ONE of the things lamented as lost from the game of football is the bond between players and fans. Supporters talk about it, old players too. We used to be the same and now we are not.
This is mainly put down to money. How can you identify with anyone who earns more in a week than you might in three years? Money adds pressure and pressure increases distance. Literally. Footballers move further away and stay there. Any time they do come into contact with supporters is carefully managed.
This is done to protect players and to allow them to focus on their football. Players know that one bad move is only a camera phone snap away from national attention so they shut themselves away. The only chance to see them outside the 90 minutes on a football pitch is when they want to sell you something.
I understand how this has happened, and don’t really blame anyone in particular for it. It has had a knock-on effect of dehumanising footballers though. If they are not the same as us, they don’t feel like us. Wages at a certain level make people too rich to care. For some it seems the only way to try to make a footballer feel hurt is to abuse them.
Now I know people have always slagged off footballers. One of the only enjoyable scenes from the film Fever Pitch is the older man bemoaning the qualities of a (very successful) Arsenal team: “I don’t care if they are top of the league, they’ll be rubbish this season, too.”
It’s funny because we all recognise it. No matter how good a team is, there will always be some who moan. No matter how successful a side is, we’ll always need a scapegoat. Slagging off footballers is normal and healthy. We’ve always done it when we talk about footie with mates. It just seems now we feel the need to do it alone — directly to the footballer. So he really knows how much you hate him.
Ironically, footballers probably join Twitter to try to bridge the gap with supporters. I don’t know why they bother. It just opens you up to abuse from lads (it’s always lads) with an internet connection who NEED TO TELL YOU HOW ANGRY THEY ARE. Here are some nice ones from the weekend aimed at Jordan Henderson, Alberto Moreno and Simon Mignolet. They didn’t take long to find.
Leave my club you fucking cunt @JHenderson
— Rajdeep Singh (@Raj4lfc) February 29, 2016
Die @lfc18alberto
— Chris Putt (@chrisjputt) February 29, 2016
https://twitter.com/AnfieldMug/status/704058738441887744
I didn’t even check Daniel Sturridge’s. The comments on his Instagram page have put me off for life. This is the life of a footballer. Win and expect your phone to be flooded with texts of congratulations. Lose and expect tweets wishing for your death. I think I’d live in Southport, too.
Now the reaction to anyone who speaks out against abuse of footballers is often that they are paid to deal with it. Firstly, I would say it is not limited to just footballers. I remember seeing Charlie Adam’s girlfriend getting abuse when he wasn’t playing well. When Brendan Rodgers was struggling his daughter’s Twitter account was shared so she could get grown men screaming at her. Linda Pizzuti is subject to endless nonsense for daring to take an interest in her husband’s business.
What have they done to deserve it?
Secondly, I am not asking you to feel sorry for them. Yes, it’s still a great life. Yes, you’d swap with them in a heartbeat (they should try match ratings…). My argument is that it is dangerously counter productive. It goes right in the face of what as supporters we are meant to do and damages one of the key things that makes Liverpool a special football club worldwide: the loyalty and backing of the fans.
I’m not saying we pretend everything is brilliant. I certainly don’t. I’m not saying we clap and cheer shite. But is it really useful if we fill the gap that exists between players and supporters with resentment and hate?
We want footballers to go onto the pitch thinking we are behind them. I worry when Daniel Sturridge comes on for Liverpool he thinks about all the people who have messaged him when he was injured telling him his god doesn’t exist.
We want footballers to speak us up to their international colleagues as a great place to play football if they have an opportunity. Rather than somewhere that fans tell young players to die.
See, I’m not actually that bothered about footballers’ welfare, I’m completely selfish on this. I want Liverpool to win games. To attract the best players. We as supporters have a role in this, even if it is a small one. To help make Liverpool the best place to play football. A heaven for our players and a nightmare for the opposition. It can be achieved if we accept that footballers know when they haven’t played well, and you don’t have to tweet them to tell them.
That’s the last argument, normally. That footballers need to know it isn’t good enough. Well I’m sure they know. Did you see the players after the game on Sunday? They were devastated. They know what it takes to win and they know they came short. These weren’t the images of people who need to be reminded of their responsibilities. Who need to be forced to care.
