There were boos ringing out all over the country this weekend as fans of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Wolves took turns to vent their frustration at disappointing results.
The most surprising incident on the booing circuit though, besides Bolton fans neglecting to jeer Gary Megson’s choice of tie or something of an equally trivial nature as he lead them to a third win in four, was that Hull supporters turned on Phil Brown for subbing Geovanni.
The Tigers have taken just two points from eight games since Brown decided it was a good idea to publicly humiliate his players as they trailed 4-0 away to Manchester City on Boxing Day, making them comfortably the worst Premier League team this side of Christmas.
Have the players lost respect for Brown or was the bubble always going to burst? Are the fans fickle for booing the manager who took them up or are they right to be worried by a run of one win in 18? Let us know what you think with a comment below.
The recent spate of fan dissatisfaction opens old debate
Fans across Europe who pay thousands of pounds to support their team should have varying methods of expressing their dissatisfaction: in Spain they wave white handkerchiefs, in France and Italy they whistle, and in the United Kingdom, we choose to boo.
After incidents at the Emirates, Stamford Bridge and Anfield, the boo boys have been well publicised, and the debate is wide open - on the one hand, it is important to be able to show disagreement with incidents on the field, and on the other, booing a player or team perpetuates negativity, and nearly always leads to more mistakes and a worse performance.
Is it right for fans to boo their side (or a particular player/ manager), or should they always back their team 100 per cent? Votes below, please…
Spoiler bonus: In order to avoid this thorny issue all together, here are three alternatives to booing…
Silence
Don’t like a player’s performance? If he is substituted or touches the ball, fall completely silent. As soon as he is away from play, ramp up the cheering once again. If there are tumbleweeds and lively crickets in the vicinity, the protestation will also be hilarious for neutral observers.
Throw your shoes at the pitch
If things are looking a bit Danny Dyer, show your disgust like you are at an Iraqi press conference. Charlton fans may wish to bring several bags of old shoes with them on match days.
Start a Facebook group
As a means of battling against injustice, nothing quite matches complaining on the internet. Starting a group on a social networking site that the accused party will never see is a good start.
Pantsil doesn’t enjoy first match against former club
Fulham’s John Pantsil earned cult hero status at West Ham last season and before moving west in search of regular football the Ghanaian was one of the only things that kept fans singing over the final few games as the club took their foot off the gas.
The scene was set today for a romantic reunion. Pantsil was one of four former Hammers in the Fulham team alongside Paul Konchesky, Jimmy Bullard and Bobby Zamora. He spoke in the matchday programme about never forgetting the way West Ham’s fans treated him and the away support responded with an enthusiastic cheer when his name was read out and a hearty rendition of their ironic chant: “he comes from Africa, he’s better than Kaka”
But the relationship turned sour late in the first half when Pantsil challenged for the ball after Robert Green palmed away a Bullard free-kick and followed through on the West Ham keeper. A large percentage of incensed fans began chanting “f*** off Pantsil” before demonstrating the childishness of their sudden turn with a chant of “we don’t like you any more” before booing him every time he touched the ball for the rest of the match.
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