I wonder if the difference between home and away form is something to do with the fact that there are a lot more moaning booers in home crowds of 6-7000 as opposed to the obviously lower numbers at away games. The negativity created by them certainly won't inspire or motivate players to try harder. People say that as pro's they should be able to rise above it. Nonetheless, when it happens week after week, and they still hear some at away games, it must get very wearing.
And management bawling instead of firing up from the touchline will only exacerbate the situation. Particularly if they are not held in high regard by players.
There may be some grounds where the fans go out of their way to lift the players, but ours isn't one of them. However, while we do have some knobs who love to boo the team off at half-time just because we're not 3-0 up, most of the fans at the County Ground will respond positively to good performances. They will feed off a bright start and visible displays of effort, which can make for a mutually beneficial atmosphere. The football we played against Tranmere and QPR delivered decent atmospheres, the football we played against Colchester and Leeds didn't.
In short, the players should stop moaning (if they even are?), accept that this is what it's like where they work and get on with delivering the kind of displays that will have 6,000 fans backing them to the hilt. They'll enjoy their Saturday afternoons a lot more if they do. And so will I.
Malpas IN, by the way. And thanks to Juddie for mentioning Andy King and surely reminding everyone how much worse off we could be!
