US based Adam Miller believes positivity in the ground will help Spurs play more positively.
Supporters are meant to support
I was thinking about writing this article even before the events that unfolded this weekend. Before Spurs folded to Stoke. Before our fans booed the lads into halftime. Before Adebayor made th0se comments. I was thinking that the issue with our play at home doesn’t come down to players ability, players not caring, or manager’s tactics, but the reason for our failures at home comes down to the support.
Being from the States, week in week out I watch the matches at the local Spurs Supporters bar or at home. One thing I’ve noticed lately, apart from the negativity of everyone I watch matches with, is that during the Premier League coverage the home supporters at White Hart Lane are rarely heard.
The crowd is often silent and waiting for something to happen. I know that some people think the players need to give the fans something to cheer about, but what if we’ve been going about this all wrong. Yes, sometimes the players will inspire the fans, but more often than not the fans should be inspiring the players to take their game to another level.
[linequote]The players will change, but the fans can help to create a positive influence on whatever player walks into the dressing room and out onto the pitch at The Lane[/linequote]
The fortress that was White Hart Lane has been infiltrated, not by opposing players, opposing fans, or even by ENIC, but by our own supporters. We booed Adebayor before he’s even had a touch of the ball. We create a nervous environment expecting failure. We constantly berate and insult our own players via social media and any other means possible.
I understand liking some players more than others, but the amount of stick that some of our players get from our own fans is embarrassing. All of these things help to create the culture of our football club. The players will change, but the fans can help to create a positive influence on whatever player walks into the dressing room and out onto the pitch at The Lane wearing the badge of our club we all hold so near and dear.
During home Europa League and cup matches the stadium is nowhere near capacity, yet the sound from the crowd is louder than most Premier League matches. During these games the players don’t seem to play timid or scared, they go out there brimming with confidence. Now this confidence could be that they are playing “lesser competition”, but I think the crowd helps.
[linequote]If you are confident things just seem to go your way more often, you anticipate what’s going to happen, and you’re on top of your game[/linequote]
When you’re in a positive environment you are going to perform better than when more than 30,000 people expect you to fail or are waiting for a mistake. In football confidence is everything. If you are confident things just seem to go your way more often, you anticipate what’s going to happen, and you’re on top of your game. The home fans should be able to provide a foundation of confidence for our players to build on, not strip it all away.
This season is not all doom and gloom. Yes we are sitting in 12th at the moment, but we are 3 points behind Arsenal, 4 points off the coveted and elusive Champions League spot. Look at what happen with Newcastle, they went 7 games without a win to start the season, and now they sit 6th in the table. At this point a run of good results could see us rise up the table quicker than you’d think.
All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.
12 Comments
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12/11/2014 @ 12:54 pm
I disagree! The past 3 yrs i have witnessed the most boring, shite football I have seen for ages under 3 seperate managers. I n that time there have many occasions where the atmosphere has been good but the football did not match this. Although I agree a little bit that the atmosphere does need to change this can only be done by what is on the pitch. The very MINIMUM the fans want is the players trying but what I have witness the past 12 months is a bunch of spineless players that cant be bothered. The fans have now had enough now and the person to blame for ALL of this is, is Mr Daniel Levy! This guy should have left our club years ago, he is a disaster! Why he got rid of Harry 3 yrs ago AND then employed a fraud in AVB who has NEVER kicked a football by the way, is a shock. Thank he emplys Dimwit Sherbert, who by the way is still unemployed(what a surprise) and now he employs Pistachio on a 1 season wonder from last year. Look at Southampton now? rest my case. Tottenham will NEVER move forward as a club until Levy leaves, I for one will not go back until he goes.
12/11/2014 @ 12:56 pm
I agree the atmosphere is becoming toxic at Spurs, and this seems to be feeding into the Spurs players.
But its easy to criticise when watching games at home or in a bar. But when we are expected to pay £40-85 to watch a game, and what seems to be a team with no passion or desire, then it becomes increasingly frustrating. Booing never helps, but sometimes its so bad, people need to show their dissatisfaction.
What’s the alternative?? write a letter to customer service??
