Booing Your Team

I’m surprised that Fabio Capello appears shocked at the booing of the England team. I can understand his being upset but there surely must be a moronic element in Italian and every other country’s football stadiums that doesn’t know how to behave themselves and at least try to be cool – a section of the crowd that cannot grasp the absurdity of paying money to see their team play football and win and then wilfully undermining their efforts.

Of course, it’s not always inappropriate to express frustration at England’s play by booing. To mark the consequence of Steve McLaren’s ineffectiveness, after months of trying every doomed plan in the book and then failing to qualify for a major competition, I would have happily conducted the chorus of boos. But, before we get to the stage of this ultimate expression of disapproval, let’s not forget that, in between cheering and booing, there is a middle way called silence. An important tool of expression that demonstrates the understanding that the more positive way forward is encouraging players to strive for cheers rather than to creating an atmosphere in which they struggle to cope with the booing.

We are in a different place now and a new manager requires our patience and support. So far the signs are encouraging, World Cup 2010 Qualification is looking likely, and we should be nurturing this delicate budding of England’s return to former glory with our support. Not suffocating any chance we have of revival with the premature expression of the ugly and final solution of booing.