Posted October 13, 200816 yr Was Ashley booed because he epitomises, as a player, everything wrong with the modern game? or Do Wembley's executive-corporate crowd, who attend at the expense of real football supporters, (eg season ticket holders for cup finals) epitomise everything wrong with the modern game? or both? Discuss.............
October 13, 200816 yr a little bit of a, and a little bit of b. cole hasnt made himself many friends with his attitude in the past couple of years, but the booing was way over the top, and mostly instigate because hes a chelsea player. if rio ferdinand ( a player with a similar track record to cole) had done it their wouldnt have been any boos at all. this is the same mob who boo lampard for his poor games, yet give gerrard a standing ovation even though hes been worse than lampard for years. their the moronic embodiment of the sheep mentality that prevails in this country, they do what the sun tells them to as its easier than having to form an opinion of their own.
October 13, 200816 yr I firmly believe that if any player had made that mistake, be it Stevie Me, Upson or even James, then the reaction would have been exactly the same. (Maybe not with Wallcot because he's a kid and kids make mistakes) It's just that booing is the fashion now at England games and the people booing are only doing so because they heard it at the last game. Sure, the bigger the name, the bigger the villain and maybe the louder the boo's. It's the new pantomime.
October 13, 200816 yr i dont remember the booing and vilification of stevie me when his backpass led to henry scoring a goal, or for ferdinand who actully pointed where cole should play the ball. the fans have their percieved heros and villains, and most of it is club based. a lot of the lampard abuse started with west ham fans at wembley and the other single brain celled morons took it on. the same will now happen with cole. i honestly think its only a matter of time until 2 or 3 top players just walk out on the national team, and i wouldnt blame them one bit.
October 13, 200816 yr I think mostly b. Bear in mind that Ashley Cole isn't that bright, so wrote that book under advice from his agent, who was probably, truth be told, more responsible for instigating the fall out at Highbury than Cole himself. But forget all that. He plays for Chelsea now. And everybody (still) knows that Chelsea are everything that's wrong with the modern game. Every one of their players is a diving cheating mercenary. Unlike those at Anf*eld, Old Tr*fford and the New Library, all of whom embody good old traditional values and are not at all interested in financial gain but play purely for the love of the game and the club whose shirt they wear. Back to reality: The Wembley crowd, or at least the booing element, are in my opinion, a bunch of f**kwitted muppets. There can surely be no other explanation for the rapturous applause that greeted the announcement that David Beckham would be coming off the bench, the love of St Steven at the expense of Frank Lampard. "Steven G*rr*rd is the best midfielder in the werld" they proclaim, and despite all evidence to the contrary: "I'd drop Frank Lampard. It's his fault whenever G*rr*rd has a not quite perfect game for Engerlund. Because it is that's why." f**kwits.
October 13, 200816 yr According to Psycho on SSN - there were more 'fans' applauding Cashley as a reaction to the booing than there were booers. Like Lofty asked on another thread - who are these w**kers - bring back the ICF to do em I say, unless of course its the old pikeys doing the booing
October 13, 200816 yr Author Wembley and the type of person it attracts are everything that's wrong with football. A majority of the people there are not from the football community and are catered for by the FA for the corporate dollar, not for footballing reasons. They're there to watch or be entertained, and not take part. A bit like the West Lower at SB on a CL night. When the 2 best teams in the country meet in the first ever showpiece FA cup final at the new 90k capacity stadium, less than 1/2 their season ticket holders are entitled to a ticket because of the new middle tier full of corporates. 90k capacity and the 2 biggest clubs are offered less than 23k each. A majority of the Wembley crowd remind me of the audience from the TV programme Gladiators, all contrived with ''whoopee's and C'mon's'' from a man with a microphone. No atmosphere what so ever. I attended a game in the corporate middle tier recently when England played Switzerland, a fella infront of me was cheering on the opposition in the closing minutes because he'd backed 2-1 !!!!!!!!!! The lack of atmosphere and type of football tourist Wembley attracts is all down to the FA and their persuit of the pound note. To quote comedian Sean Lock: ''Anyone who has a starter befor a football match.............FU*K OFF!
