If not booing how do you show you feel the effort and performance aren't good enough?

[Coleby1007]

For starters, I didnt boo, I thought as a team we created a few excellent chances and were very unlucky to go in behind. Watford looked poor and offered very little and i was convinced we would get back in the game.

After reading so many threads on here with the majority of superfans claiming that as a 'proper' (note the inverted commas) you shouldnt boo. So my question is this, as a fan, someone who has supported the Albion their whole life, pays good money to watch them and has paid good money to watch them at the Withdean, Gillingham and the Goldstone, what is an 'appropriate' way to show your displeasure at a performance.

Personally those on here who say you should never boo your team, always tell them how brilliant they are, because as footballers they are void of criticism you need to take your head out your arse. Collectively as fans I have never experienced atmosphere like it this season (doncaster, Burnley, Leeds to name a few) and bar a few boos yesterday (most of which i presume were for the shite officiating) we have got behind our team 100%. But after the embarrassing West Ham performance and the fact that last night in the first half we looked dis-interested and as though we would rather be somewhere else I think the team deserved some stick and a good kick up the arse by us their fans.

Painter and Dicker were being carried again last night, for me they are certain to be shown the door in the summer. As for Barnes he had a shocker, his touch has to be the worst in the league, he literally couldnt trap a bag of cement. How he wasnt subbed last night, ill never know.

Gus for me was out of order having a go, we have been immense as fans this season (no-one would have expected our average attendances) and the majority of our performances on the pitch have been too. We have performed way above expectations and it has been a brilliant season. I think there is a fine line between being a good fan and supporting your team whatever and being a mug, constantly seeing life through blue and white tinted glasses. If Gus struggles to deal with a minor amount of fan criticism he will never make it at a bigger club than Brighton and thats a fact.

 

[Aadam]

I am not a fan of booing and getting on your teams back, it was evident that the crowd didn't help last night. Maybe it was the words of Gus at half time, or maybe it was the reaction of the supporters, but you could see the change in the way the team played when the fans stopped expecting them to play like Barcelona.

First half the crowd were agitated, frustrated and it was evident that this added pressure was on the players. Their passing was shocking but the pressure of the fans made it worse.

Second half the crowd finally got behind the team and look what difference it made.

I'm of the opinion that if you get behind the team, and not on their backs you will get more out of them. But you've paid your entrance fee, so feel free to boo. Lets not forget this is a team of League one players, fighting it out in the Championship. They're not going to be able to play like Barcelona week in and week out. They will have off days, and on those days you have to get behind them, not on them. In my opinion.

 

[Rugrat]

Fair post and I agree with most. We have had a brilliant season in the context of finishing 10th or wherever it will be but there's no denying we f***ed it up over the last 10 or 11 games and I'm pretty disappointed at that aspect.

I think Gus is way out of order in respect to some of his comments, but it's quite obvious he doesn't care what I think so no damage done there

 

[big nuts]

For starters, I didnt boo, I thought as a team we created a few excellent chances and were very unlucky to go in behind. Watford looked poor and offered very little and i was convinced we would get back in the game.

After reading so many threads on here with the majority of superfans claiming that as a 'proper' (note the inverted commas) you shouldnt boo. So my question is this, as a fan, someone who has supported the Albion their whole life, pays good money to watch them and has paid good money to watch them at the Withdean, Gillingham and the Goldstone, what is an 'appropriate' way to show your displeasure at a performance.

Personally those on here who say you should never boo your team, always tell them how brilliant they are, because as footballers they are void of criticism you need to take your head out your arse. Collectively as fans I have never experienced atmosphere like it this season (doncaster, Burnley, Leeds to name a few) and bar a few boos yesterday (most of which i presume were for the shite officiating) we have got behind our team 100%. But after the embarrassing West Ham performance and the fact that last night in the first half we looked dis-interested and as though we would rather be somewhere else I think the team deserved some stick and a good kick up the arse by us their fans.

Painter and Dicker were being carried again last night, for me they are certain to be shown the door in the summer. As for Barnes he had a shocker, his touch has to be the worst in the league, he literally couldnt trap a bag of cement. How he wasnt subbed last night, ill never know.

