Is it ever acceptable to boo your team?

A few weeks ago, in a piece I wrote about the recent home match against Sunderland, I mentioned how disappointed I was with a section of our support, who seem to boo the team when things aren’t going well.

There was a mixed response to the issue in the comments section, with some fans arguing that it is fair that supporters who loyally turn out for matches whilst paying high prices for tickets are entitled to voice their anger when the team isn’t performing well, whilst others agreed with me that we shouldn’t get on the teams back during a game, and if you turn up to Upton Park, it should only be to cheer on the team. So I thought it would be interesting to discuss this topic more fully.

My own opinion is that in general supporters should not jeer and boo their own team whilst at a match. When West Ham are struggling in a game, or not beating someone we think that we should, the last thing we need is for our own fans to turn on the team and manager. It cannot have a positive effect on things in any way, and is more likely to put huge amounts of pressure on the players, causing more mistakes.

I know these are players who probably earn more in one week than what most of us take home as an annual salary, and should be used to playing in high pressured environments, but in reality they are still human beings who will be effected by people shouting at them whilst doing their job, just like any of us would be.

For instance, one of my criticisms of the side this season has been the reluctance of many players to shoot when they have an opportunity to do so, especially the likes of Modibo Maiga and Matthew Jarvis. A factor in this could be the abuse they know they may receive from the crowd when they mess up a chance, which makes them too scared to pull the trigger.

Just imagine players having this on their mind on every pass, cross or dribble they make when the team is having a bad day. It can only serve to hinder the performance.

If there is ever a time to justify booing the team during a match I think it could only be if players are clearly not putting the effort in. Over the years I have been watching West Ham, there have been a few individual players where this is the case; names in this category that spring to mind are Davor Suker and Nigel Reo-Coker. But these are exceptional circumstances and shouldn’t translate to the whole team. Indeed, it is rare that a lack of effort is the reason for playing badly. It can often be factors such as a lack of confidence, players just having a bad day, poor tactics or even simply that the other team is putting on a great display.  In none of these situations is getting on the players backs going to help.

I am not saying our support should never criticise the club, or not have an opinion on matters, but there are better ways of doing it where it won’t actually affect the team’s performance. For example on forums or comment pieces such as this. You can get through to a lot of people this way, and many fans contribute and debate in this type of format.

I know you may not think it, but trust me people from the club do look at these sorts of things, and can probably get a sense of supporters feelings about certain issues. An example may be the angry reaction by supporters to the clubs decision to offer £5 tickets to people who just happen to live near the ground against Manchester City this season. Nowadays there are so many ways for ordinary supporters to make their views known, especially since the introduction of social media.

In situations where there are real problems and anger at a club, say at a particularly inept manager or board, there can be protests and marches at the ground perhaps before a game. If a large enough body of support attends with banners etc, a point can be made without disrupting the performance of the team on the pitch.

Even showing banners criticising something the club is doing during a match so they are pictured on television can be acceptable as long as it dosen’t amount to booing the players whilst the game is on. For example, you can see such banners at Hull City this season, condemning the ridiculous decision by their owner to try and rebrand the club as ‘Hull City Tigers’.

At the end of the day if you truly are unhappy at the state of the club or how the team is performing, then you can always choose not go to matches. Just look at the boycott by Coventry City fans when their team have been playing home matches at Northampton Town’s ground. However at West Ham we do not have such a situation.

It’s true this has been a poor season so far, but in my mind there haven’t been any instances of a lack of effort in my view that justify booing the team. Certainly drawing 0-0 with Sunderland does not deserve the sort of reaction it got from a certain number of supporters. In general I think the club is heading in the right direction at long last, and whilst there have been mistakes by the owners, we just need to look at clubs like Cardiff City and Hull City (Tigers?) to realise how lucky we are by the sorts of people who run our club.

With two vital home games against Arsenal and West Brom on the horizon, we really need to rally round at the games and cheer on the team.

Let me know your thoughts on the issue. And Merry Christmas!