They are hurting footballers who we can kick when they are down or help pick back up tomorrow night at Anfield.
I know which one will help us more for the rest of the season.
So for the sake of the club can we go back to being nice to their faces and mean behind their backs please? There is a Europa League to win.
We can sell them all after that.
Brilliant article!
Excellent article. Bang on the money!
This. So much just this.
Well said!
Million pound wages soften the blow no. Me Ma once said sticks and stones will break your bones but words will never hurt you. Unless you are a pampered, mollycoddled, arrogant EPL footballer. Who if they dont get their own ways their rattles are straight out the pram. I dont condone threats against their well being or health but the rest they just have to take it.
Leave my club you fucking cunt @Paul
Seconded. Classic tall poppy syndrome.
Lovely read. And to think, I thought Henderson wasn’t too bad at all at the weekend, although being at the match I may have seen something different to fans watching on the tv.
What I find amazing is how people can be so rude on social media to people they don’t know. Never mind people (the players) they are supposed to be supporting!
The worst I have done on social media was that I read an article by one of the guys that does (or has in the past) written for you TAW. His article for ESPN riled me up because the title was something negative about Klopp only two months in, which I thought was unfair. I was furious as we had lost the night before and the last thing I wanted to read was someone saying something even remotely negative about Klopp. The worst I could reply with was something like…
“You are just saying that to be relevant”.
That is literally the worst I could do, as I thought it to be a bit moronic and childish to do anything else. And I dont like being horrible, in particular to people I dont know. Other grown men were tweeting that he was a prick / a nobody who knew nothing (he was sports editor of a huge paper / raging alcoholic (I assume because he tweets about a bottle of beer every now and again). To a person they have never met. It baffles.
If they don’t like it, it’s a very simple unfollow, yet many I feel have this sadistic love to hate feeling towards random people, never mind famous multimillion pound footballers.
It was simple for me as I simply unfollowed the pricky alcoholic ;-).
Again, enjoyed the read.
Spot on, John.
As supporters, we all want LFC to win. And the best way to help that happen is to SUPPORT. Support the team and support the players – always, and whether they’re playing well or not.
Being so negatively aggressive as many so called fans seemed to be, especially on social media, will have exactly the opposite effect to that which we all want.
SUPPORT them!
Quite right Gardie.
Supporter. Its in the name. Not match goer, customer, or fan; supporter. Or give your ticket to someone who does – support, that is; get behind, encourage, empathise. Many people today just don’t get it.
Funny part is that everyone knows all of this but as soon as a bad result comes along, they forget.
Makes me think that nobody likes any player…the faces can be interchangeable. The ”love” for the legend is built of a foundation of quicksand.
Nailed it Gibbo,
So many fucktards, so few bullets,
I wonder would it have been same if the interweb was around yonks ago,
Would Thommo have gotten “Die” tweeted to him after giving the pen away against Forest in the league cup final or would Aldo have gotten both barrels also ?
Hard to know but I reckon it wouldn’t have the same vitriol, modern society seems to have lost manners and respect, it’s not unusual to see old people or pregnant ladies not getting a seat offered on public transport for instance,
I’ve always tried to use social media in a positive way and if we have lost and I’m feeling “the fume” then I just stay away apart from TAW review/ratings/pink and it’s rare I’ll comment as I know mainly it’ll be bollocks and regretted later,
It’s actually quite scary at times realising how many nasty fucks are out there.
Logical, sensible, ‘politically correct’ article, John. Still, you won’t be let off from match ratings though : -)
Klopp is an excellent man-manager (the whole world knows that, of course); I am sure, by now he has already fixed all the negative psychological effect on fragile players’ mind from Sunday loss. And players are ready to WIN BIG against City on Wednesday.
Does anyone notice Bogdan was on the bench in Wembley and reason behind it? That’s Klopp’s way of showing/rewarding Bogdan for his contribution in earlier rounds.
The first Premier League player to tell his club that he only wants paying the average national wage and rents a modest house around the corner from the stadium will be a hero to fans of all clubs.
