The end is nigh.

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The booing at the Wigan first half performance was simply a gut reaction to a dire 45 minutes of football, a less than fantastic end to the previous system, and possibly a poor team selection by O'Neill.

Rightly or wrongly, that's what it was.  Supporters don't sit there working out the home stats for the last 10 years.  They react to what they see on the pitch.  We don't get chants like "John Carew, Carew, at 6'4" he's taller than the mean height for UK adult males of 5'10", whch probably includes me and you."

 It certainly includes Maz!

[Legion]

The booing at the Wigan first half performance was simply a gut reaction to a dire 45 minutes of football, a less than fantastic end to the previous system, and possibly a poor team selection by O'Neill.

Rightly or wrongly, that's what it was.  Supporters don't sit there working out the home stats for the last 10 years.  They react to what they see on the pitch.  We don't get chants like "John Carew, Carew, at 6'4" he's taller than the mean height for UK adult males of 5'10", whch probably includes me and you."

Is the right answer.

[Mazrim]

I am: "the mean height for UK adult males of 5'10" and yes, John Carew is taller than me.

I am however, probably bigger than he is.

[Villa'Zawg]

It clearly wasn’t simply a reaction to the first half performance, which was poor, but at 0-1 down not disastrous. It wasn’t the previous season as a whole and it wasn’t our home form, which was just as good or as bad as many other seasons. Booing the team off when a single goal down at half time in the first game of the season is a very strange thing to have happened. Something else was at play.

Witchcraft?

Seriously, though, what was at play?

I'm not sure. I just know it wasn't an ordinary reaction.

I have a theory that it is related to people reading the constant stream of unwarranted negative comments on websites like this one but its just that, a theory. There is no shortage of things that have changed because of the internet and the willingness of supporters to boo their team at HT in the first game of the season might be one of those changes.

[pauliewalnuts]

It clearly wasn’t simply a reaction to the first half performance, which was poor, but at 0-1 down not disastrous. It wasn’t the previous season as a whole and it wasn’t our home form, which was just as good or as bad as many other seasons. Booing the team off when a single goal down at half time in the first game of the season is a very strange thing to have happened. Something else was at play.

Witchcraft?

Seriously, though, what was at play?

I'm not sure. I just know it wasn't an ordinary reaction.

I have a theory that it is related to people reading the constant stream of unwarranted negative comments on websites like this one but its just that, a theory. There is no shortage of things that have changed because of the internet and the willingness of supporters to boo their team at HT in the first game of the season might be one of those changes.

Really? I think you're falling into the trap of assuming websites like this have a much bigger role than they do.

I certainly know that the people around where I sit have no idea of the existence of this website let alone take their lead from it.

There are probably a hardcore of about 50-100 people who post regularly on this web site.

There are usually that many people in front of me in the queue when I go for my twice-a-season pint at half time in the Upper Trinity.

[Villa'Zawg]

It clearly wasn’t simply a reaction to the first half performance, which was poor, but at 0-1 down not disastrous. It wasn’t the previous season as a whole and it wasn’t our home form, which was just as good or as bad as many other seasons. Booing the team off when a single goal down at half time in the first game of the season is a very strange thing to have happened. Something else was at play.

Witchcraft?

Seriously, though, what was at play?

I'm not sure. I just know it wasn't an ordinary reaction.

I have a theory that it is related to people reading the constant stream of unwarranted negative comments on websites like this one but its just that, a theory. There is no shortage of things that have changed because of the internet and the willingness of supporters to boo their team at HT in the first game of the season might be one of those changes.

Really? I think you're falling into the trap of assuming websites like this have a much bigger role than they do.

I certainly know that the people around where I sit have no idea of the existence of this website let alone take their lead from it.

There are probably a hardcore of about 50-100 people who post regularly on this web site.

There are usually that many people in front of me in the queue when I go for my twice-a-season pint at half time in the Upper Trinity.

I doubt it is the prolific posters who are influenced, we tend to be people who hold firm opinions about this kind of stuff. How many people read these websites and are perhaps influenced by what they read? I doubt it would have been as many as 10% of the supporters booing that day. It seems feasible that some of them may have been influenced by what they read on forum websites.

[dave.woodhall]

It clearly wasn’t simply a reaction to the first half performance, which was poor, but at 0-1 down not disastrous. It wasn’t the previous season as a whole and it wasn’t our home form, which was just as good or as bad as many other seasons. Booing the team off when a single goal down at half time in the first game of the season is a very strange thing to have happened. Something else was at play.