October 13, 200816 yr Was Ashley booed because he epitomises, as a player, everything wrong with the modern game?or Do Wembley's executive-corporate crowd, who attend at the expense of real football supporters, (eg season ticket holders for cup finals) epitomise everything wrong with the modern game? or both? Discuss............. Definitely BOTH. I really don't subscribe to the "he's booed because he plays for Chelsea" theory. Maybe that didn't help his cause but I think there's a touch of paranoia putting it down to him playing for us. You wouldn't see Bridge get that treatment, nor Joe Cole nor SWP when he was one of us. Perhaps JT, 'cos again he has made a number of enemies over the seasons, but lets face it, Cole got that treatment because he generally isn't liked and he only has himself to blame. Many Chelsea fans hated him to start with and as much as we are slowly warming to him now he is doing the biz on the pitch, many still don't like him as a human being. The Lamps thing was started by West Ham fans and the sheep have just followed - again the £150k a week doesn't help. When something like that is so widely publicised, jealousy is bound to play a part. But plaenty of players get booed from time to time - Heskey, Crouch, Alan Smith etc. When they are wearing an England shirt it is wrong, but some people obviously feel if they've paid for their ticket, they have the right to react how they see fit.
October 13, 200816 yr No I don't think Ashley Cole was booed just because he plays for Chelsea, but I do believe that more of the Wembley crowd were more ready to boo Ashley Cole because he plays for us than they would if he was still with the Arse. The way I look at things, quite simply, is that if you're there to support England, then you don't boo your own players, and I speak as someone who puts club before country every time. And I don't go along with the "I've paid my money and I can do what I like" argument at all. Well no, wait a minute. That's not true. If you've paid your money then yes of course you have the right to boo. After all, there's no law against that particular brand of f**kwittedness.
October 13, 200816 yr I think it is down to the moronic and not so small minority. I agree that Ashley Cole has done himself no favours over the years but he is hardly alone in that. When Cole came to Chelsea he may not have got a big cheer when his name was read out but he wasn't booed and nor should he or any other player be whether playing for club or country. You just don't do it. It doesn't help the team and it certainly won't make the player play any better. In answer to the original question it is both a and b
October 13, 200816 yr I have to admit, the last time I went to Wembley I booed, and loudly. But that was at the Madonna concert.
October 13, 200816 yr Gerrard says the fans were right to boo Cole, what a tw*t . Maybe he should have had the same as he constantly gave the ball away in the first half Gerrard comment
October 13, 200816 yr Well no, he actually said they had a right to boo, which I agree with. As I said earlier in this thread, there's no law against that particular brand of f**kwittedness. And please note: No I am NOT sticking up for the Sainted One. Not in any way shape or form.
October 13, 200816 yr Well no, he actually said they had a right to boo, which I agree with. As I said earlier in this thread, there's no law against that particular brand of f**kwittedness.And please note: No I am NOT sticking up for the Sainted One. Not in any way shape or form. lofty and stevie me in a tree...... your not mellowing towards the scum are you?
October 13, 200816 yr No not quite. But I suppose it goes to show that even a twat like that can't be wrong 100% of the time.
October 13, 200816 yr No not quite. But I suppose it goes to show that even a twat like that can't be wrong 100% of the time. your right, the sun even shines on a dogs arse sometimes ( a lovely saying my old boss used a hell of a lot)
October 13, 200816 yr Personally I think it was an idiotic thing for Gerrard to say and shows once again why he is not fit to captain his country. Everyone knows people have the right to boo we don't need some half wit telling us that. The issue for debate is whether it was justified under the circumstances of Saturday and the answer to that is no. Cole just made a mistake, the same way players make mistakes week in week out without getting booed for it. I give full credit to Ferdinand for coming out afterwards and saying the people who booed should be ashamed of themselves - he said what the majority believe to be true AND what the team would want him to say. Gerrard just lies down and asks the public to tickle him. By saying what he said it sends out the message to all the morons that they were fully justified in their actions and it sends really poor message of team unity to the squad.
