Crowd v performance
First time in the terrace for a little while today (I've been in the family stand for most of this season). I was really struck by the amount of negativity around me. People were miserable from pretty much minute 1. There was moaning about our players, whingeing about the style of football, complaining about Morecambe. Literally the first time McCleary touched the ball, someone said "Do something Garath, you did nothing on Tuesday". Meanwhile, there seemed to be little or no effort to praise players doing something well, shout much encouragement, or get a chant or two going. I barely saw anyone crack a smile. I get that everyone felt deflated by the end of the game, but from listening to people in the first half you'd have thought we were 0-3 down. It really felt as though people were coming expecting to be disappointed and frustrated today.
I've heard plenty of people suggest that there is something 'a bit off' about the team in recent months, but I'm wondering how much that's true (and why?) for the crowd too . It might just be a reaction to Tuesday night, the play-offs, a generally up-and-down season, etc., but it feels to me as though the mood around the stands has shifted. Gareth used to talk about the ball being sucked into the net at the terrace end, where we've scored so many crucial late goals - but it doesn't feel like that kind of atmosphere at the moment.
Or maybe I was just standing near the wrong people...
Comments
Do the lot who used to do all the singing still go these days? Or have they got a bit older and found other things to do?
Just asking as I'm sure you don't hear much chanting these days compared to recent seasons.
The main chanting I could hear was our drummer friend and his mate, who stand very low and wide at the FA end of the terrace.
But this abruptly seemed to stop after an animated argument between him and some big guy in a white top, causing many stewards to go and stand near them for the rest of the half.
I’m glad you pointed that out because I thought the youngsters at what’s normally the away end made more noise than those on the terrace.
Yeah don't worry about it Glenny.
Wwfc is the greatest football club in the World
@TheChair, a friend and fairly near neighbour in Hazlemere, despite being in the “senior” category, always used to be prominent in starting chants. I haven’t spoken to him for a few months but will ring him today for his views on what sounds like a disturbing (hopefully temporary) change of mood, perhaps reflecting people’s mood generally when, in exceptionally difficult times, their football fix isn’t working.
For me the atmosphere in the Terrace is always driven by what happens on the pitch. For your average game it starts quiet and then builds (or doesn't) depending on how much we're having a go at the opposition. In recent years when we were down in games, we would usually be ripping into the opposition towards the end - there was this feeling that we'd turn around any scoreline and the terrace responded accordingly. I don't think anyone in the stadium felt that we were turning it around when Cambridge scored their 3rd on Tuesday and therefore the atmosphere was completely flat. That was driven by the fact we barely had a shot in that last 10 mins until Wing scored at the end of injury time.
I don't think this is unique to Wycombe by the way - the atmosphere is always driven from the pitch. I do think though that the never-say-die attitude we've seen in recent years has gone missing and the crowd have dipped accordingly.
Probably right if a little depressing. Unfortunately maybe we've been spoilt and it's been too long since our "never leave early" era with all those really late goals and the idea that it will happen regardless of how we are playing. Was the same in the FA. Lots of wannabe coaches berating everything even when we were doing well. If we go long we're hoofing aimlessly. If we go shorter it's a lack of urgency and we are timewasting.
So we scored 90+4 v Peterborough, 90+7 v Cambridge, and had a goal disallowed on 90+5 v Morecambe.
There are our last 3 home matches...
Disallowed goals and getting a consolation back when it's over aren't the same thing as 112th minute penalty winners, I forgot about the Posh game but if you remember back to the Tyson, CMS times it always looked on, We were still having a go at the end yesterday, the players haven't given up but at the same time there didn't seem to be the belief in the stadium or presumably the team that one last push would do it.
I'd disagree, neither the players nor the crowd know its only a consolation goal or its going to be disallowed until after the event.
The crowd has been fairly passive for a while. I've made the observation that often encouragement after good play (not necessarily the more glamorous sides of the game, but stuff football people know is important) is often lacking.
When Morecambe got their equaliser, it felt like the crowd in the Valley End at least had almost given up. Frustration from the stands has a habit of trickling down to those on the pitch, when maybe previously we would be really getting behind the lads to get a late equaliser or winner.