Witchcraft?

Seriously, though, what was at play?

I'm not sure. I just know it wasn't an ordinary reaction.

I have a theory that it is related to people reading the constant stream of unwarranted negative comments on websites like this one but its just that, a theory. There is no shortage of things that have changed because of the internet and the willingness of supporters to boo their team at HT in the first game of the season might be one of those changes.

Really? I think you're falling into the trap of assuming websites like this have a much bigger role than they do.

I certainly know that the people around where I sit have no idea of the existence of this website let alone take their lead from it.

There are probably a hardcore of about 50-100 people who post regularly on this web site.

There are usually that many people in front of me in the queue when I go for my twice-a-season pint at half time in the Upper Trinity.

I doubt it is the prolific posters who are influenced, we tend to be people who hold firm opinions about this kind of stuff. How many people read these websites and are perhaps influenced by what they read? I doubt it would have been as many as 10% of the supporters booing that day. It seems feasible that some of them may have been influenced by what they read on forum websites.

You don't seem to have much of an opinion of your fellow supporters if you think they can be influenced by a handful of comments on the internet.

[pauliewalnuts]

We'll never know one way or the other for sure but i find the idea the booers were driven to any large degree by reading things on places like this highly unlikely. Don't you usually refer to the miserablists as a noisy minority? That's some noise.

Did you see my post at the bottom of the last page, btw?

[Villa'Zawg]

...

You don't seem to have much of an opinion of your fellow supporters if you think they can be influenced by a handful of comments on the internet.

If it were only a handful of comments I don't think it would have an effect.

I have a very high opinion of my fellow supporters thanks but I'm also sure some of them see fanzine websites as useful and authoritative sources of information about the club. As Risso says, most of them won't be spending time working out our home stats for the last ten years (nor me, I just use statto.com), they'll read opinions and sometimes form their own opinions on the basis of what they read.

[Villa'Zawg]

We took 30 points and only once in the last 13 seasons have we accumulated more than 33 points and that was in the GTII season.

Having checked, that is truly excellent spin, VD.

What does 33 points have to do with it?

We took 30 points. Not 33.

The booing against Wigan was the first game of the 2009/10 season, and followed the 2008/9 season.

2008/9 - 30 points

As reference, by comparison

2007/8 - 33 points
2006/7 - 29 points
2005/6 - 24 points
2004/5 - 30 points
2003/4 - 33 points
2002/3 - 35 points - for a team which finished 16th.
2001/2 - 31 points
2000/1 - 32 points
1999/0 - 32 points
1998/9 - 33 points

So, actually, we'd only score fewer points twice in the preceeding ten years. We also didn't have a billionaire benefactor pumping in money for most of those years, either.

In 8 of those years we have accumulated between 29-33 points and that makes getting 30 points ordinary, which is what I said it was. I also pointed out that the 35 points was the GTII season so I'm not sure what spin has to do with it. Don't those stats show you that we didn't have an unusually terrible home season?

[VillaZogmariner]

Over that period our average points total at home is 31.1 points (Obviously 05/06 dragged it down somewhat).

So you could say that 08/09 was a below average season (up to that point our average was 31.2 points)

Last season we scored 32 points at home, so was above average.

However, what these stats don't tell you is how we actually performed. Yes, we earned more points than the previous couple of seasons, but the standard of football on offer has, in my opinion, deteriorated.

[BannedUserIAT]

I am: "the mean height for UK adult males of 5'10" and yes, John Carew is taller than me.

You're very quick to defend your vertical aspirations, Maz but I'd like some proof. A photo of you next to, say, a pencil or a grasshoppers knee.

[Lizz]

Really? I think you're falling into the trap of assuming websites like this have a much bigger role than they do.

I certainly know that the people around where I sit have no idea of the existence of this website let alone take their lead from it.

I think it's a common misconception among some people who use the internet regularly that everybody else does too.

[Arsey]

what is going on???

(by the way - check out the date of the post)

[brian green]

You omit the rationale that many fans like to boo.   I know I do.   In 1950 we booed Amos Moss so much that the manager took him off and preferred to play with ten men.

Then again I am a pretty faint hearted fair weather fan.   I am also nasty by nature.   For instance I have not forgiven Mark Halsey for the Henry free kick despite his brave recovery from cancer.  

Besides booing is very good for the cardiovascular system and probably strengthens my aforementioned faint heart.