At Bishop's Stortford today

[Guest]

Derek Brown was roundly booed by some of the home supporters. There is a feeling that no supporters deserve to be punched by a player responding to criticism on a message board. His response was to flick a [***!!***] sign. Fair enough. When the verbals continued after the game, as the players warmed down, Brown threatened several Blues fans with a fight in the bar or a fight there and then. This man clearly has a problem with controlling his aggression and should be kicked out. His performance on the pitch led me to believe that the criticism from Thornsey was justified.

[Bluesnet]

Independent Fans Comment can be read here. http://www.stortfordfc.co.uk/comment.htm

 

Sorry couldn't make the bar at half time for a chat (due to spilt beer blowing up the electric socket for the PA CD player!)

[Palomino]

Here is the excellent article from the bishops stortford website...>>>

 

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13th March 2004 - The behaviour of players - With the emphasis in recent years less and less on the behaviour of supporters at Non-League football matches, the inevitable bashing of match officials upped tempo. Indeed, attitudes toward referee's and their assistants has been the subject of much recent comment and debate on how their performances could be improved with increased consistency. The behaviour of Club Officials toward their fans has also made the news all too often, with the banning of fans at Canvey Island for running a website that dared to voice independent opinion being one such example.

 

Latterly however another incidious matter has become more noticable and regular - the behaviour of the players themselves. This is not confined to general play acting and 'handbags' on the pitch, which itself appears no more or less than it was 10 years ago. Increasingly, perhaps with the advent of better informed supporters through increased use of the internet, some players are venting their testosterone filled frustration toward supporters, and in the case of St Albans City toward their own. As reported in the St Albans Observer and discussed on internet forums in the last week, Saints players were involved in unbelievable scenes after their home match with Hornchurch, when three supporters were allegedly verbally and physically attacked in the environs of their own clubhouse. This was apparantly due to the players concerned not agreeing with fans comments about their performances posted on an internet site.

 

That kind of behaviour is of course obscene. That any player should feel the need to punch someone in the face because they disagree with their opnion is totally unacceptable and fans from any club will not tolerate that kind of behaviour, (in the same way that fans will not tolerate players racially abusing others, whatever club they play for).

 

That those players are seemingly free from punishment after such an act compounds and condones their actions in the eyes of supporters of all clubs. This is not inter-club point scoring, this is supporters coming together in their revulsion at this act and their incredulous disbelief that the Club concerned has appeared to sweep the matter under the carpet. No good can or will come from that and indeed may initself encourage such further misbehaviour.

 

It was little surprise then that empathy amongst supporters led to scenes at the conclusion of the Stortford/St Albans match on Saturday. The Saints Club Captain Derek Brown, who had been cited as the alleged protaganist and thug in the previous weeks incident had apparantly learned nothing from that (perhaps compounded by his Clubs seeming lack of action against him?). His snarling behaviour toward Stortford fans after the final whistle on Saturday and the apparant willingness of fellow players to join a fray just proves that unacceptably poor behaviour from players is an increasing phenomena in today's game. That players cannot react to supporters voicing their opinion without resorting to oafish invitations 'to see them outside' is frankly ridiculous and rather worrying.

 

Players must accept criticism of their play from regular and loyal club fans and must accept that terrace opinion, whether wholly justified or not, is a right of freedom of speech. They should be professional enough to get on with their paid job of performing to the best of their abilities every time they turn out in their club colours. These are the club colours that they often seem all to prepared to ditch when a better offer comes around. The fans have no such option, outstaying those they pay to watch week in week out and those whose very wages they help fund. Players sometimes forget that their position is transient, that of loyal supporters is not.

 

This author will on Monday be writing to both the League and the FA to complain about the lack of action to deal with such unwanted behaviour in our game. It was noticeable that certain supporters, me included, had waited in the Stortford Clubhouse long after the match to quiz said Mr Brown on his behaviour and his attitude toward supporters in general. It would have been interesting to hear his side of the story in a calm and relaxed atmosphere, to inform him why supporters in general do not see poor player behaviour in a kind light and to urge him and fellows to understand that fans need to have their right and proper say on how anyone has performed on the pitch - after all football is all about opinions and fans have theirs as much as officials, management and players do. These matters can and should be openly discussed without the need to revert to violence or the threat of it. Sadly he was noticeable by his absence but he is welcome to send his comments for posting on here.

 

JS

 

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Very well written fella hopefully John gibson will read. Though i doubt it.

[Laz]

Both Peter Risley and Gary Roberts expressed their discust at the behaviour of our players when I spoke to them on Saturday.