October 13, 200816 yr If you believe what you read in the papers he is only going to be a bit part player in the squad now anyway ;)
October 14, 200816 yr I think the booing of players for simple mistakes is a symptom of a much bigger problem with the England team. Unfortunately because the supporter's loyalties lie at club level, anything less than a stellar performance from any player in an England shirt is treated as not good enough. Heaven forbit you make an honest mistake (like Ashley Cole), or put in a couple of slightly below par performances (Lampard). As soon as you do either of these things, in the eyes of a lot of the fairweather supporters, you stop being an England player and go back to being the player that you hate at club level. I'm not saying that their aren't any died-in-the-wool supporters of the England national team out there who support their nation regardless - they are just a very small minority in the crowd these days. I think the Chelsea players suffer slightly more than the others, as we are in general hated because of our recent success and the way it came about, and the fact that they are very highly paid. But I think a lot of Chelsea fans are guilty of the same thing when it comes to the likes of Gerrard, Ferdinand or Rooney putting in a bad performance for the national team. There are quite a few of us who are actively happy when players like that cock it up on the big stage for the national team. Now support from the fans rubs off on the players. I very much doubt that any England side, no matter how much individual playing and coaching talent they have are going to acheive anything without the supporters behind them supporting, rather than the so-called supporters sweating on each individual mistake so that they can boo them, and try and hound them out of the team. If you compare that to sides that have been consistantly sucessful on the international scene - teams like Brazil, Germany, Argentina etc always seem to have their entire country behind them. I've never seen any of their players booed for simple mistakes or castigated in the press for one or two slightly below par performances. Even here in Australia, we always punch above our weight in whatever sport you can think of because whenever someone is representing their country, they know that the entire nation is behind them - no matter what you think of them as a person, or at club level. I don't think there's any way you can say that for the England team, and I can't see it changing any time soon.
October 14, 200816 yr Personally I think it was an idiotic thing for Gerrard to say and shows once again why he is not fit to captain his country. Everyone knows people have the right to boo we don't need some half wit telling us that. The issue for debate is whether it was justified under the circumstances of Saturday and the answer to that is no. Cole just made a mistake, the same way players make mistakes week in week out without getting booed for it.I give full credit to Ferdinand for coming out afterwards and saying the people who booed should be ashamed of themselves - he said what the majority believe to be true AND what the team would want him to say. Gerrard just lies down and asks the public to tickle him. By saying what he said it sends out the message to all the morons that they were fully justified in their actions and it sends really poor message of team unity to the squad. exactly what i was going to say. gerrard likes to play to the crowd, and basically trys to come across as there best mate. his interviews are like reading a politicians intervew. case in point in the star today, saying hes never replicated his liverpool form for england. we all know it but by him saying it people (dumb, gullible people) will think " hes right, how big of him to admit it. what a fella". the mans a moron and a disgrace.
October 14, 200816 yr Ignoring Gerrard because contrary to popular belief the booing wasn't all about him. People that pay their money do have a right to voice their opinions. But do they pay their money to support the team or do they pay their money to go along and join in with all the fun of the pantomime? The fact that England has been such an embarrassing shambles in recent years (that fits to so much more than just the football team!) means that it's easy for the fans to turn on the team and unlike a number of people on here I think it's okay to boo a team that hasn't put in the effort that we expect of them. What happened with Cole though just showed that football is now attended by people that just love a bit of entertainment, the passion is fake, the attmosphere with things like the poxy band is fake and most of the people that attend just really don't care, they are sheep that think the way they're behaving is the way real football fans would have behaved. As for Cole, he's a horrible little sh*te. But, he's never let England down, he's performed more consitently than most in recent years and deserves better than to be slaughtered for one mistake.
October 14, 200816 yr My view is that a lot of England supporters also follow clubs who play at a much lower league level than the EPL and this is behind much of the lack of tolerance for mistakes on the pitch. I personally know 10 lads who follow both Kingstonian and England home and away, and they tell me that a vast section of England fans do the same (sadly, not supporting Kingstonian!). England really matters to these guys in a way it purportedly doesn't to, say, fans of the the 'big 4' premiership clubs (witness the endless statements on these forums about not really caring about England). Also witness the 1000's of banners at England away games which focus on teams like Accrington, Boston, Kidderminster and Spurs (tee-hee)... With that in mind, and bearing the Grand Canyon in finances between a Chelsea and a Northampton Town, I believe that is behind the new panto habit of booing poor play. If you love the game, go to a ground that averages gates of 800, and watch Mr 'I demand respect with £70k / week' Cole, or Mr 'I need £140k / week to secure the future of my family' Lampard muck up or not give 100% when wearing the England shirt, you might react by booing. Personally, I wouldn't, but I think that's the reason it's becoming more prevalent. Edited October 14, 200816 yr by Mike O
October 14, 200816 yr Author Ian Wright's take on it: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport...icle1804588.ece I tend to agree with him.