One of them may as well do this, just for the hell of it. By 38, most players are bankrupt anyway and their wives leave them for getting fat and under their feet during the day.
No he won’t, he probably just get nobs from West Ham waving the contents of their wallets at him. Working class solidarity has been slipping away since the 80’s.
Spot on John. Henderson was our best player in extra time, Sturridge clearly wasn’t fit enough to be playing and ran himself into the ground anyway, Mignolet was at fault for the goal but saved us from losing three or four nil, what is there for people to hate?
Slightly worried that I didn’t get enough flak when I did the numbers though, think I may have done it wrong.
Too right.
If they can’t win, but they give everything then I’m proud and will sing till the cows come home.
On Sunday they gave everything. I’m proud of them. OK. So I got stick for them losing from my City supporting mates. I don’t give a shit. My. Team. Gave. Everything.
That will pay its rewards in the long run.
Great article.
The treatment of players on social media is also an indictment of how society – especially supporters whose frontal lobe hasn’t fully developed (under 25ish)- has devolved to one of a despicable sense of entitlement and and a dope fiend’s need for instant gratification.
Also you have people from parts of the world who now follow the club who didn’t 15 years ago, or even 5. This is well and good, but there is a really bizarre sort of rage that comes from a lot of these new followers.
I wasn’t happy with Hendo not demanding to take the first pen (remember the Balotelli pen) and Milner not demanding to be in the first 2, regardless of what Klopp’s pen sheet said. I was mad at Migs for flopping, as most of us were, but all this childish rage, all this temper tantrum is completely embarrassing.
It’s not just LFC fans of course, but we have some who are among the worst if we don’t win 18-0.
I’m afraid this aspect will only get worse as the years roll by.
Thank you! YNWA
I’ve no idea what makes people think it’s ok to post abusive messages to people they don’t know. Well I have, its the transformation of people into a direct customer/consumer relationship with the world which results in entitlement and a lack of solidarity. Thatcher can rest happy in her grave: she’s got what she wanted.
Well said. It’s obvious the type of gormless cretin who sends these tweets and messages (a) would never say such things directly to someone’s face, unless they were massively pissed, and (b) they have a life deficit somewhere else in their existence. It’s grim, unhelpful, and should be routinely ignored. No one likes a troll and as you correctly point out, it counterproductive anyway.
I live in Freshfield and it’s not unusual to see players and staff around, usually in Waitrose of course. Klopp and his wife were in Wood’s coffee bar not long ago, completely at ease and wishing everyone good bye when they left. Yes they live lives which are unreal, huge salaries, everything done for them and egos massaged as needed but for the most part they are simple folk really. Few are academically adept and a number lack social skills.
What has changed in the last 15 to 20 years is the expectation of many supporters as the game has become more and more commercialized and sold as a ‘product’. The cost to simply spend 90 minutes watching them is astronomical leading to the view that ‘I pay my money I’m entitled to air my discontent with the product I’ve bought. Players are there to entertain me and be winners if not I’m not happy and I have right to let them know, after all I might only be there once a year or so.’
Allied to this is the massive over exposure the game has on TV. It used to be that going to the match was a regular weekend experience, mostly for Scousers and local Wools. It was essentially a shared experience, everyone there because they had an affinity with the team and its players. Now anybody can sit in front of their laptop or whatever in any part of the world and hey presto you’re a committed supporter who can air his or views via social media completely detached from the city, the ground and the human beings who wear the famous red shirt. I think that by doing this they think they have an entitlement to slag off those players they think are crap or simply don’t like.
I think it will only get worse until going to the match is restored to the young, particularly young Scousers. Safe standing allowing more into the ground and helping to create a shared atmosphere is a must for me. That might just change perceptions of footballers and discourage Jay, Chris and Rajeep from wherever from sharing their myopic vitriol with us. Then again perhaps we have reached the point of no return and death threats are just part of the game, banter you know?
It was Cafe Nero not Woods – it was my favourite!
