Player abuse(Robertson)

[Dave]

The Robertson incident at the end of the game yesterday got a lot of people talking on the way out of the ground and in the pub, I, and many other guessed something had been said at the end or during the match from the crowd that had upset Robbo, it is very rare to see a player react that like that, so it must have been either prolonged or hurtful.

I heard many say things along the lines of” we pay our money, so we have the right to criticise” I only agree in part with this sentiment, yes football is a sort of public entertainment industry and us fan’s are paying costumers, as such we expect value for money in terms of performance and results.

Do us fan’s really have the right to shout out what we want when we want to a player because we have paid our money? Is it wrong to be shouting at a player non-stop? When does this become personal abuse and not just criticism? I don’t see how a player can improve his performance if he has to put with constant shouts from the crowd, along the lines of ‘you are not good enough’ etc, if you know what I mean.

Looking at Robertson as a player, I think he does have the odd schoolboy error in him, however there is a reason why he plays in league 2, and I have seen a lot worse at this level, the one thing about Robertson he rarely if ever slips below 100% in terms of effort and desire to defend situations in the correct manner, and I feel yesterday he had a good game I feel he did little if anything wrong, so did he really deserve criticism or abuse from any fan?

For me there is little wrong with a few boo’s for the team, however i prefer not applaud the team I think they have not the effort in, however I do not think that picking on one individual player if things have gone wrong in a game is right, there normally is a bigger picture.

I know this came up in the match day thread; however I thought I would try and open it up for a wider discussion, I welcome all opinions even from our gashead members as this is relevant to them, so feel free to join if you wish.

[Robiberto22]

If you was in a street and gave that kinda abuse to someone - see what hapopens, i still think it was out of character for robbo to react there musta been something bad sed and i still hope this whole incident dosent get to publicised. and for the record no man deserves to take abuse while trying to do his job - theres a difference beetewn booing and downright insult

[AustrianAndyGull]

Most abuse directed at footballers is unacceptable, however they know what the job entails so if they don't like being criticised then they should change careers. It is part and parcel of being a footballer. If someone wants to shout at a player telling them that he is shite then he/she is entitled to do so. For me, the only negative abuse directed at a player should be based around his performance on the pitch, not anything else. That said though, if Lee Hughes rocked up at Plainmoor in a Gulls shirt then i couldn't go anymore until he had left the club. Morons like him have taken lives and should never be forgiven or allowed to forget, time served or not.

[Robiberto22]

That said though, if Lee Hughes rocked up at Plainmoor in a Gulls shirt then i couldn't go anymore until he had left the club.

got to agree with that, i find it sick that they gave out masks at notts county games.

[Colorado Gull]

A lot was said to Robbo at Shrewsbury, fans shouting "You’re useless Robbo, bloody useless" etc. At the end of the Shrewsbury game every player went over the fans to applaud except Robbo, he went straight off. Yesterday the same thing must have happened again, that's why Robbo came over to fans this time, I imagine to find out who was hurling the abuse.

[Plymouth Gull]

Unfair (and pointless) criticism, isn't it?

The hecklers at Shrewsbury were probably the same ones shouting 'You Don't know what you're doing' towards Ling. Moronic.

Yes I understand the frustration, as it's obvious theres still problems in the back 4, but to abuse players while they're on the pitch is ridiculous, in my opinion.

[usagullmichigan]

Ling doesn't know what he is doing? well we are doing better than i thought we would. Plus Brucie is quiet so we must be doing OK.

[kingsgull]

these dickheads who shout abuse really get my goat as they are obviously better managers who should be instated and pick all are players for all our games...
why do the stewards not act to this disgusting behaviour....Robbo played well as Dave said and ALL the players were applauded and Robbo did not get the applause he deserved yesterday...just wish these people stay at home if thats thier way of "supporting" our team......

[tauntongull]

It doesn't take a genius to work out that 'Destructive Negative Criticism' never yields a positive outcome. I wonder how many of us are immediately transported back to a time in our lives when a teacher, employer or friend heavily criticised us in our lifetime when we receive something similar and begin to actually believe it eventually. We wonder where people get a lack of self-esteem or confidence or a feeling that they are inadequate or not good enough! - duh!

