Do the fans give Pep and his team enough respect?

[citymad]

I think this is a multi-faceted thing and it really needs someone to do a PhD study, collecting all the data.

However, leaving early is nothing new. It happened at Maine Road, even though public transport options were infinitely superior to those at the Etihad. I particularly remember one woman who used to sit behind me. No matter what the state of play, she would be offski 10-15 minutes before the end of the game, every time, and she was not on her own.

Maybe one factor is that we Mancs tend to be cynical types with a dark sense of humour. I'm not sure we're the best fit for the sort of mindless fanaticism that leads to bricking away teams' coaches.

Another factor is that a lot of people who go nowadays who corporate types who spend half the match gassing about their "clients" and what meetings they've got next week. The types who used to shout and swear and produce funny one-liners are a dying breed, and may for all practical purposes be extinct.

good post although not sure it’s the corporate types that are leaving more likely to be the older generation, middle age fans who just arnt that bothered anymore and get bored too easily. This is easily proved with a game on the edge towards the end and they still leave. They’ve lost the love for the game but tend to go out of habit. Early leavers are now the norm and it’s unlikely to get better. It might be better in the next generation but the good times may well be long gone and a distant memory.

 

[trevorriley]

What must be a big surprise for the players is when they walk out on to the pitch and the stadium is literally 60% full, that is no way to lift and welcome your team out. The way I support my team is to clap them as they come on to the pitch and get them going, the stadium is getting worse for fans being in on KO. Before we say what about queues at the turnstiles, there are ways around this, leave in good time and put your pint down sooner. The concourse has hundreds of fans still drinking as the players come out.

Each fan is different, personally I show pep and the team a hell of a lot of respect and feel it is not shown back to me from the point of players clapping fans at the end of the game and getting involved more personally with fans.

Some fans on the other hand support their team differently and perhaps pep could complain.

It does irritate when somebody at the club put out on media that pep wants help from the fans for a big game, because that statement doesn't work at all.

Then the early leavers, yes it has always happened but yes it is getting worse and our stadium is one of the worse in the PL. Imagine being 1 nil up at a big game and fking off on 80 mins. Or winning 5 nil and not wanting to give your team the biggest round of applause possible.

 

[citymad]

Everyone's entitled to do what they want but at the end of the day you either give a damn or you don't. We despise them for their cult behavior but there was hardly anyone leaving at Klanfield last night in the 92nd minute. They stayed believing something was about to happen, gave the team max support and it paid off for them.

 

[James McJohn]

it's the difficult juxtaposition of modern day football. the grim reality is the majority of modern footballers and managers don't give a fuck about the club or the fans of their current employer, however the good ones (Pep an obvious example) give 100% every single day while they are there and think realistically that is all fans can ask.

The bi-product of this more transient relationship between players, Managers and fans is the bond just isn't as strong as it used to be. What Pep has improved is a greater respect between the fans and the club through the continued persuit of excellence, but the distance between players and fans is further by the day.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

I suspect that deep down Pep and the players probably think we're a bit shit.

It's a personal view and not a criticism of anyone per se, but if you want players to show dedication to the club and Zabba like passion then pissing off 10 minutes before the end of dominant victories is not going to convince them that they're playing for something bigger than just their teammates and a pay cheque. The number of empty seats in the ground when Sane curled the 5th in against the dippers a couple of years ago doesn't imply a particularly passionate and committed following.

The team we have now deserves the support we had 20 years ago.

Top post.

We’ve lived off that support of 20 years ago for too long now. I think it’s gone so far past that time now, that we shouldn’t be living off it anymore and we should be facing up to the fact that our support is generally shit these days, home and away.

We are capable of best in the country level atmospheres two or three times a season, which probably makes our week-to-week patheticness even more frustrating, but the rest of the time we are woeful!

There’s never a group of games where we have a happy medium, we are either incredible 5% of the time, or worst in the country level 95% of the time.

Almost everyone in the ground just sits there silently all game every game, between 10-15000 fans leave early every week (maybe more if we’re ever more than 5up), we have a singing section that only holds about 1500 and only about 60 people in it ever sing regularly.

You can tell with the total lack of appreciation shown by the players and management team towards us at the end of games. You can tell they aren’t impressed by us at all.

And it really is well past the time we can live off our support of 20 years ago, especially with Sunderland beating our third tier average attendance record this year.

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

City fans are disrespectful motherfuckers.

 

[Metalartin]

Top post.

We’ve lived off that support of 20 years ago for too long now. I think it’s gone so far past that time now, that we shouldn’t be living off it anymore and we should be facing up to the fact that our support is generally shit these days, home and away.

We are capable of best in the country level atmospheres two or three times a season, which probably makes our week-to-week patheticness even more frustrating, but the rest of the time we are woeful!

There’s never a group of games where we have a happy medium, we are either incredible 5% of the time, or worst in the country level 95% of the time.

Almost everyone in the ground just sits there silently all game every game, between 10-15000 fans leave early every week (maybe more if we’re ever more than 5up), we have a singing section that only holds about 1500 and only about 60 people in it ever sing regularly.

You can tell with the total lack of appreciation shown by the players and management team towards us at the end of games. You can tell they aren’t impressed by us at all.

And it really is well past the time we can live off our support of 20 years ago, especially with Sunderland beating our third tier average attendance record this year.

The tetchy ones wont like this but I agree. Except for lumping the away support in because they are fantastic at times, especially compared to any other top 6 club. Infact our away support makes me wonder how good the Etihad could be if everyone followed their example.

I still think the laid back nature is probably a hangover from when it didn't matter if you fucked off early or showed up late... you showed up even though we were shit and that was to be applauded. That excuse is gone now and there are more eyes(media) on the club to highlight these things that they never used to care about.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Everyone's entitled to do what they want but at the end of the day you either give a damn or you don't. We despise them for their cult behavior but there was hardly anyone leaving at Klanfield last night in the 92nd minute. They stayed believing something was about to happen, gave the team max support and it paid off for them.

And the sad thing about it is, anyone who’s mentioned that on here today has been accused of being a Scouser. But it’s true, barely anyone left Anfield when it went 4-5 last night and when it was still 4-5 when the board went up. At the Etihad both of those instances would have been the cue for 5000 people to leave at both points.

One game stuck in my mind once: Fulham v Sunderland about six years ago or more. Sunderland went 1-3 up on about the 84th minute and you couldn’t see a single person leaving the Cottage. Imagine that at the Etihad!..

 

[DT King of all Geordies]

I leave early occasionally at night if my train times require it. It's an hourly service so getting in at 12 rather than 11 makes a big difference when getting up at 5:30. I'd be happy to meet the players and explain it if they like!

 

[kaz7]

Everyone's entitled to do what they want but at the end of the day you either give a damn or you don't. We despise them for their cult behavior but there was hardly anyone leaving at Klanfield last night in the 92nd minute. They stayed believing something was about to happen, gave the team max support and it paid off for them.

No-one watching on tv knows who left last night,they would never show it or comment on it,they have built up anfield to be some sort of mythical place with a crappy song,they show us leaving because it suits their narrative
At brighton in may if it was 1-1 at 80 mins and we needed a goal i wouldn't have noticed or cared who left as i was singing and shouting all the way through,let people do what they want