I woke up today feeling that it’s hard to imagine any player in our squad feeling an iota of motivation to put out any energy or passion to achieve anything for the rest of this season. With the papers and blogs and social media full of talk about Jürgen getting a goldmine to spend in the summer and of a squad ‘clear-out’, ‘rebuilding’, explicitly named players already headed for China (as speculated by supposedly trustworthy journos), and multiple articles full of “who stays and who goes,” I’d be asking myself “Where do I stand?” and “How can I use this to my benefit?” I can imagine them still showing up for practice but thinking “I’ll just do the minimum with a smile for the manager, collect my pay packet every week, and take care not to get any serious injury. Why should I or any of us put out for this club when all we get in return is criticism and constant abuse?” This attitude seemed fairly clear on the face of Daniel Sturridge when a camera caught him across the pitch at Melwood today.
With Spurs and Leicester likely headed for the Champions League, I can also see some of our players like Coutinho and others thinking “Hmmm… Maybe my agent can get me in over there, since Liverpool plans to turn this squad upside down.” Seriously, if I walked into work in the morning knowing my company was looking to reorganise and offload a lot of people, I’d definitely be working my back channels to make a move that would be to my own future benefit. Loyalty in football is only a memory.
P.S. to Lady in the Van: Someone snapped a photo of Sturridge driving out of Melwood the other night in his £350,000 Rolls-Royce. None of them in this generation are moving into a modest house in L4.
I came back here to say I was wrong; my hangover Monday morning resulted from reading a bunch of crap written by speculating journos that probably had little or no basis in truth. Our squad’s main problem is inconsistency. Jürgen Klopp will overcome that in due time and make the necessary improvements.
There is no excusing how fans conduct themselves on Twitter/Instagram etc. In fact social media is probably the worst thing on earth. Maybe even ever.
It doesn’t matter that they’re footballers and get paid lots of money, they’re human beings first and foremost. To be told to ‘die’ for being an erratic left-back is obscene.
These people that post this kind of thing, I really do wonder. You would hope none of them are over 22 years of age, but then would you be at all surprised if they weren’t? Some people are simply defective and incapable of conducting themselves with decency.
Fella in the pub on Sunday spent the whole time explaining to his mate why we’re shit, who’s to blame, what we need to do to get better and who not to pass to (Milner apparently). Felt like smacking the prick.
Supporters support, take a collective stand when we need to but otherwise support or fuck off. YNWA!
‘who not to pass to (Milner apparently).’
Anybody whose suggestions for improvement involves ‘not passing’ to someone can immediately have their views dismissed!
It’s what a child would say.
In my view, every player have everything he had. You can’t ask for more than that. If we had won on penalties, the blogs would be crowing. The City keeper was beaten by the only shot on goal of the game, but is rightly praised for winning the match for them in a shootout.
I have posted, many times, about Lucas Leiva and my admiration for him, not so much as a player but as a man. I would hate to see what his Twitter account contained in his early days with us, if ever a player was entitled to resent – even hate – fans, it would have to be Lucas. Yet he gave, and gives, everything he had and has, for a club which routinely tried to offload him. You surely can’t consider Lucas Leiva to be a mercenary and selfish c***, no
matter how inadequate you think
his abilities may be.
Players don’t buy themselves, and are entitled to bargain for whatever rewards are available. I don’t know anybody who argued his wages down in any job, and I’ll warrant that includes the Lady In The Van.
We lost on penalties: pity? Yes. Shameful? No.
The two faced muppets don’t do it to their face though, they ask for autographs an photos then bang them on Facebook .
An oasis of sanity in a mad football world.
This is why I check out TAW every day since I chanced upon it . Great stuff . YNWA . Red til I’m dead !!
‘So for the sake of the club can we go back to being nice to their faces and mean behind their backs please?’ Definitely. Mignolet then…
Seriously though, I grimace imagining some of the shit say, Sturridge must have said to him. You wonder what drives people to want to hurt Liverpool players and make them feel hated by us. But, you know, ‘YNWA’ and all that.
Great article, John!
Just too many wankers in the world. And those three are prime examples.
Worst thing is they probably consider themselves to be ‘true’ supporters.
