Why We Boo When We’re Winning

We may as well get this out of the way quickly. Booing your team during the middle of a match, one you’re actually winning, is inherently daft. It’s counterproductive; it’ll affect the players and get people’s backs up. 

But it happened. 

Attribute it to an over-excitable band of divorcés or a vocal minority – but alongside that minority singing that less-than-complimentary observation on Wagner’s abilities, three times that number were turning to their mates with that unmistakable and now-familiar look of bewilderment. However, just as we saw on Saturday, there were perfectly good and plausible reasons for the individual players’ respective withdrawals. It’s just that contextually, it seemed like a complete misstep.

Many will have had Saturday in their minds when the subs occurred. The muscle memory of a fair few poor changes along Wagner’s tenure all came to a head. On the face of things it looked as if we were protecting what we had, with at least 40 minutes left to play. It also very nearly went the other way; after Asprilla’s wonderstrike the match was on a knife-edge and had become stretched and unwieldly. Anyone could have won it from there and it took a moment of quality from Barnes and Sara to set Norwich on their way. Some might say it was that little bit of luck City have been missing for most of this season. 

However, it wasn’t just the substitutions or the perceived retreat into our shells that provoked that crowd reaction. Month after month of division, in-fighting and not being listened to has meant the spectre of toxicity looms large. When looking to address fan discontent under Smith’s and Wagner’s management, the club has adopted a range of tactics – but none have been effective. Sticking your head in the sand and banking on a few wins to improve the mood rarely works. And actively coming out to blame the fans, however true that may or may not be, isn’t exactly PR 101 either. 

Based on what this team’s showing us they’re capable of, there’s genuine reason to be optimistic for the remainder of the season

It is difficult not to feel for Wagner. For all my views on his coaching deficiencies, and the possibility that the upturn in form is in spite of his tactics rather than because of them, he comes across as a good human who has gone out of his way to improve the bond between players and fans. It’s that work that’s arguably kept things from going into full revolt during the horror run earlier in the campaign, so it’s sad things have come to this.

On a human level, if you look at it from Wagner’s perspective, what more can he do? The team are in a fine run of form, unbeaten at home in nine games and as it stands, sit sixth in the table. Would we all have taken that barely three months ago when Szmodics rolled in Blackburn’s third and it felt as if the end was inevitable? Of course we would. Based on what this team’s showing us they’re capable of, there’s genuine reason to be optimistic for the remainder of the season.

Because of all that, it’s difficult to apportion blame towards Wagner when he calls out the fans’ reaction. Given the team’s recent record, it’s completely understandable he would feel exasperated and confused by what’s happening. Through the prism of his designer spectacles he can do little more. But despite all of this, he’s actively barraging a section of supporters on the probable eve of season ticket renewal day, which *checks notes*, will likely continue to be the most expensive in the league. The optics of that are, well, not great. 

What appears to be increasingly obvious is the ongoing presence of division and discontent, ready to pop out from under the undersoil heating at the first sign of things going south. Rather than dismiss this as unacceptable fan behaviour, the club could perhaps treat it as a catalyst to do something. This is actually an opportunity, a wake-up call; not just fans whinging. 

The reasons why people have booed, chanted something derogatory, or simply stayed away from Carrow Road entirely, are usually far more nuanced than some would suggest. The first step to healing those rifts is understanding the ‘why’, and exploring what can be done to address it. The only real party with the ability or agency to do that is the club itself.

That isn’t conjured up with a few wins on the bounce, it’s built on solid foundations and the fundamentals being looked after

They need to lead on conversations with supporters and really try to understand why so many things feel just a little broken to them. The club has shown us what good looks like, only to wrestle it away. A little more of the openness shown in 2017-18 would be a start. Letting down their defences and showing some humility would be great. Demonstrating that they’re willing to listen and meaningfully change things, or facilitate the fans already working towards developing the culture of their club would be even better. These are all things that feel within reach, but yet it needs the club to start those conversations. 

The powers at Carrow Road should understand that no one wants it to be this way, and that it’s utterly bizarre that we’ve reached this stage. Everyone wants a united fanbase where we’re cheering on a successful team – regardless of who the head coach is or what the sporting director is saying; the perceptions of the executive team or who owns the football club; even what the local press are reporting. That’ll never change. 

What fans want is a football club they feel connected to and a team they can be proud of. That isn’t conjured up with a few wins on the bounce, it’s built on solid foundations and the fundamentals being looked after. Something which some people feel – rightly or wrongly – has been neglected for far too long.