...Are you of an age where you dont remember the time when Barnsley footballers (and footballers in general) gave 100% 100% of the time. In the 60s and 70s the football wasn't always pretty or of the highest standard at Oakwell but you could pretty much guarantee the likes of Winstanley, Murphy, Earnshaw, Brookes and Robson would give their all for the cause (and it did not cost a king's ransom to watch their effortsYour earlier commenst about it not being the players fault is wide of the mark. I choose not to waste my money watching players, the majority of which could not give a toss, and it appears the missing 000s agree with me.
Yes I grew up watching football in the 70's and to be quite frank I hate the game it has become but I'm not sure what you're getting at. Where have I said it's not the players fault that crowds are falling or where lack of commitment and effort are acceptable?
"Why should PC, or anybody else for that matter, bother to invest in the club when our own fans can't be arsed. It's too easy to keep blaming the club but they have to cut their cloth. " By "the club", I assume you mean the management and the players. Since people dont pay money to see the management running around the field then the blame lies squarely with overpaid, underperforming 'players'. If they provide commitment and entertainment then the 000s of fans that have deserted football, like me, will "be arsed".
I stand by that statement but that does not mean I don't want 100% from players. The point I was making was that it's too easy to blame the club for our inability to progress but they can't work miracles and bring in top quality players when we are just about breaking even as things stand. There are loads of reasons why some fans don't come anymore, there are fans who will only come for the big games but it's not down to PC to keep bridging that gap - the fans also have a responsibility if they want to achieve things. I demand 100% from the players and if we still lose them I can accept that. I can't accept spineless surrenders and I think most fans feel the same way.
So don't you see? If players give 100% then fans will come. Just as cinema goers have no "responsibility to a particular cinema/film star or studio" and diners have no "responsibilty" to support a restaurant where the food is often poor, why should a football club supporter have any responsibility? If the club provide entertainment and those concerned give it 'their all', people will come. It doesnt have to be Barcelona, Messi, real Madrid standard, just a good honest performance from players and management who care about the fans.
There have been plenty of games over the last few seasons when the players have given 100% and have done so in front of around 10,000 fans. Whatever your reasons for not going are, the choice is yours and I respect any fans right not to go but expecting the club or a rich owner to keep pumping money in is wrong. The bottom line is that a lot of fans won't come unless it's a big game and how we have been playing up to that big game is irrelevant. Unfortunately these big games don't come around often enough to make a difference.