So basically, don’t tag them in your tweets ‘lads’! Instead write huge articles with diplomatic captions slagging them off, no footballer will bother to read them! ;)
The problem with social media is that (present company excluded of course) the people who spend the most time on it tend to be the people with the saddest lives (and teenagers who just feel like they have the saddest lives) who are trying to bring everyone else down to their level to make themselves feel a little better about it. I suppose you just have to pity someone who gets some form of enjoyment out of telling Albie to die.
Actually, I just checked out the feeds of the tweets in the article and judging by the style of their previous posts it seems that they just think themselves to be witty. Not sure which is worse
Great article John, though i’m pretty sure you are preaching to the converted on here-can’t imagine that people (and I use that term loosely) who say those type of things to footballers don’t/can’t read the anfield wrap…
Wanted to write a comment, but basically: what John said.
Great article mate.
We had this old canard dragged out when Rodgers was supposedly getting death threats. -t was nonsense then and nonsense now.Clearly no one is going to kill Rodgers and no one is going to kill Henderson. Tommy Smith and Emlyn Hughes got death threats. What’s new?
I am completely sickened by the drivel that people put on social media.
No-one deserves the kind of insults hurled at the players, the amount of money they get paid is not even a factor, just because they earn large sums of money does not make it acceptable.
How can anyone who posts that kind of crap and abuse at the players call themselves a fan and a supporter of the club.
Show your support don’t hurl abuse, these kind of comments sicken me.
Spot on John, correct across the board. A lot of our fans are embarrassing on social media, I think most still believe we’re actually much better than we actually are… Give it time, Klopp will get Sturridge firing, Henderson leading and Liverpool to the top!
My mother always told me Its an old saying, I know, but it really is worth a second thought.
The players are people, and people have feelings. We can build up or tear down a person with just a few words. Words are a powerful tool and we can all use it. Either to hype and boost the self esteem of the players, or we can be selfish and put our own needs to moan and piss on the players when they dont meet or exceed our expectations, by tearing down their selfimage and make them believe that they really are shite. I think I know which will benefit the players and myself in the long haul..
few words fell out there.. My mother always told me If you have nothing positive to say, keep your mouth shut!
Nice 1 Gibbo. Will be putting this up on our LFCWA facie page. Far too many of the above mentioned on there that could do with reading this.
Absolutely brilliant article John, well in, the online abuse just sinks to an all new level week by week, that the reason I left Twitter as its just an easy place for horrible cunts to get cheap digs at people… Fantastic read that…
Agree, great article and something I’ve been thinking for a few months now. I’ve been a passionate LFC supporter since a very young Michael Owen was showing us his skills. Back then I was lucky to see a highlights package once a week, unlike these days when I can watch every EPL and other European matches live (provided I can wake up at 3.00am on a Monday morning) or endless replays throughout the week. I think to myself “how good is this” I feel like I’m at the match, cheering, singing, yelling at the Ref or just wishing I was there to really show my support, win, lose or draw. I often pick up my iPad during matches to check what people’s thoughts are on Twitter, only to be truly horrified by comments made by so-called LFC fans. Not sure about other sports around the world but here in Melbourne, Australia where AFL has the largest following of all sports, it is extremely rare to hear or see similar type of fan comments regardless of how poorly their team is performing. So I wonder why there is such a contrast. Certainly has the same level of passion, just not the anger. I would love to know why.
I do wonder if some posters are missing the point. Surely John’s article was a call for tolerance rather than a call to duplicate the behaviour described.
Tbh, Paul, I had mixed feelings as I read it. It almost felt like the underlying (or sideways) message was “It’s sort of OK to abuse — after all, we all think it and many of us say it during the games. Just don’t do it quite so directly.”
I sort of had the impression John was trying to straddle a fence — not wanting to appear righteous when he knows he himself has probably said abusive things from time to time when frustrated and angry during or after a game. And credit to him for that bit of honesty with himself if true. But there is still no valid excuse and no reasonable justification for such abuse. At its root it’s simply an immature lack of self control.
I’m interested in what you’d describe as abuse tbh. Is it just “fucking hell [insert name of player here]” when watching the game?
“immature lack of self control”
Do you sit in the stands?
