Another day often gives one just a bit more perspective and after personally I think those that booed the team on Sunday are looking even more stupid that they did yesterday, time and perspective will do these fools no favours. Arseblogger hit the nail very firmly on the head this morning, there simply is no decent justification for such behaviour.
Some excellent points were made on the blog yesterday by readers. The impact that such pathetic booing can have on player retention was a very salient one. The negative atmosphere at home games is now part of a kind of vicious cycle, the players can't be looking forward to the lack of 'support' from certain sections of the crowd, it really cannot be helping us get results at the Emirates. Of note our away record was considerably better than our home one last season. The 'Gooner in Exile' makes some great points that I would urge you all to read.
One thing I cannot stand is this consumerist attitude of some so called Arsenal 'supporters', they seem to think that paying for tickets means they can come along, whinge, offer very little support and a 'right' to boo the team at pre season games. Frankly we'd be better off with empty seats than having these morons dragging us down. If you don't want to pay the price you are paying then simply don't, it is a free world, but don't come to games if you are not going to get behind the team. Arsenal needs supporters, not just paying spectators who see themselves as entitled consumers. Thinking you have a divine 'right' to boo is a very selfish, short sighted and depressing attitude to have in life.
There are certainly some situations when booing can be justified, for example if a particular player has shafted the club, or if there are clearly players out there not putting in the effort. For example if anyone deserved a booing at the weekend it was Samir Nasri. However booing a team that has given their all is not productive in my eyes. If people have a problem with the management then they would be better off protesting in other ways, but we saw at the end of last season that this bunch of angry small men was pretty tiny, still their boos can be quite loud despite their small minority status.
In conclusion just to reiterate some of the points I have had to repeat over and over again, there was simply no justification for the booing yesterday, it was stupid, divisive and can only be negative for the club we love. That is not to say that we cannot discuss certain problems that the club currently faces with key players on the verge of leaving and in need of significant reinforcements. The manager has to change his approach, we all know this, but for God's sake let's give him the chance to do this and then judge him. If we start to crucify him and his players before the season has started we could be the catalyst for our own demise.
