3 minutes and 48 seconds

That's what was on the clock today when the fans first got on the players back. We didn't even do anything wrong, we just dared to retain possession for the first time in the game.

Then of course, the Neill Collins's football is **** chant broke out, seconds before Jalo equalised. Further proving the team hasn't downed tools, even if some of our fan base has.

The atmosphere is very toxic at Oakwell at the minute, and I get the run of form we're on is frustrating, but is it any wonder we've been so poor at home when there's grumbles so early in the game. How can you not expect players to be nervous when there's so much discontent from the stands.

That last 10 minutes was brilliant by the way, both on and off the field. More of the same from everyone please.

Get behind em.

 

You can tell something’s up when we scored our first goal and not a single chant was sung after it. Very weird atmosphere.

 

It was all abit like a basketball game second half which made it kind of entertaining even though we were crap overall and they should have been at least 3-1 up at halftime, if we make the playoffs we will get embarrassed.

 

Not helped by the toxic atmosphere.

 

But why is there a toxic atmosphere ?

 

I'm not one to slag team off, but it doesn't seem like there is a team playing. They are all on a different wavelength, from trying to be too clever with taking the ball into possession, to trying to play harder than needed passes all leading to loosing the ball. What's wrong with playing simple football

 

I'm going to go for impatience and unrealistic expectations. Why are we getting on the teams back less than 4 minutes in. The thing is, we very comfortably played our way out of trouble and set up a counter.

 

Anyone notice Cole seemed to snub Jalo all the way through?

 

I don't think he was snubbing him as such, I just think Jalo's movement off the ball wasn't the best. It's something he'll definitely get better at, but he certainly slowed a few attacks down by overlapping Cole's movement rather than dragging the defender away.

 

There’s been a toxic atmosphere for a while at Oakwell, like there’s an expectation to win every game we play. A bit Wednesday-ish to be honest.

The chant about Collins and his football as we scored the equaliser was quite funny. Hemmsy doesn’t sit far from me in the west stand and he was proper going for it with the chant (I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone get as aggressive towards our own players and staff at games as he does) and then couldn’t even muster a smile or clap when the ball hit the net. Not really sure why he bothers if that’s his demeanour?

 

A home win from the last 5 attempts wouldn't seem to be an unrealistic expectation for a team in the play-off places, but we've managed to achieve that, against mainly mid-table and relegation threatened teams.

I can understand why fans are impatient with the situation. It's part of the reason why I chose not to go today, as I expected a fairly toxic atmosphere, albeit it sounds like it wasn't as bad as I expected. Equalising quickly on two occasions probably helped with that.

 

I didn’t hear that chant. Embarrassing. I hope they don’t renew.

 

Can't say I'm surprised to read that about him.

 

Divots like you?

 

I’m generally concentrating on the pitch so not really paying too much to others but he is so vociferous with his screaming to our own players and coaches. He particularly hates Cadden. It seems proper daft and over the top that I’ve used the word “hate” there but with the abuse he spouts most games towards him, it can’t be far off hatred.

 

I thought the atmosphere was better than I expected to be honest. When we went 1-0 down I thought it would turn sour but I didn’t think it did. Bit of singing in the 2nd half as well, heard Cole’s song a few times.

It was an open game but we actually tried to attack and the fans saw that and responded.

 

Exactly as I saw it, a few young melts with football is **** chant after their second but that's as negative as it got from my vantage point( central ponty up top) ........sithi.

 

Thought we played ok today and with Lincoln losing it was a decent point

 

So to summarise the reason we can't defend, string 2 passes together and win at home is because of the fans.

 

I’m going to go for 22 home games of watching pedestrian, slow, un-entertaining football, too many awful performances and poor results, dreary, flat and uninspired interviews (plus constantly predictable substitutions and tactics) from the head coach, I could go on.

Getting on their backs and booing doesn’t help. I don’t do it.

But let’s not pretend there’s no ammunition to have fuelled it. The atmosphere at the start of the season was fine, and not just in beating Port Vale but even during some poorer results that followed. What we have now has been created and has worsened throughout the season. To blame the fans solely for it is a bit beyond the pale.

The people running the club when discussing replacing duff talked about what they wanted and the style of football they would play. This being the ethos of the club and key to improving the players’ value and productivity.

Collins has been the absolute antithesis of this. There is no front foot attacking football at all. The weakening of the squad does not justify his negativity in many supporter’s eyes - and you do have to question the logic of giving more possession to defenders you don’t see as being as good as those that went before. His team has also got visibly worse week on week, in front of our eyes. Not one player has improved this season under him. Most have regressed, even those that started the season well like Cole and Roberts now look shadows of that.

Today was actually ok in parts, compared to recent weeks - but do we look like a team about to finish top six? Did there look to be half the teams in the division between the teams today?

Calling out the fans is all well and good - and I don’t throw terms like happy clapper around - but supporters who pay their money and watch week in week out should be allowed to voice displeasure when they aren’t being given what was promised.

I don’t think too many had expectations of finishing much higher in the league than we will (though I will say the league standard has been much lower in general than I expected, pretty poor) - if we’d got the same results and same league position but had done so in going for games, getting done at the back in having a go etc - there’d still be distaste, but not the toxicity we witness currently in my opinion.

It isn’t all toxic anger though. There is a worse issue. There is an air of apathy around the ground, almost like going one nil down at or around fifteen to twenty minutes is so expected now that there is little to no reaction to be made.

That isn’t the fans’ fault. Getting the fans onside isn’t hard. Look at the final ten minutes you reference. Get on the front foot, be positive. Stop being slow and passive - for god’s sake a strong tackle gets people on their feet. It isn’t hard.

Too many people buy into the rhetoric that it’s the job of the fans to pick the team up. It doesn’t work like that in 99% of other grounds - why should it at Oakwell? If you want the fans to be vocal and be a strong backing, give them something to shout about.

It doesn’t have to be all out attack, goal scoring, free flowing stuff all the time - that’s unrealistic. But if you play such turgid, placid football you will create a turgid, placid response. Spark on the field will create spark in the stands. It’s as simple as that.