Yes, I do. Abuse is vicious slurs and threatening language directed at individuals. I’m not talking about general expressions of angst and frustration. Any elite footballer should be able to handle those.
Idiots are idiots for a reason. Who else would use social media to let everyone know who they are.
Good article.
It can’t be easy ( relative to footballers) playing for a club whose history dictates supporters have expectations you have neither the talent or ability to match.
Henderson and the rest of the squad will know the brand is bigger than they the quality they possess.
No point in being nasty about it. They can’t help it.
Save your vitriol for the scum who reduced the club to this. Fucking FSG.
The sooner they sell, the sooner we can have our club back or become the next city or Chelsea.
Rather that than be a shite American owned donut franchise
What does that rant at FSG even mean?
It means the players do not have the quality to live up to supporters expectations. Hence the abuse.
It means on a day when FSG announce record profits at LFC, when we sit 11th and just lost a league cup, the squad is clearly under invested.
do you need any other fucking obvious things spelling out?
Have you even been paying attention to how much money the Owners have put into the Club, without taking a penny out? Injuries have taken a huge toll the past 2 seasons; we’ve had management upheaval; and it’s taken longer than hoped for for several players to settle in. They showed their mettle Wednesday night. Klopp will improve consistency and make needed improvements over time. Keep hating if you want, but there will be no place on the bandwagon for haters when the victory band starts playing.
Have you been paying attention to how our competitiveness has been sliding since FSG acquired us? Did you pay any attention to how FSG acquired us and the subsequent private court hearings that FSG settled out of court? Have you been paying attention to how every player with value has been sold on? Have you been paying attention to how every player acquired is only acquired if they present a chance of being transferred at a profit? Have you been paying attention to the fact FSG reported likely the largest profit in world football last year? Have you been paying attention a large number if supporters walked out of game because of efforts to increase further revenues from gates? I have been hearing the same old shit about “the victory bandwagon” from dreamers for years. Understand one universal truth:There is no profit in winning the league or Champions League. Which means under FSG, delusion is the band wagon you will be riding. There will always be room for local support at LFC…no matter how hard FSG try to price it out. Do a bit more research on FSG. Start with what they did at Miami Dolphins.
They have showed their mettle over the season recording 5/6 wins at home and standing 7th.
Why be objective and look at facts when you can bathe in hope, dreams, delusion and optimism. Rodgers used be a expert in it. Which might explain his “astute” transfers.
I will personally just wait for the next game. And the next transfer window. My expectations based on trends, not one offs.
For some reason though, that is fucking beyond me, the dreamers and the deluded think they are “true” supporters and feel they have a right to denigrate the opinions of the objective. Superfans eh?
LOL! Haters always have to have something to hate.
Who says I am a hater?
Just because I don’t brown nose FSG?
You?
So many possible responses…
:)
The anonymity the Internet provides gives these people the big balls they think they have, and the mouthpiece they think they deserve.
The funniest part is if one of these people actually met Jordan in real life they’d be nice as pie and ask for an autograph.
I would love to see these people train, play, and put everything they have into being the best player they can be for LFC. Wait till the end of the season and then we will find out what Hendo was playing through.
It’s astonishing the negativity of some if the keyboard warriors but let’s face it if you’ve been to a game you could well have had the fans that spout pure nastiness there too. I have sat listening to a few older gents from NI tell the world how bad Hendo is and leave before the end of the game ‘cos we’re shite’. I take the view that I support those players through everything all the good and bad and hope that repays back to me in their commitment to the fans. I know Klopp understands Kopites, he gets it so we need not worry, he urges patience regularly though to manage our high expectations. We are lucky to have players that get it too, Lucas, Skrtel, Flanno to name a few. Some never will fit in but to call them names is really pathetic and says more about the person than the player. One thing those people don’t seem to understand is you can’t always win in life, not everything goes your way. Do you moan, scream and be negative or do you learn, build and stay positive. It’s a life choice not just a Twitter comment. YNWA
Wonderful win tonight with some brilliant performances from some of the players subject to that social media abuse.
Those dishing out the death threats/personal insults have no business celebrating tonight.