Gus for me was out of order having a go, we have been immense as fans this season (no-one would have expected our average attendances) and the majority of our performances on the pitch have been too. We have performed way above expectations and it has been a brilliant season. I think there is a fine line between being a good fan and supporting your team whatever and being a mug, constantly seeing life through blue and white tinted glasses. If Gus struggles to deal with a minor amount of fan criticism he will never make it at a bigger club than Brighton and thats a fact.

Agree with most of that, I didn't boo either but have no issue if some chose to. Facts were the first half performance was pathetic and as mentioned the players needed a kick up the backside which presumably Gus delivered as we were far better in the second half.

Maybe we have been spoilt at the Amex this seasons as apart from 70 minutes against Palace and possibly the Forest home game we have performed to a very high level in the vast majority of games, yesterdays first half stuck out like a sore thumb in terms of poor performances hence the reaction. What Gus should also have mentioned post match is the way the fans got behind the team in the second half and helped turn the match around.

 

[Seagull27]

I doubt the players really need us to show our displeasure at an abject performance from them. They'll know already if they haven't been performing, and the management team will make it clear to them as well.

But the difference between us and the management team is, that the coaches will be able to give constructive criticism, tell them where it is going wrong and motivate them to produce a better performance. Whereas booing them will only demoralise them and shatter their confidence.

If anything, after a horrible first half performance the players need to know the fans are behind them to give them that morale boost to play better.

 

[drew]

I doubt the players really need us to show our displeasure at an abject performance from them. They'll know already if they haven't been performing, and the management team will make it clear to them as well.

But the difference between us and the management team is, that the coaches will be able to give constructive criticism, tell them where it is going wrong and motivate them to produce a better performance. Whereas booing them will only demoralise them and shatter their confidence.

If anything, after a horrible first half performance the players need to know the fans are behind them to give them that morale boost to play better.

Out of interest, what qualifications do you have in psychology? You know for certain that all players only react negatively to booing rather than it being the proverbial kick up the backside. The crowd don't get agitated when the players make one mistake or even two. When there is a plethora of misplaced passes and no communications then the crowd get agitated. The half time break couldn't have come sooner. In fact, if it had been about 3 minutes earlier we would only have been losing 1-0.

As for managers half time talks, do you think Ferguson is as successful as he is because he put his arm around players at half time with words of encouragement and keeps the hairdryer turned off. Get real.

 

[oldalbiongirl]

I think that people are rather naive if they think that the players need the fans to tell them if they are not playing well. Don't you think being 2-0 down is a clue that they are playing badly and need to improve. As supporters, I believe that we support the team. Booing in my opinion makes the players more nervy and likely to make mistakes. No one is saying you should have to clap and cheer players when they are playing badly but booing them realistically is not going to help.

 

[Seagull27]

Out of interest, what qualifications do you have in psychology? You know for certain that all players only react negatively to booing rather than it being the proverbial kick up the backside. The crowd don't get agitated when the players make one mistake or even two. When there is a plethora of misplaced passes and no communications then the crowd get agitated. The half time break couldn't have come sooner. In fact, if it had been about 3 minutes earlier we would only have been losing 1-0.

As for managers half time talks, do you think Ferguson is as successful as he is because he put his arm around players at half time with words of encouragement and keeps the hairdryer turned off. Get real.

No that's not what I said. The manager will know how to handle the players and what reaction to give them to provide a response. In some cases that will be the hairdryer treatment, and sometimes it will be encouragement. But ultimately, they'll also be able to tell them what to change and how to improve.

With regards to booing, I'm just going what our players themselves have said - how having the crowd behind them really helps them to play their best and put in a good shift. Have you ever heard a player say that them being booed at half time has really motivated them to go out and put in a great performance?

 

[KZNSeagull]

Booing is not specific enough at a football match - Gus thinks they were booing him/the team, others say they were booing the Ref. Some people will join in with booing whether they know what they are booing for or not.

It is obvious when a chorus of "the referee's a w******" is sung, so if you really have to get on the team's back, how about starting a good old fashioned chorus of "what a load of rubbish" or something similar and see how many join in? Would get the point across to the team and would allow supporters nearby to join in/shout down the perpetrators as appropriate.


Suspect this will not catch on

 

[Mellotron]

I'm sure the players know FAR FAR FAR FAR better than any of us if they're not performing (apart from Harley, who I'm pretty sure thinks he is MOM every game regardless).

They've played THOUSANDS of games of football (in training, on matchday etc). They know full well when they're not up to the standard they can perform at.