There are really few words to describe what took place on 70 minutes at Anfield on Tuesday than the title of this posting. The words 'small-time', 'despicable' and 'pathetic' are the other words that can be used to label the booing of Lucas Leiva as he took to the field as a second half substitute.
Chris Norman, one of my colleagues at FootballFanCast, wrote an excellent article about why Chelsea need to nurture the atmosphere supporters like him try to create instead of stifling it for the benefit of the Marmadukes and Arabellas that have pranced their way through the doors at Stamford Bridge. It seems that this problem is starting to rear its ugly head at Anfield now.
Emmanuel Eboue was booed vociferously by Arsenal supporters in a game against Wigan Athletic at the Emirates Stadium in December. Three months on and Lucas Leiva has fallen victim of the boo boys. Thankfully it was not as vocal as the barracking that Eboue received but it signalled a new low for the support of Liverpool Football Club. Constantly-changing views on what should or shouldn't be boycotted pale insignificantly to what could be heard at Anfield on Tuesday night.
Admittedly Lucas is not the most popular person at the club this season but no player deserves to be booed, regardless of the standard of their performance. Give opposition players the same treatment by all means but not a player who represents your club. The 22-year-old Brazilan's crime that warranted the pitchside boos was simply replacing David N'gog. Claims have also surfaced that Ryan Babel was verbally abused as he warmed up on the touchline before his introduction to the game.
Booing is nothing new at Anfield. I remember games during the times of Roy Evans where the team were booed off at the final whistle. They made the ones that greeted the end of the West Ham and Fulham games this season seem very muted. However those boos were borne out of frustration and downright hatred of the way the club had fallen from grace post-Dalglish. Whilst some performances this season have been highly reminiscent of those dark days when achievements were few and far between, it appears that the boo boys really are booing for the sake of booing. The "I'm entitled to boo because I've paid my money" argument carries little weight at Anfield amongst those supporters who remember embarrassing defeats to relegation dead certs such as Barnsley and Watford.
It is worth mentioning that the club signed a sponsorship deal with the Bank of America this week which entitles the financial giant to corporate tickets for games. What effect this will have on the volume of boos remains to be seen but if what happened on Tuesday night is a sign of things to come then I fear for the future of Anfield's Twelfth Man.
Chris Norman, one of my colleagues at FootballFanCast, wrote an excellent article about why Chelsea need to nurture the atmosphere supporters like him try to create instead of stifling it for the benefit of the Marmadukes and Arabellas that have pranced their way through the doors at Stamford Bridge. It seems that this problem is starting to rear its ugly head at Anfield now.
Emmanuel Eboue was booed vociferously by Arsenal supporters in a game against Wigan Athletic at the Emirates Stadium in December. Three months on and Lucas Leiva has fallen victim of the boo boys. Thankfully it was not as vocal as the barracking that Eboue received but it signalled a new low for the support of Liverpool Football Club. Constantly-changing views on what should or shouldn't be boycotted pale insignificantly to what could be heard at Anfield on Tuesday night.
Admittedly Lucas is not the most popular person at the club this season but no player deserves to be booed, regardless of the standard of their performance. Give opposition players the same treatment by all means but not a player who represents your club. The 22-year-old Brazilan's crime that warranted the pitchside boos was simply replacing David N'gog. Claims have also surfaced that Ryan Babel was verbally abused as he warmed up on the touchline before his introduction to the game.
Booing is nothing new at Anfield. I remember games during the times of Roy Evans where the team were booed off at the final whistle. They made the ones that greeted the end of the West Ham and Fulham games this season seem very muted. However those boos were borne out of frustration and downright hatred of the way the club had fallen from grace post-Dalglish. Whilst some performances this season have been highly reminiscent of those dark days when achievements were few and far between, it appears that the boo boys really are booing for the sake of booing. The "I'm entitled to boo because I've paid my money" argument carries little weight at Anfield amongst those supporters who remember embarrassing defeats to relegation dead certs such as Barnsley and Watford.
It is worth mentioning that the club signed a sponsorship deal with the Bank of America this week which entitles the financial giant to corporate tickets for games. What effect this will have on the volume of boos remains to be seen but if what happened on Tuesday night is a sign of things to come then I fear for the future of Anfield's Twelfth Man.
