A few years ago I took part in an exercise when my employers sent me on a course. I knew some of the people I was with, but not all.
Three people were chosen at random and blindfolded. One by one they had to enter a large room and take a bottle from a table. Chairs and other obstacles were scattered around the room to hinder and confuse them.
The rest of us had to stand at the edges of the room and give ‘feedback’.
For one of the blindfolded guinea pigs, we ONLY had to tell him when he was going the wrong way, or doing something bad; in fact, she gives nothing but abuse.
On the other hand, we could ONLY be positive: tell them when they were doing well and just give them encouragement.
For the third we could do both.
The person who received 100% praise completed the task much faster than the other two. The one who only got pelters did the worst. We were told that this is infinitely predictable and repeatable, regardless of the order in which the participants do it. Encouragement makes people perform better, criticism makes them worse. It just does.
I wonder what some fans hope to achieve by groaning when a pass is misplaced, throwing their hands in the air when a player plays backwards instead of forwards, or crying when someone doesn’t answer. These actions are – to me – classic signs of a lack of trust, and I would argue that trust can be influenced by the mood of the crowd. If I thought the audience would support me if I tried something creative and failed, I might play it safe too.
Every footballer at Newcastle United knows how good he is and what he can and cannot do. Since childhood, they have been busy playing, training, watching, winning and losing every day. They know when they’ve done something right and they know when they’ve made a mistake. And I’m sure they always want to give their best when they put on the shirt. They don’t need the crowd to tell them.
Of course it is frustrating when the team underperforms. Of course we could and should have played better against Brentford. I’m sure every player in black and white and everyone on the coaching staff knows that.
But if there are any Newcastle United fans who think they can improve the team by complaining, shouting abuse or booing them off the pitch, then I dare say they won’t do something like that. In fact, they will almost certainly do the opposite.
There is a saying – Eddie Howe repeated it after the Brentford game – that the fans have the right to do whatever they want. Absolutely right. Once you’ve paid your dues, you’re free to bitch about every player, criticize the coaches, and kick them out of the park. And you are free to tell players on social media that they are simply not good enough to play for Newcastle.
If you’re one of those Newcastle United fans – and there are quite a few near me at SJP – tell me how you think this helps the team. When in the history of the beautiful game has a team felt good about it?
When I’m not watching Newcastle I sometimes go and watch Gateshead. They are currently at the bottom of the National League after punching above their weight for a few seasons. But their fans rarely get on their backs. They know the club is bare, they know players go out and come in every week (that’s no exaggeration), and they know the players are doing their best. So they encourage them.
Newcastle players are also doing their best, unless you know otherwise. That also applies to Eddie and his staff. They are going through a difficult time now and need support, not criticism. They call us followers. Let’s support them.
#Giving #Angry