12/11/2014 @ 12:56 pm
The writer is missing a few things, players are there to play, and if they play well they will attract fans and the more fans they attract and entertain the more they will demand in wages. The modern footballer demands the wage of an entertainer. This means the supporter has to pay more to be entertained, this in turn means the supporter will increase his demand to be entertained and to see the high paid players actually put in some work for the large rewards
The days of footballers minimum wage and cheap match day tickets have changed the way many fans look at a game nowadays and they no longer are happy to accept half hearted players putting in no effort and offering up the dismal passionless football that at times is served
Unsurprisingly when they see that they are unhappy and will voice that displeasure and how can you blame them? Lets not forget many fans pay a big fee up front for a season ticket without knowing what they will get each week. It’s not easy to vote with your feet if you’ve already paid for the season. If you are not happy how else do you voice that
There is an easy way to avoid booing, let the players start playing better football and trying harder. Players never complain about applause when things are going well, they happily accept the acclaim, yet feel unhappy about criticism when they play poorly, well if you want the acclaim for playing well then you have to accept the criticism when you aren’t, it’s not a one way street
12/11/2014 @ 1:04 pm
When you see the our defenders running around like headless chickens
It’s hard to be positive
Lack of effort in general by most of the players
We know what we are seeing
It is a shambles
Tactics
Team selection
Desire to actually win a game of football
It’s like going to a restaurant and being treated appallingly
You are waiting ages for your meal and when it comes up its cold
We can not keep sacking managers
It is time for levy to go
I have always been thankful that we have a chairman that
Does spend millions on players
But to keep getting it wrong in so many ways I could write a list
Of poor decisions by levy and the board
If Spurs are to progress we need someone at the top making the right decisions ie forget this nonsense of a continental approach
A manager should be allowed to manage
Buy his own players etc
Remember that guy harry red knapp
This will continue to to go on and on unless changes are
Made right through the club chairman scouting system etc
spurs fans deserve better and if booing some of these poor excuses for footballers is the start of getting it so be it
12/11/2014 @ 1:29 pm
I must say that I do find this kind of statement (whether on blogs or in forums) quite common from people who don’t attend matches or spend an incredible amount of money on going to games.
We have a huge problem in that the match-goers spend hard-earned cash, get themselves into debt and more, just to go and see Spurs play. We spend our lives watching these millionaires play out their fairytale lives whilst we struggling to go to the games…and to top it off, they don’t bother putting in the effort.
I actually thought the atmosphere in the second half of the Stoke game was supoortive, with a fair amount of singing coming from the Park Lane. But there has to be something given to us to shout about.
Things may not go right on the pitch, we all understand that. But you’d at least expect a player to run his heart out, make a crunching tackle…something to at least spark the imagination of the crowd.
Supporting is most definitely a two-way street.
12/11/2014 @ 1:45 pm
Chicken and egg!
If the fans get behind the team more, the team will play better. If the team plays better, the fans will get behind them more. The two things cause one another.
As fans, we do not have the influence to get Levy/ENIC out of the club (irrespective of whether that would be a good thing – separate debate). And we have 12 matches to go before the transfer window opens.
So for now, we have two options:
Option 1.
Take to the internet to explain exactly why our players/formation/tactics aren’t working, and what we would do if we were manager. Hope that Poch gets wind of our comments, ignores the idiotic ones, takes the good ones on board, and goes to our next match with a revolutionary new line-up/formation/tactical change that might or might not see us start winning matches.
Option 2.
Get behind the team at the Lane. Stop booing, groaning and whinging, even when we’re playing shit. Support unconditionally, so that our players will feel like they actually want to play for the shirt, and the away team might feel like they’re actually playing away from home.
I know which option I choose.
12/11/2014 @ 2:09 pm
So are we supposed to stand up and cheer a performance like the one against Stoke and be celebrate that we forked a week’s food shop worth on 90 minutes of drivel?
14/11/2014 @ 1:29 pm
If we had been cheering the team on throughout the Stoke match rather than groaning, there’s every chance that the extra motivation it would have given the players might have seen us salvage a point from the match. And even if it didn’t, at least the players would have trudged off thinking that they let down an adoring fanbase and they need to do better next time, rather than thinking that our fanbase are a bunch of tossers who hate them and aren’t worth putting the effort in for.
The ticket price is a different issue altogether.
12/11/2014 @ 9:21 pm
Option 3 – don’t go to the matches.
12/11/2014 @ 1:46 pm
The player complaining about the fans attitude is the most expensive player in terms of wages and worst performer and didn’t even have his boots on when he was due to come on! He pretends he plays better away from home and he clearly doesn’t. If he expects support then do something to earn the support. He could win the occasional header or is being the tallest player on the pitch a disadvantage too? Or just trap a ball with his feet instead of his shin pad
How do you expect supporters to react to such I lazy and apathetic attitude?
12/11/2014 @ 2:13 pm
I have been a season ticket holder for over 30 years and until the Stoke game I have never booed the team. I have had enough of spineless lazy players not putting any effort in. The players are so detached from real life and the fans. They put no effort on the pitch get in their Ferraris and drive home to their £5million mansions without a care in the world. The worse person for this is Adebayor. Considering his efforts he should keep his mouth shut. Levy wont go although this would be good but we need a manager who inspires and plays positive football. Poch is not the answer, anyone who picks Fazio and keeps Vertongen on the bench is an idiot. Anyone who relies on Capoue is and idiot. Soldado played well against Villa when we played 2 up front so why change? because he hasn’t got a clue. COYS
12/11/2014 @ 9:19 pm
This debate again?
Surely nothing left to say as there are no new perspectives.