However frustrating it may be for fans - of which I am one - the best thing you can do is to offer positive feedback. In this country as a culture we seem intent on identifying failure even if there are several positives. Now don't get me wrong, I see nothing wrong with pointing out to players when they show a lack of effort or motivation. Usually though, there is a cause or issue at the heart of the matter. The best approach is to identify the issue personal to the player that is contributing to his poor performance as opposed to simply handing out abuse or criticism and work on this. A happy player is a good player.

Knowing your players and how to get the best out of them in any situation is key to success. We are all motivated by different things and it's the managers job to identify this and harness the full potential of every individual.

Yes, Chris has some issues with his performance but so would many of us if we were on the pitch - the ability to last 90 minutes would at the top of my list!

[AustrianAndyGull]

I would be the first to berate a player for lack of effort as that is the least the fans deserve but if a player is working hard giving 100% and things aren't happening for him on the pitch for whatever reason then he should be supported by his fans. Like a previous poster said, constant negative abuse is not going to improve a players performance but if he isn't at least putting in the effort then he deserves it. I haven't seen the robbo performances in the last two games so i can't really comment. As regards the fans who slag Ling off saying he doesn't know what he is doing. Have a day off. Have you seen our squad? It's never gonna pull up any trees and so to only have suffered two defeats in 11 having played Crawley, Rovers, Rotherham and Shrewsbury already is amazing. We have major defensive issues and we have drawn most games but the wins will come if we believe in ourselves.

[A J]

Has there been a large section of the crowd having a go at Robertson? It seems there are certain players at the club right now (McPhee, Saah, Morris, Rice (if he played?), maybe even Stevens, etc.) who will get automatic abuse even before they come onto the field! Which is totally wrong.

From some of the stories I have heard flying around (this is not concrete info, so dont judge me on this), doesn't this 'singling out' of Robbo from a 'particular fan', not relate to a certain Mark Ellis not being in the team?

The non-playing Ellis debate has rumbled on for month's now. He wasn't played by Buckle and now it's the same with Ling. Ellis does have very strong claims on being a first-team regular, but my personal view is Robbo deserves to be the first choice centre-back because he has hardly put a foot wrong. The criticism is unjust and totally out of order and Robbo must be having doubts now about signing any new contract.

[AustrianAndyGull]

For me AJ , Stevens SHOULD get automatic abuse. What has he contributed to the team in 4/5 years? He either starts the game then comes off for being ineffective or comes on as sub and is equally ineffective. He does not score, cross or have an end product. The kid has had millions of opportunities to show us something, anything and he hasn't. If i were afforded the opportunities that Stevens has had then there is no way on earth i would be still at Torquay. I would have proved myself and gone on to play at a higher level. If that didn't happen i would do the decent thing and drop down to non-league and get a job. The fact that some fans are still slagging Stevens off after 5 years is because they have seen him produce nothing every game that his wage and contract justifies and he is a joke. HE DOESN'T DO ANYTHING EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ARGH!!!

[AlexGulls]

I agree with AJ some players are automatically disliked for whatever reason. The only one I dislike is Rice. But I wouldnt openly abuse him to his face/when he's near because that wouldnt help in any situation. Sometimes its best to keep personal opinions to your self and just get behind the team.

[ferrarilover]

I agree with AJ some players are automatically disliked for whatever reason. The only one I dislike is Rice. But I wouldnt openly abuse him to his face/when he's near because that wouldnt help in any situation. Sometimes its best to keep personal opinions to your self and just get behind the team.

Each to their own and what not, but I simply cannot see any justification for this. We haven't seen him in a competitive, first team match since his return, so how on earth can we judge him?
Stevens is a different prospect, because he has been here the whole time and has achieved very little in all that time, but Ricey has been away and learned his trade by all accounts. From what I saw of him in the reserve match against a quite magnificent Brighton side, he is a very good keeper. He certainly won't come across better players in L2 and he more than held his own in a match where we were, largely, completely overrun by a vastly superior side.

Matt.

[AlexGulls]

Personal view really Ive just never rated him. When he was here last time he was quite poor. I'm praying Bobby doesnt get injured because I dont think Rice will be a capable replacement. I'm probably on my own with this one..