time he touches the ball, no matter what mistake he’s made before then, is going to feel more confident or lifted by the experience.
‘Clearly Ashley Cole made a mistake for their goal but having said that he’s still got to carry on playing the rest of the game and we wanted to move forward from that rather than compound it, so I can’t see how it helps.’
Fabregas the King.