Wullie

Two excellent posts from UV and Decky.

Who mentioned singing? I'm talking about making SJP an intimidating place for opposition players to come in order to help the team get the results you're talking about, which they're struggling with atm. Did you even read the OP?

Very true Jonathan. However the disparity between home and away and between performances against different sides has never been so great. At present we're shit at home when before we were just shit.

It's not a one way thing though. It's sad that we don't feel able to get behind the team as a collective when "oh it's only Blackburn". I don't agree with it, I would personally sing throughout no matter what. I'm just trying to put my finger on the majority attitude. We would have a lot more points on the board if we made the atmosphere like Sunderland every week, but it's not realistically going to happen is it? Not like sunderland no, but there's no reason we can't try and intimidate the opposition is there? Singing's only a small part of what makes a good atmosphere. The thing that sparks SJP into life more than anything these days is a refereeing injustice or an opposition player being a cunt which gets folks' backs up. Have you been to the Britannia Stadium?

Really? Fucking hell.

It's not a one way thing though. It's sad that we don't feel able to get behind the team as a collective when "oh it's only Blackburn".

You're right when you say that those teams work on killing the atmosphere but the tragedy is that they haven't even needed to. There's no atmosphere to kill.

Now I've never been one for "blaming the fans" or any of that shite and yes, it is give and take between the players and the supporters but in my opinion we must do more from the stands to try and get out of this rut at home. The two games this season where the atmosphere has been electric, we have gone on and battered our opponents. We made it absolutely clear we wanted blood and wanted revenge against Villa and the mackems and we certainly got it, but then, particularly on Wednesday against Blackburn, the atmosphere was as flat as a pancake and we had not even had proper possession of the ball before Blackburn scored after two and a half minutes. I recognize the argument that the players have to get the team going but what more could they have done in the two games before Blackburn? Not much. St James' Park can be a incredibly intimidating place to play when the crowd are up for it - sunderland mentally crumbled in the derby, you could see their young players panic in the face of the hostility when they got the ball and we need to do more of this for me. When we went to Stoke in the relegation season, the crowd was very hostile towards us when we had the ball and it was making our players panic in the same way, it makes it very difficult to settle in possession. Stoke's good home form isn't all about long throws, the crowd there are tremendous. We still expect the team to turn up and roll teams like Blackburn, Fulham, Stoke over and it's not really on. We all know we have to get behind the lads when we play the big guns and sunderland but I think there's a sense of "they should be able to do it without our help" against the bottom half sides. We've been spoiled during our time in the Premier League but a newly promoted side, sitting in 5th at the time, getting a draw at home against a decent outfit like Fulham being booed off is out of order, so is getting on Shola's back when he miscontrolled one of his first touches on Wednesday night. It wouldn't happen on derby day. I'm not naive enough to think the crowd are responsible for how the team does on the field, Man Utd don't win something every year because their support is better than anyone else's... but we can do more. We must shake off this mentality at home that we EXPECT to beat anybody. Hope yes, expect, we're not good enough for that and the team need all the help they can get.

And when Carroll first appeared in the Premier League?

Funny how you never said anything about Carroll like this at the time, you just ranted about how shit he was, just like you do with Ranger.

Anyone with a fucking brain in their skull knows that young players improve with experience, as Carroll has. I didn't think Carroll would become what he has either but I didn't expect him to come out the womb with a touch like Didier Drogba like some people on here.

Did you not say the same about Carroll? Indeed. Ronaldo's constant "I'm right and everyone else is a fucking idiot" spiel is becoming increasingly tiresome iyam.

Did you not say the same about Carroll?

Jesus Christ.

Nothing trivial I hope. Can't stand Gyan like.

How long are these Chelsea players out for... i.e. will they play at SJP?

Christ it's like Pennywell in this thread.

Fucking horrible cunts.

What the fuck? How is it we're the only ones who exposed how utterly wank they are? And they are.

First decision the mackems have had go against them all season Bruce, you fucking saggy arsehole.

Not so long ago the same was being said of Andy Carroll.

You don't think he should be replaced in the summer then?

I'm interested to know who these brilliant managers are who we should appoint in his place. Presumably one of the six ahead of us in the Premier League at the moment. If the boss in 7th is "out of his depth", fuck knows what the other 13 are.

This idea that the players must be trying because we've won and not trying because we've lost is beyond ludicrous. You say we tried and won at Everton Jonny, if Fellaini had converted his chance at the end and we'd got a point, does that mean we tried less? Seem to remember Yakubu also having a good chance at the end... if he'd put that away and they'd sucker punched us late on and sent us away with nowt, does that mean we'd tried less after all? Howay man, I expect better from you. It's fuck all to do with effort and everything to do with being a newly promoted side who will have ups and downs, home and away (and missing at least two key players, arguably more). This expectancy that we're just going to turn up and beat established well organised Premier League sides is part of the reason we're not beating them.

mate, it's fucking pathetic. the one's booing are the ones 'going on'. we're a newly promoted club sitting in 7th position in the premier league, anyone booing that is a cunt, and anyone who's stupid enough to ignore the bigger picture and boo a draw at home to a good team is a stupid cunt. Hear hear.