by Zip »
23 Feb 2018 17:46
handbags_harris Zip handbags_harris What Stam says about the fans from now on is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. He's entitled to his opinion of course, but no matter how well he means the things he says, he no longer has the support of the majority which is all but a position of dead man walking.
But regardless of Stam and the way he presents his arguments (and I've been a vocal critic of many of his managerial facets), one of the biggest issues this club has had over the last few years is its supporters - we all want the same thing, we each have a different opinion on how we should reach the ultimate goal but Jesus, we don't half have a precious "the players must entertain me" mentality. The sooner people realise that we support a club that has far from a divine right to be "entertained" every single match the better. We're not Chelsea, Man Utd, or Liverpool, we don't possess the quality of player to be able to win matches from a base of supporter expectancy. We're Reading, and regardless of the club's outlay on our players those players will still need to battle, scrap and fight as much as play because the opponents we face week in week out are our equals, we are not inherently better than them. If they don't battle, scrap or show 100% on the pitch then fine, express dissatisfaction however you see fit. oxf*rd what Stam thinks, says or does, provided the players show courage and determination and give 100% on the pitch they'll have my backing regardless of whether they're playing well or not. We're far too passive and reactive a fanbase, people from other clubs literally take the piss every oxf*rd week about us, but the point of sitting on your hands and expecting to be entertained has long gone. It's easy to be positive when you're losing just twice in a 46 game season. It's easy to be positive when your team plays high intensity, free flowing football, it's easy to be positive when you win 16 from 18 matches and snatch the league title. We've had a paucity of consistently good results and performances since the last relegation but surely the time has now come for the fans to realise that we need to do what we can to help? Because at the moment, we're not, we're exacerbating a shit situation. We know we're not going to be entertained by the sterile dross that's on display but we can at least try to make a difference and liven up the performances. It's up to us to do what we can to raise the playing level, and if ever there was a time to start taking the bull by the horns it's now.
We have seen precious little entertainment all season. I saw more entertainment watching us in the lower divisions at Elm Park. The club cannot expect supporters to keep turning out watching a lousy product week in week out. Plenty of ST holders including myself have missed a number of games this season in the knowledge the fare was going to be abysmal.
None of expect us to play free flowing football each week. However it is not unreasonable to expect just a tad of excitement from the most extensively assembled squad in our entire history.
I hear what you say, and almost everybody will agree with you. Does that completely excuse the total lethargy exhibited by our supporters though?
I think the total lethargy is brought about by our style of play. I have always been brought up on the home team putting the away side under pressure from the opening stages of the game. That gets the fans going. Under Stam we start slowly and it allows the opposition to find their feet. In the absence of much happening on the pitch we all go quiet.
As a fanbase generally we are a bit reserved. Not always. When we play say a West Ham managed by Pardew or a Wolves managed by McGhee we are much more engaged. Or when we know we are up against it, ie Fulham in the play offs. Generally though we are not particularly vociferous and it was noticeable how much more noise Huddersfield supporters made than us in the play off final.
It’s a double edged sword though. We are not particularly vocal when things go pear shaped. Yes there are some boos but the vast majority of us are pretty quiet and don’t have a go at the players and management. I can’t help but feel though that Stam has not helped. He is very aloof and makes no attempt to engage with the supporters. It’s cold and detached. So when we are struggling he receives a collective shrug of the shoulders.
