'It's an absolute disgrace'

[Camden Blade]

CW on fans' criticism of the players on Saturday. I wasn't there. Fair or OTT from CW?

I find social media criticism doesn't always transfer to real life in the stands on match day. One thing for sure is a rift between players and fans is the last thing we need at a critical point in the season.

 

[Selly]

Criticism of Saturdays result/performance - completely acceptable

The suggestion in some corners that our season is now over when we are sat in 2nd with 6 games left is completely over the top - I beleive it is this that CW was calling out - and he isn`t wrong.

 

[Edgar Allan Poo]

CW on fans' criticism of the players on Saturday. I wasn't there. Fair or OTT from CW?

I always find social media criticism doesn't always transfer to real life in the stands on match day. One thing for sure is a rift between players and fans is the last thing we need at a critical point in the season.

I was there and didn't see anyone have a go at Chris or the players and the majority of the travelling support stayed behind and applauded them.

The only agro I saw was Blades fans losing tempers with other Blades fans. Not idea what it was all about.

 

[Whiston Blade]

Is this CW’s “spend Saturday’s at Meadowhall”?

 

[Carlton Blade]

He's waaaaay too sensitive to what supporters say and do

 

[Moan? Nope-I saw Longhorn]

Absolutely spot on & Im no Wilder apologist/ ‘happy clapper’
Reality is the performance was no better nor worse than many (most) other games this season.
The difference was / is we lost, exacerbated by (entitled) expectation that we would be 4 points ahead of the Dirties (& top of the league)

Behave like a twat & expect to be treated like a twat

 

[Carlton Blade]

Absolutely spot on & Im no Wilder apologist/ ‘happy clapper’
Reality is the performance was no better nor worse than many (most) other games this season.
The difference was / is we lost, exacerbated by (entitled) expectation that we would be 4 points ahead of the Dirties (& top of the league)

Behave like a twat & expect to be treated like a twat

I must have missed the bit where people have to follow a strict form of etiquette post game. Pay your ticket money, say mwhat you like (within the boundaries of the law) Treat "punters" like twats, don't be surprised if you eventually lose their loyalty.

 

[McGrath]

CW on fans' criticism of the players on Saturday. I wasn't there. Fair or OTT from CW?

I find social media criticism doesn't always transfer to real life in the stands on match day. One thing for sure is a rift between players and fans is the last thing we need at a critical point in the season.

He's spot on.

We lose one game and some idiots get all abusive. They seriously should have a look at themselves and ask themselves if they have the mental fortitude to be a Sheffield United fan, or indeed a sport fan at all.

 

[Frank the tank]

Real shame that the players and coaching staff have to. Use our own fans dour miserable entitled babyness as motivation

 

[reedy63]

Wilder is correct, look at the league table and get behind the players as proper Blades fans do, or don't go at all if you can't or don't want to back the Players.

 

[Pedro Verde]

I saw Peck at FT questioning something as if to say WTF no idea what it was but presume it was someone having a go at the players

 

[Badger Blade]

It was a disappointing performance and a missed opportunity on Saturday but as it stands, we're still going up. The sort of wake up call that they seem to have every 8 games or so then kick back into gear again so hopefully that'll fire things up for the last few games.

Burnley is crucial but between now and then, we need to make sure that there's still plenty riding on it.

 

[FriethBlade]

Wilder and the players should try and remember that 98% of the fans are ecstatic at the position we are in. Ignore the other 2% and crack on.

I was sat with the Oxford fans directly opposite our fans and when the players started to walk over to clap our fans i have to admit i was a litte worried as to our 'reaction'. There were still a fair amount of 'us' left and from where i was it looked like everyone was clapping back, however i guess somebody must have said something.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Criticism of Saturdays result/performance - completely acceptable

The suggestion in some corners that our season is now over when we are sat in 2nd with 6 games left is completely over the top - I beleive it is this that CW was calling out - and he isn`t wrong.

1st half yes we started in 1st gear yet again and altho Cooper had very little to do
Just based on effort and tempo they deserved to be leading at half time.

