We have been by far the better team in nearly all the games we've played this season, we have scored bucket loads of goals and comfortably 2nd in the league. Do we have to win every game by 4-0 and never drop a point, its beyond belief what some people expect. An extract I've read from an article on the book The Secret Footballer. Are players hurt more by media criticism, pundits’ opinions and fan chants than they make out? Fan chants I've always hated. I never read papers unless I play well. That may sound egotistical but, psychologically, it is a tremendous boost reading great things about yourself. It helps me greatly. When I don't play well, I don't read the papers. Simple. I have never read fans' forums. Ever. Totally pointless. I know more than any fan in the country about how football should be played and what it takes to win matches, so I am not going to read anything that they say about what happened in a match or how I or my team-mates are playing. I know when I've played well and what went right, and I know when I've played badly and what went wrong. If I need help, I'll ask my coaches. That's what they're paid for. It is the kids who are affected more than any other set of players. Young first-year pros can be seriously hurt by criticism of their performances and, stupidly, they read anything that they can find about themselves. I always preach the same philosophy to them: you know when you've played well and when you've played badly, so when you play well, read the headlines. It will be good for your confidence. When you play badly, watch the DVD back and learn from it. Spend a week on the training pitch putting it right. There is no other way. Do players genuinely care about pleasing their supporters or is it just an act? Well, that's not the primary objective. It's a by-product of playing well or playing badly. A player goes onto the pitch with one objective, which is to play well. If he manages to do that on a consistent basis, then all of the other parts of the game - fan adoration, sponsorship deals, big wages and material possessions - will arrive as a result. The players who other players really despise are those who try to win over the fans by making big tackles when they can stay on their feet, or heading the ball a mile when they could just take it down on their chest. We hate it. Players like that only play in that way because they are scared of the ball. It is far easier to clean somebody out in a tackle than it is to take the ball down and play a one-two or a simple pass. And the worst part is that fans look at these guys as if they are the only ones trying. In reality, they are killing the team.They don't care if the team wins or loses so long as just one fan on the comments section of a fans' website says that "he wears his heart on his sleeve" or "at least he tries". Meanwhile, the player who has the guts to get on the ball and play defence-splitting passes, which can be cut out, gets booed from the stands. Eventually, he gets it right, but it is such a hard thing to do. You have to be brave to play there. You have to not care what the fans think of you, you have to be confident that eventually somebody will make the right run and you will find him. And then you have to be prepared for the striker to get all the glory from the fans. Those are the players I want in my team. I have thoroughly enjoyed this season and think we have a great bunch of lads playing for us and an excellent coaching staff fortunately hopefully the players don't read the BBS and the likes plus anyway they know the majority of what's written is bolox anyway.
More quotes, The other side of the coin is that fans can panic players into making poor decisions. The more unsettled a crowd gets, the worse the football on show will become - I've seen it a million times. Certain grounds have a reputation. Whenever I've played at Wolverhampton Wanderers or West Ham United , every manager has said "Keep this lot quiet for 20 minutes, and their fans will start getting on their back".” ― The Secret Footballer Pretty similar to what we've done with Cavare, Lyndsay, Davies, Mcgheehan, Thiam in recent times.
