Football is often referred to as being a funny old game, one which can be unpredictable, surprising at times, a game of two halves. While this may be true, can the same sentiments be levied at its supporters? Are football fans just as fickle as David O’Leary once suggested? Are they even ‘supporters’ or indeed ‘loyal’ to their cause?

sup·port
a. To aid the cause, policy, or interests of
b. To argue in favour of; advocate
loy·al Faithful to a person, ideal, custom, cause, or duty.

This questioning comes about after a weekend in which supporters of two leading Premiership clubs turned on their own team and I myself was threatened with violence for standing up against the ‘boo boys’. This from two teams vying for a coveted Champions League place, one of which is six points clear of the other and enjoying their best season in recent years, while the other team remains in the hunt, unbeaten in 13 league games, still in the FA Cup and on course to progress further in this year’s Champions League.

It’s human nature that when things are going your way, the hardships that preceded them are forgotten, you allow yourself to get caught up in the crest of a wave, while failing to plan for the future and the inevitability of being taken down a peg or two. It is true that every dog has their day but on the same notion everyone’s time comes eventually. No one stays at the top forever and it’s how you ride out bad times that define how you come back. Some do so with great aplomb while others are destined to never return to their lofty perch and the support each has in their quest to recover can play a major part in their ability to do so.

My experience of the E******s Stadium on Saturday coupled with events at Villa Park on the Sunday posed the question of whether the typical football fan appreciates that while they are the foundation for their club, with their ticket and merchandise purchases along with all the other financial costs associated with supporting a football team, their so-called support can also serve to be counter-productive and not helpful by any means. I’m not suggesting that people should not be entitled to an opinion but the way in which they are voiced can be questioned particularly as you would not buy a ticket to the theatre then offer a critique before the play has finished. You wait, you may be frustrated at the lack of flow in the plot, but you wait until the last act is finished.

My seat at Arsenal was within touching distance of the home dugout, not close enough to smell the sweat of the players, as my partner asked but certainly within ear shot of the many ‘loyal supporters’ who booed at half time and did so more vociferously at the final whistle. I too shared in their frustration of watching my team play out another goalless draw at the expense of a so-called lesser team and quite possibly a top four place, yet despite this growing frustration why didn’t I boo? Well one reason is out of principle, no matter how bad things are I will always support something I believe in and the second reason is because I am prepared to await the final act and realise that criticism of this nature will not help the story, it will only destroy it further.

Parents don’t judge how successful their child will be at university through how well they do at primary school and equally so they don’t chastise, criticise and boo their child during the course of their development in the hope that they will suddenly become the next Albert Einstein. Why not? Because, as we suspect, they believe it is counter productive. A parent will wait and see. They will stay loyal and support their child regardless of how they turn out in the end. Can the same be said of a football fan? Not if events at the E******s stadium and Villa Park are anything to go by.

Some of the greatest figures in the sport have one minute been the brunt of much criticism only for the next to be lavished with praise, Sir Alex Ferguson and indeed some of his charges, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs amongst others were much maligned by their own ‘support’ when the trophies dried up. Look at them now, more to the point, where are their boo boys now? They’re quite possibly salivating at the prospect of an unprecedented trophy haul with memories of their barren spell firmly consigned to the back of their minds.

That short memory is often reflected in the typical football fan. Outraged by those around me who booed, I turned and questioned some of these so-called supporters. Upon doing so I was faced with a man attempting to leap across seats with what I can only see as the intention of throttling me. What for? Because I displayed my disgust for his actions and told him so to which he took exception. All the while I’m being shouted at that this is the “worst team for 15 years” and that because they’ve had season tickets for 25 years they were better equipped to comment. Well need I remind the world where Arsenal were 15 years ago, better yet how about the immediate years preceding Arsene Wenger’s era, a time where watching players like David Hillier, Ian Selley and Eddie McGoldrick were what greeted us on our visits to Highbury, and needless to say Stefan Schwarz was considered a flair player. I for one am not criticising these players as they are all firmly part of our history, what I am saying is that nobody can really say it’s not better now. It’s just not as good as some of Wenger’s earlier years, but who is to say it won’t get better?

When shortly after the start of the 2002/03 season Arsene Wenger made the bold statement Arsenal would go a whole season unbeaten, he was ridiculed by the media when it all failed to come to fruition. We didn’t stop believing then and funnily enough the silly old man’s ramblings came true only a year later. Before it is said that those players were allowed to leave to the detriment of today’s squad, there is no doubting that, even Arsene Wenger will admit that the exit of some of these players (some of which, despite popular opinion could not be stopped) has been a blow but things change, players come and go but Arsenal will always be there and I will always support them. Can that be said of every other supporter of their team?

The football fan often professes to be loyal in their support of their club, to be there through thick and thin and to have a vested interest in all concerning it, an unyielding attachment. But when the time comes, when a club needs the support most, whether it is in helping them through hard times or encouraging them to push on in pursuit of a coveted Champions League place they can go missing. They vent their frustrations in uncompromising ways forgetting that Rome wasn’t built in a day. It was probably a mess at times, but look how that turned out. Both Arsene Wenger and Martin O’Neill are under great pressure to deliver and both are openly prepared to die by their sword, but sure as hell they will give it their all to the end. I question whether the same can be said of the supporters of their respective clubs and if a top four place was granted on the merits of the clubs’ support, neither would be deserving.