……2nd half we played quite well in the circumstances and totally dominated the game.
With Oxford being 1-0 up they sat back and parked the bus….always tricky when a team puts everyone in defense.
Lots of goalmouth scrambles but it always seem to fall to their player…not ours.

Ended up being a tough game…..we dust ourselves down and move on to the next game.
Let’s not forget we’d just had 6 consecutive away ends….which is brilliant.

 

[Camden Blade]

In my opinion social media magnifies criticism. Thousands of fans are not on social media. There will always be criticism and sometimes it's warranted, sometimes not. I think it's negative to focus on it. The majority of fans are supportive and always have been. I don't know why it's blown up now as an issue. But obviously CW is annoyed. Maybe he perceives a lack of support or passion. But that's the modern game. Or the modern world. High expectations, short-term memories, demands for instant gratification.

 

[Shadota]

It's bizarre to think, but it really does feel like some portions of the fanbase have become spoiled by the relative success of recent seasons.

From a personal perspective, I had seen us get promoted just once before Wilder arrived. Too young to know the joys of 1990, didn't attend a match until we were out of the Premiership. So for me, the majority of my time going to BDTBL has been disappointment. Lost play-off finals and semis, lost FA Cup/League Cup semis, and relegations. Just the one season under Warnock in ~20 years of attending games before 2016, where we actually won something. In contrast, 3 promotions in less than a decade, one of which we cruised to 100 points in League One. Multiple seasons in the Premier League (even if 2 of them were crap). It's such a different scenario to what I had become accustomed to.

The comparative deluge of good times we've had of late, especially at Championship level, make it so that when things do go wrong (even if only for 90 minutes), to some it feels like a complete disaster.

Unfortunately, I don't think there's a clear method to correct this manner of thinking, short of us going back to being mediocre again, and being stuck a league below the cloggers at S6 once more. Just have to remind people that, as far as Sheffield United is concerned, this is the best period we've had in living memory. So if we happen to hit a bump along the way, it doesn't need absurd reactive actions to put us back on course.

One defeat does not mean we should sack the manager.
One poor performance does not mean we should change the entire starting XI.
One bad day at the office does not mean our promotion chase is dead in the water (we're still second ffs).

 

[Broomhall Blade]

Like others have said we are still 2nd but we could have been top and in a far better position than we are now.

I think Wilder needs to look closer to home after Saturdays performance rather than having a go at fans.

 

[georgebernardshaw]

He's waaaaay too sensitive to what supporters say and do

Possibly because he’s always been one himself. He’s probably as sick of it as most of us are.

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

I must have missed the bit where people have to follow a strict form of etiquette post game. Pay your ticket money, say mwhat you like (within the boundaries of the law) Treat "punters" like twats, don't be surprised if you eventually lose their loyalty.

Fans being allowed to say what they like, but then being protected from any criticism coming back their way has always been nonsense.
Regardless of whether CW should let it wash over him or not, if he wanted to comment on it then the fans are fair game, just as he is for his comments.

 

[1987]

Long overdue IMO. Sections of this fanbase have had it coming almost all season

 

[Norwood's 6 iron]

I must have missed the bit where people have to follow a strict form of etiquette post game. Pay your ticket money, say mwhat you like (within the boundaries of the law) Treat "punters" like twats, don't be surprised if you eventually lose their loyalty.

You only need to read some of the comments on here and on Facebook to understand what they are referring to.
Some fans, and I use that term very loosely, actually want United to fail to win promotion just so that they can say "I told you so". The Wilder haters would prefer the club to fail so that we got a new manager in.
It's boring and predictable the stuff they come out with everytime we fail to win a game. It's the same shit everytime and at a time when fan support is vital I think he is entitled to say what he did.

 

[Tezza1889]

Campbell should have scored, keeper made a top draw save, they nick a goal and do a Sheff Utd on us...

Im not happy with the style of play but it gets results clearly "most of" the time..

 

[Grey Blade]

Like others have said we are still 2nd but we could have been top and in a far better position than we are now.

I think Wilder needs to look closer to home after Saturdays performance rather than having a go at fans.

