Tam McManus - latest blog about fans

[Radium]

http://www.tammcmanus.com/single-pos...0/14/Supporter

I was no where near a regular when Townsley was playing so have no idea of what level of abuse he received but I would like to think that anyone who 'goes after players' reads this.

I don't subscribe to the idea that fans can't criticise or 'boo', but it should not be the first option.

[PPZPOL]

I enjoy his blog but this one has a tinge of irony about it. My lasting memory of TM was him sliding in after the defender had played ball up line with no chance of blocking it, but he used to get a rousing applause for it and people saying how much effort he was putting t in. Hope this doesn't come across as me slagging him, but if there was 1 player past/present who used to use up unnecessary energy I'd say him every time 😁. Like I said, enjoy his blog so hope they keep on coming.

[ahibby]

We have all heard abuse being hurled at players. It seems some fans only go to games so they can hurl abuse, they get off on it. Thankfully most of us have a better appreciation of the game. There's a difference between hurling abuse and constructive criticism although it might be a fine line. Derek Townsley did get a fair bit of abuse and so did Gary Smith circa the same period (despite him being one of the better all round defenders we've had). In both cases, as Tam mentions, they played under Bobby Williamson. Now Bobby has most often found work as a manager, likes of Killie, Hibs and Plymouth spring to mind. However for players under him it couldn't have been a joy ride. His tactics couldn't be right if he didn't have the players to execute them and for me that was his weakness. He had a philosophy on how the game should be played and he'd execute it no matter what his players were capable of. In that process some of his players would have looked worse than they actually were (being asked to defend for example when they didn't have a clue about the art of defending and their strength lay in scoring). That was Bobby's weakness and if he hadn't insisted on sticking with it (thick skinned), I'm sure there wouldn't have been as much abuse at that time.

[NAE NOOKIE]

These guys dinnae ken they're born .... when I first started going to ER the fans still practiced the now dying art of the slow handclap ...... nothing betters it for letting a whole team know you aint happy

[Keith_M]

I do get the feeling that some Fans go to games just to abuse certain players, as that's all they ever seem to do.

I experienced it in when I had a Season Ticket in the FF Lower (Stadtler and Waldorf in Section 20, they were (in)famous), then in Section 39 in the East there was one guy in the row behind us that did nothing every week but scream abuse at players the whole game.


On another note, the last few games I've been at, the atmosphere has been quite dead. Hasn't been the same since the Section 43 guys moved down the front.

[Pretty Boy]

I always quite like Derek Townsley, limited but honest.

Iirc Townsley was actually treated fairly well by Hibs fans at first, he'd also spoken at length about the abuse he received from Motherwell fans and how relieved he was to be at Hibs. I think he was just a victim of the quite spectacular loss of form from that team that predated Williamson and Townsleys arrival. We fell away post Christmas of the season before when we were miles clear in 3rd and were already toiling when McLeish jumped ship and Sauzee had his ill fated reign. The loss of Franck, the tightening of the purse strings and the industrial football that followed all conspired against the less talented and popular players in that team.

In general though I never understand fans habitually abusing individuals. I'm a mutterer of the odd '****s sake' or whatever but sustained avuse was never my style either as a player or a fan, it's counterproductive.

[eastterrace]

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These guys dinnae ken they're born .... when I first started going to ER the fans still practiced the now dying art of the slow handclap ...... nothing betters it for letting a whole team know you aint happy

Ahh the slow handclap now that was useful back in the sixties and seventies


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[Onceinawhile]

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I always quite like Derek Townsley, limited but honest.

Iirc Townsley was actually treated fairly well by Hibs fans at first, he'd also spoken at length about the abuse he received from Motherwell fans and how relieved he was to be at Hibs. I think he was just a victim of the quite spectacular loss of form from that team that predated Williamson and Townsleys arrival. We fell away post Christmas of the season before when we were miles clear in 3rd and were already toiling when McLeish jumped ship and Sauzee had his ill fated reign. The loss of Franck, the tightening of the purse strings and the industrial football that followed all conspired against the less talented and popular players in that team.

In general though I never understand fans habitually abusing individuals. I'm a mutterer of the odd '****s sake' or whatever but sustained avuse was never my style either as a player or a fan, it's counterproductive.

He scored a couple of crackers v motherwell.

Sure one was a 30 yards free kick

[NAE NOOKIE]

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I do get the feeling that some Fans go to games just to abuse certain players, as that's all they ever seem to do.

I experienced it in when I had a Season Ticket in the FF Lower (Stadtler and Waldorf in Section 20, they were (in)famous), then in Section 39 in the East there was one guy in the row behind us that did nothing every week but scream abuse at players the whole game.


