How do you view football?
Wilfried Bony cost £12million. That was, and is, a club record which actually doubled the prior record, and if the board and Michael Laudrup deem him good enough to be worth that kind of money then that's sure as hell good enough for me. When you couple that with the fact that he's scored six goals in eleven games, you'd think he'd be making a positive impression all round, however within minutes of taking to the field from the bench against Arsenal some fans could be heard berating him, and the usual accusations are that a) he's not running around chasing shadows enough and that b) he hasn't "produced the goods in the league yet".
Now, let's consider both of those points. Firstly, I'd wager my entire (meagre) bank balance that anyone criticising Bony for not sprinting into the channels willy-nilly was also guilty of hounding Jason Scotland for the same reason. You know, the same Jason Scotland that ignored all criticism to bang in countless goals for us. I often thought that those criticising him were firmly rooted in the Leighton James school of football - ie. get it to a winger, run like hell, and cross it in for a galloping centre-forward to latch onto. Very 1970's, and far from how we play.
Secondly, Bony has played a cumulative 228 minutes of Premier League football - so anyone saying "he's played five games and only scored one goal" is ignoring the fact that he's either been withdrawn early or come off the bench at various junctures. He has clearly, clearly got an eye for goal, so why oh why should he be getting any kind of stick this early into his Swansea career?
A wise man once said "I'm not a negatist, I'm an optometrist", and this brings me neatly to the point I want to make, as alluded to in the title of this piece. There appear to be two distinct sets of fans in modern football - those who'd rather assume everything is going to fall apart so that a) they never risk having any egg on their faces if the player/team they're backing ends up being a bit of a dead rubber, and b) that they don't get their hopes up only for them to be dashed, and then there are those who will always back the team and provide positive support at all times, until the absolute last possible moment.
Personally, I'm definitely in the latter category. Now, I know that both of those attitudes are far from perfect - an ideal take on things would be to be firmly planted in the realist camp, while also maintaining a healthy optimism about how things may work out, but football inflames passions to the point where rationality often goes out the window, and that's what makes the game we all love so special. Without the drama and speculation that surrounds modern football it would no doubt lose some of it's intrigue, however I fail to see what good berating your own players achieves.
When has open negativity ever, ever brought about any kind of positive response? Ok, some players undoubtedly respond to criticism in a bid to prove their doubters wrong, but that percentage must surely be minute and on the whole a structured supportive approach is always going to reap more rewards than what you'll achieve by slagging off your own team. I grew tired of criticisms of Jason Scotland long before he made his move to Wigan, and my new worry is that if any one player becomes a target for fans' discontent, it could be we'll see that player move on before he's had a chance to show us what he can do.
I feel I should point out I have only heard a small minority criticising from the stands, and that generally most fans have faith in the manager's selection (along with the players on the field), but I do hope that Bony smashes in a load of goals in the next few weeks to silence those who do feel the need to heckle. It would get hard-to-please fans off his back for now, but it seems if I'm right the attention would just pass on to someone else. Try something positive, eh guys? (and girls - check me out with the equal opportunities blogging).
This seems to have developed into a bit of a rant, but I think it's an interesting debate. How do you see football? Do you think it's fair (and constructive) to criticise your own players or do you support the team through ninety minutes before providing constructive feedback wherever possible?
Answers on a postcard.
(Or in the comment section below...)