Time for Brighton fans to find a voice that might help the players hit the net
I have taken a few days to reflect on what happened at the end of Saturday’s game between Brighton and Leeds, having read many of the views online and heard the commentary on the media about the boos directed at the team.
Perhaps, had Robert Sanchez not been able to stop those final two assaults on goal and Leeds stolen the points in yet another last gasp defeat, the booing might have been more understandable.
It was bitterly cold, fans were left at the Amex again well into a Saturday evening thanks to Sky Sports, and all of us who had chosen to be there rather than watch on TV were desperate to see the Albion end their long winless streak after the robbery of a point when losing 2-0 to Aston Villa a week earlier.
From my position in the East Upper, long perceived as the roost of the grumpiest of ticket holders, there were some audible boos and moans, but not many.
It seems the acoustics of the Amex amplify not just the away support concentrated under the low roof of the South Stand, but also any boos.
At the same time, the singing support which is always so audible and robust at away games seems dispersed, muted and lost in the wind across Stanmer Park.
I was frustrated and fed up, yes, at another two points lost. At another display of dominance, skill, quality passing and crossing coming to nothing in front of goal.
Every time Adam Webster pushed forward leaving Leeds players in his slipstream, every time Tariq Lamptey left Junior Firpo wondering what the hell happened, every time Leandro Trossard looked to be teeing up the kind of shot that embarrassed Manchester City last season, it looked like we would score.
But each time, be it by woodwork, scuffed shots, or the keeper’s gloves, we were denied that goal celebration that would have warmed the Amex up. 90 minutes of that in sub-zero weather is draining.
We are clearly a side that deserves to be ranked amongst the best not just in the Premier League but in Europe too, but the simplest of analysis is clear: lack of clinical finishing.
The solution in terms of signing a striker is not as easy as many would suggest, in terms of availability, competition from the biggest clubs, wages and more.
There are two schools of thought on how fans should react. One is that we are fans, we should get behind the side no matter what, cheer them to the last and keep our views and our frustrations to ourselves.
The other is that we pay a lot to watch the team, some of us have been around far longer than those running the club or playing for it, moans and groans are all part of the football experience, good or bad, and players cannot expect an uncritical audience.
I have some sympathy for the latter view but I am much more of the former view. I don’t subscribe to the “kick up the backside” theory that players will be motivated to do better by being yelled at or booed.
In the heat of a game we all might do that, but we shouldn’t. Bringing down morale in the squad is likely to be a sure-fire way of prolonging the winless run and a slow slide into the very familiar places of the lower Premier League table.
The club cannot forever rest on the achievement of surviving relegation from League Two and the loss of the Goldstone. We are in an undreamed of position from two decades ago.
We should be proud of our history but hungry for more. Ambition to finish in the top 10 and possibly qualify for European competition is shared from the boardroom to the pie queue. It is right we demand better, but we have to remain positive.
There is a tough December ahead. Things may get worse before they get better, but let’s keep the faith, keep the frustrations and moans to the pub or the Facebook groups, and find some voice that might just help the players find the net. Stand or fall.
