The FA, the press and some of Cole’s colleagues have been quick to attack the booing that greeted Ashley Cole’s appalling error at Wembley on Saturday. They are completey missing the point. or, rather, two points.
The first is that Cole had a shocker. He failed to get forward enough which led to the lack of width in England’s play. And when he did, he played too many bad balls. Then the lazy ball which led to Kazakhstan’s goal was a terrible mistake which could have had shocking consequences. It came at a mometn when England were drifting, demoralized, failing to pass the ball, and running out of ideas fast. Kazakhstan were faster and when attacking, better. Cole (and Upson) deserved the absue they got.
There is a bigger point. There was a time when footballers belonged to the same world as the fans. They were working-class heroes and when their short careers ended they would retire and own a local pub or corner shop. Over the last fifteen years that has completely changed. They earn more in a month than their fans could earn in twenty years. The social contract between players and fans has broken irreparably. Players are no longer ‘one of us’. So if a player makes a stupid mistake, not under pressure, but because of a complete loss of concentration, following a stinker of a game, he can no longer expect forgiveness. Cole made no secret of his sense of financial worth in his wretched memoirs. Fans haven’t forgotten and it will take a great deal for Cole to win back the England fans at Wembley.
Absolute claptrap, if only for “It came at a mometn when England were drifting, demoralized, failing to pass the ball, and running out of ideas fast. Kazakhstan were faster and when attacking, better.” Surely that’s one point where the difference between supporter and spectator can be defined?
If you were a Kazakhstani player looking to capitalise on the situation then you could not have wished for a better response. It was as logical a reaction as starting a riot when England aren’t doing so well (Lansdowne Road, 15/02/95).
If this were club football then you might have a point regarding fans booing their own player, but then again you’re confused about what Cole is being booed for, is it his hopeless display on the pitch or for his display of riches? Of course it can’t have been for his club affiliation… Ashley Cole is not the only greedy sod with alley cat morals in football, and he wasn’t the first by a matter of three or four decades.
The sad thing is that so called England fans sing “we’ll support you ever more” with no sense of irony or self-awareness, whilst club fans perceive very few England supporters at Wembley. There are a lot of spectators though, in it only for the prospect of glory that they’ve done little or naught to bring about. After yet another shameful display it will take a great deal for England followers to win back the respect of football fans around the world, for that is the only bond that has been broken time and time again.
I disagree Antony; there is a disconnect between the players and fans and it’s largely due to the enormous salaries and attitudes. Let’s be real. These guys don’t live in our social circles, they don’t care about fans to the degree that fans care about them.
If players get booed, they are well compensated to deal with such adversity. Suck it up and deal with it.
http://startingeleven.blogspot.com/2008/10/starting-eleven-football-blog-roundup_13.html