Monday 26 February 2018

Francis right to criticise fans' lack of support

Listening to the crowd on Saturday was pretty disappointing. There wasn't a great deal of noise coming from anywhere but the North stand and not getting behind the team is not what AFCB is about. I know there were reasons for being dejected about what we were seeing on the pitch, especially in the first half but the players need our support and won't perform at all well if thy can't feel that the ground is getting behind them and wants them to do well.
Simon Francis was unhappy with the support that the team had against Newcastle Utd.
So, when Simon Francis had a pop at the fans after the Newcastle match I kind of got where he was coming from. The fans were justified at being annoyed with the performance up at Huddersfield and Simon acknowledged that, but this was a chance for us to forget about that and get the Cherries back on winning ways, and yet the fans didn't help the team when they went one down to Newcastle. Yes, the goal was a bad one to concede, but I always felt that the crowd would try and lift the team in moments of disappointment, but instead by half time I even heard the boos ringing out.

I know fans want to get their feelings across when a performance isn't good enough but booing them isn't going to help them turn around their form. If anything it makes them go into their shell and not want the ball. We have to get over it when Bournemouth make mistakes and things don't go as well as we might hope. The match day experience is about going through good and bad but you always support your team.




There was some goings on with Junior Stanislas, I heard, with the East Stand when he was getting barracked, but if he did gesture to the crowd and was unhappy with the treatment he was getting it just shows how giving players stick doesn't help them do better. We surely want AFCB to turn things around when it is not going well. Wasn't the last 20 minutes great to see with the players suddenly going at Newcastle like their lives depended on it? We might have had 45-70 minutes of that had the crowd got behind the team better and for longer far earlier in the game.

There is a wrong impression that AFCB can just turn on the style when they want to and it's not the case. They need to get encouraged and feel there is a force behind them willing them to succeed to get things going in the right direction. Let's give them our full support shall we? What they have done for the club in the last few seasons is second to none. These players have been fantastic for us and I don't want to hear any moaning during the 90 minutes of a game as that is not what we are in the crowd for on match day. We have to try and help the team always try and get the three points. UTCIAD!

ASK Fans Match Report - AFCB v Newcastle Utd

Daily Mail links Lewis Cook with Liverpool

4 comments:

  1. Both Francis and the Author are absolutely correct. If you must behave like idiots , please leave it for voting in referendums ,etc.
    Our defensive lapses now seem to be from being sliced open in the final third, but I don't think it is a case of blaming individuals. Our defence can be a bit vulnerable due to lack of protection from midfield - and managers like Wagner and Benitez are smart enough to pick up on this. Most of the top teams now play with a "holding" midfielder, charged with breaking up attacks and protecting the defence. Surman is the ideal player for this role, but Arter or Gosling could also do it. At the same time, we don't want to sacrifice our trademark fluency, so it is a tricky balancing act.

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  2. Absolutely 100% agree with Cherry Chimes and Simon. I suspect that it was a reaction to the Huddersfield loss, the two week wait for retribution, and the suddenness of the second Newcastle goal. But let's always remember that every team has its ups and downs. Who other than City has been consistent over 28 games? We are on the threshold of a 4th PL season - who would have thought it. A friend reminded me of the Anything Is Possible video. I watched it again yesterday, and it is required reading for anyone who is feel churlish at this point.
    Toronto John

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  3. The Stanislas incident you describe was his fault. He got mad with two of his own team mates right in front of sections 18/19 of the East stand. That is the last thing a team needs when they are losing.

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  4. It works both ways player performance and crowd response are linked. Let's be clear ordinary people paying hard earned money to watch very well paid footballers. Players need to man up. I ask you how sensitive is that,you can't play because your upset with crowd.

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