On another note, the last few games I've been at, the atmosphere has been quite dead. Hasn't been the same since the Section 43 guys moved down the front.

Totally this ..... we have to start addressing the situation regarding the singing section or whatever you want to call it, this started as a really good and long overdue initiative by a few supporters who wanted to kick start the atmosphere at ER, but instead of growing as we all hoped it would it appears to have completely stalled. I know there was a bit of infighting and a couple of other issues, but I for one would like to see Hibs get a grip of this and do more ( a lot more ) to encourage this and any other attempts to improve the atmosphere ...... considering we currently get 15,000 at home the fact that atmosphere is still an issue shows how poorly the whole thing is being managed.

I've said it before and I just cant see that I'm wrong in this opinion ...... The singing section will only grow and make a real impact at ER when they have their own dedicated area away from folk who appear to get upset by their 'antics' .... The ideal area for this is the FF lower and with a number of clubs in the UK now seriously looking at standing areas and the obvious success of Celtic's its high time Hibs looked into this.
If the mostly younger element of our support had a place they could call their own within the stadium, where folk know they go at their own risk if they don't like salty language, flags and the like, then I could see the 'singing section' growing to a couple of thousand people at most matches, rather than what appears to be the few dozen it has fallen to at the moment.

As I've also said, IMO having the singing section there will draw in participation from the northern end of the west stand, which has always been one of the parts of the ground willing to sing anyway, and the northern end of the east stand if the family section was relocated there. You might get a few moans from some FF regulars who have to move, but it wouldn't be the first time the demographic of ER has changed and you cant make an omelette without breaking eggs, they ( including me I hasten to add ) will just become eggs

There seems to be some idea that auld farts like me prefer the genteel cinema like atmosphere of the post Taylor report era, but nothing could be further from the truth. I for one think that football stadiums should be noisy, boisterous and colourful places and that when you go to a match what happens on the pitch should only be part of the experience, you should go home blown away by what the crowd was like just as much as what the game was like.

From time to time I go into You Tube and have a look at films posted by South American ( especially Argentinian ) and German football fans, that to me is what football stadiums should be like, instead we have allowed our fan culture to become boring and bland .... A big part of the success of German football is that they recognised that the fans themselves are as big a part of the show as the players are and made sure it was if not encouraged then at least accommodated. There are many lessons we could learn from what the Germans have done with their football, some of them would take years to implement, this would not.

[zlatan]

Was it not Derek Townsley who came on this forum in one of its old guises to have a go at a few critics?

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

I'll never forgive him for missing a penalty in the shoot out for Gretna v The Yammish Ones!

[Pretty Boy]

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Was it not Derek Townsley who came on this forum in one of its old guises to have a go at a few critics?

Paul Fenwick iirc.

[Hiber-nation]

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Paul Fenwick iirc.

Derek Townsley did as well. Paul Fenwick was Mountie but I can't remember Townsley's user name.

[Smartie]

I honestly don't remember Townsley getting abuse. The odd grumble if he gave the ball away but nothing more than any other player got. I quite liked him, decent and honest player. I'm sure he got pelters at Motherwell before he joined us and he considered it a relief to join us (a bit like Kevin McBride when he left Falkirk too).

Joe Tortolano and Brian Hamilton got the worst of the abuse I can ever remember for our own players. I remember Joe McLaughlin getting some when he "got Charnley booked" as well.

There was a spell 3 or 4 years ago when all the players seemed to get abuse but nobody more than anyone else, Leigh Griffiths was the only one who was pretty much exempt.

[Shrekko]

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Derek Townsley did as well. Paul Fenwick was Mountie but I can't remember Townsley's user name.

It was Marco Polo.

[Hiber-nation]

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It was Marco Polo.

I liked what he had to say. Still held the Hibees in high regard despite some of the ridiculous abuse he got.

[Jumbo]

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Derek Townsley did as well. Paul Fenwick was Mountie but I can't remember Townsley's user name.

Wasn't Chris Killens mum on here as well, Kiwi mum I think ?

[Frogga]

Townsley was around in my early ST years so I was a bit naive to all the abuse he got. It's frustrating when you hear about players like him getting abuse as he wasn't a particularly bad player and I remember his goal in the 4-4 at Tynie with fondness.

I also understand Tam's point about fans favourites. Players like Dean Shiels are a perfect example of this.

[calumhibee1]

Do any current players post? Not asking for names, just curious. Gail is Paul Hanlon IMO.

[monktonharp]

Intereting to see some of the St. Mirren fans somments on his blog they are the world's worst moaners, usually to the ref(s) during a game! they greet for anything!