Maybe this negativity is a symptom of the disappointment the way the season's going after being promised a tilt at promotion. It's been discussed ad nauseum on here as to whether that's justified or not, but I definitely feel like it's having a negative impact on the mood of the crowd.
What did the Charlton crowd think about their 90+6 “consolation” for 3-4...?
Ok, so most of them heard about it on their phones whilst getting in the car - but it’s the same point that @Twizz is making 😃
I'm wondering whether the gradual departure of the 'generals' - Darius, Blooms, and especially Bayo has had an effect on the motivation of the team to put in that little bit extra to push us over the line when things have looked grim in games.
There are obviously lot's of immoral people in High Wycombe who have alleigences to Premier League clubs and are unable to get an erection.
I recommend ignoring these people.
I wasn't suggesting they had given up or it was all dull towards the end, merely that we had a great run a while back of turning draws or defeats into late wins so people genuinely had a bit of faith and thought it was coming. I got the distinct impression from plenty around me in the FA that they expected us to piddle away our lead and it was very moany, so rather than unconditional noisy support and an air of anticipation it was whining regardless of the play chosen. This may or may not have contributed to the result but it will contribute to the atmosphere tomorrow night.
It sounds like a vicious cycle - team is very much a first half team, so crowd has no faith in second half heroics, which trickles down to the players, hurting their second half confidence, further reducing the likelihood of late heroics, which further disappoints the fans, etc. etc.
We were brilliant 2nd half against Peterborough. It was a fortnight ago
Those are the only points we have gained from a losing position all season unfortunately, with 12 dropped from winning positions on the other side of the ledger. Would love to see more of that though, for sure!
We were brilliant 2nd half in one game out of 20. It was a fortnight ago.
We're actually the second-most creative team in the first half and we pretty much maintain that level in the second. But that's the problem: we just maintain it, whereas better teams find another bear and assert their superiority.
Mind you, we are also giving up slightly more than we create.
Polar opposites with those other sides?
I think a big part of the issue is other teams being allowed five substitutes at any time while we are only allowed a maximum of three which must all occur after 70 minutes.
Until this unfair rule is changed, we are going nowhere in these second halves, as we will always be at a disadvantage with energy levels.
EFL petition, anyone?
🤦
And Barnsley away so that’s 10% of games. Really can’t understand why everyone (well most everyone) is moaning.
But it is a little strange. I sort of understood it a few weeks back when we didn’t have many options on the bench but the current apparent policy of avoiding making subs until the final quarter is a little bizarre
It is a very real issue with such a massive contrast - 5th in first half table, 22nd in second halves.
it's like getting a capacity crowd for the first half and then most people leaving at half time to leave a crowd of 3,500. That would be pretty noticeable to those on the pitch!
I think the weather has a lot to do with crowd mood. Sunny day = more people, good mood and more beers! Cold, wet and windy together with a dull performance is a recipe for silence.
I also feel that with a lot of players that probably know in their head they are leaving at the end of the season, they have no real affiliation or investment in the "Wycombe way". I feel like there is no passion compared to previous seasons, less McCarthy and JJ.
Maybe we should just unleash a bear in the second half. What have we got to lose at this point?
I don’t think there is any need to overreact. Play off semi final was only a few mths ago and was still the best atmosphere (bar cup games) I can recall at AP. And it followed a great end to last season with some positive crowds.
This season has been patchy on the pitch, with few signings to get really excited about, and the departure of some key players. We’ve also gone from play a very direct, 100mph style of football to a much different approach.
Once we get back in the groove I imagine the atmosphere will pick up.
We haven't radically changed our approach at all. I don't have last season's figures to hand, but we're still a very direct side: we've had 14 moves of 10+ passes this season - 10 fewer than the next team in the league. Scroll down to TEAM SEQUENCE STYLES here: https://theanalyst.com/eu/2022/08/league-one-stats-2022-23/
We have mixed in the odd bit of possession play (although I think the tentative passing out from the back we saw v Cambridge was more to get around Max's erratic kicking), but we're still pretty much the same team stylistically.
We were also weaker in second halves last season, I think - I am pretty sure there was a disparity again, though perhaps not quite as big. Maybe 3-5th in first halves but something like 10th-11th in second halves? I am just guessing from memory.