I think CW has the right to feel disappointed in some of the fan reaction but he should have kept it to himself.

I was disappointed by the result but as has been said on here, we've played like that and won but few fans moaned when we won even though the performance left a lot to be desired.

It would be nice if people could take a balanced view of a win and likewise a balanced view of a defeat. Too much knee jerking in my opinion.

 

[Moan? Nope-I saw Longhorn]

I must have missed the bit where people have to follow a strict form of etiquette post game. Pay your ticket money, say mwhat you like (within the boundaries of the law) Treat "punters" like twats, don't be surprised if you eventually lose their loyalty.

Aye
Apart from:-
If someone abuses you(r staff) at work ((& they are in a no position where they can realistically respond / reciprocate) I would welcome (if not expect) my gaffer standing up for me.

Where have the punters been “treat(ed) like twats” this season ?

If you’re going to utilise the (fallacious) “boundaries of the law” argument the ‘logical’ outcome would be charging some of the folk on Saturday with Public Order Offences.
The nature & extent of the bile vitriol & abuse hurled by some on Saturday is something no-one should be expected to tolerate in any circumstance.

Somewhat tangentially I’m yet to witness a circumstance where the calling of someone a useless idle cunt enhances subsequent performance

 

[Carlton Blade]

Fans being allowed to say what they like, but then being protected from any criticism coming back their way has always been nonsense.
Regardless of whether CW should let it wash over him or not, if he wanted to comment on it then the fans are fair game, just as he is for his comments.

Who's protecting anyone?

 

[Carlton Blade]

You only need to read some of the comments on here and on Facebook to understand what they are referring to.
Some fans, and I use that term very loosely, actually want United to fail to win promotion just so that they can say "I told you so". The Wilder haters would prefer the club to fail so that we got a new manager in.
It's boring and predictable the stuff they come out with everytime we fail to win a game. It's the same shit everytime and at a time when fan support is vital I think he is entitled to say what he did.

He can say whatever he wants, as can the supporters.

 

[Slim Man]

A very very disappointing performance, disappointing in just about every aspect. The players didn't seem to want to win that game, or thought they only needed to turn up.

I think letting them know we don't appreciate that is fair. Very fair indeed. The rest of the season doesn't mean performances like that are acceptable when we're gunning for promotion at the business end of the season. You can't dial it in.

Calling them wankers or telling them to fuck off is well out of order and totally warrants being called out.

Why's everything got to be so black and white these days? Where's the grey area?

 

[Wybourn Blade]

Aye
Apart from:-
If someone abuses you(r staff) at work ((& they are in a no position where they can realistically respond / reciprocate) I would welcome (if not expect) my gaffer standing up for me.

Where have the punters been “treat(ed) like twats” this season ?

If you’re going to utilise the (fallacious) “boundaries of the law” argument the ‘logical’ outcome would be charging some of the folk on Saturday with Public Order Offences.
The nature & extent of the bile vitriol & abuse hurled by some on Saturday is something no-one should be expected to tolerate in any circumstance.

Somewhat tangentially I’m yet to witness a circumstance where the calling of someone a useless idle cunt enhances subsequent performance

This is exactly the problem and sums up the entire issue. It’s a minority of fans let’s get it straight but I’ve been put off by away days as the entitlement rears its ugly head over the years due to excessive amounts of drugs and alcohol. But then it’s a societal issue that more so than anything specific to our club.

 

[McGrath]

These Muppets who abuse the players at the stadium and petulantly throw their toys out of the pram online should be banished to the perpetual footballing hellscape of once again watching us be rubbish in League One every season.

 

[Slim Man]

Absolutely spot on & Im no Wilder apologist/ ‘happy clapper’
Reality is the performance was no better nor worse than many (most) other games this season.
The difference was / is we lost, exacerbated by (entitled) expectation that we would be 4 points ahead of the Dirties (& top of the league)

Behave like a twat & expect to be treated like a twat

As I've said before, if it's entitled to be disappointing to lose against Oxford... then lock me up and throw away the key because I'm the most entitled of the lot. Crazy thought process.