Ben Foster on Everton fan negativity influencing opposition tactics

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I've been meaning to write about this and I'm glad that Ben Foster provided a segway to it.

I'm from Finland and have been to Goodison five times. First trip was 2009. Then 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018. From my perspective the biggest change happened between 2013 and 2016. 2013 the atmosphere and the support vs. Spurs (3rd November) were top class, but then something happened.

I remember arriving to Goodison for the Swansea game 24.1.2016. Happy as every to see my beloved Everton after many years. Me and my wife took our seats and watched players warming up. I took in the smell of wet grass and the feeling of being at Goodison. Then the Z cars started playing and the crowd erupted to cheers as the players walked on the pitch. As always I was overwhelmed. That is the one thing I can thing of that the overseas fans have over local fans. After years you forget what that entrance is like. And when you experience it again it hits you in a way that is impossible to describe. But then, after 15min everything had changed.

I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing. The place was so toxic. I remember feeling distraught. I could not understand what was happening. I have watched every single Everton game in the last 11 years (Personal bride of mine). And I can tell you that the Goodison atmosphere doesn't transfer through tv. Back then I had no idea what was happening at Goodison. I had no idea that the atmosphere had changed like that.

The point I'm making is that the Ben Foster is 100 percent right. But I'm not in anyway blaming you who fill the stadium every match. I have no doubts that I would react in the same you do. You don't have the luxury to turn off the sound from your tv or just ignore everything Everton related after a defead. In Finland you can do that, in Liverpool and in the UK you can't. It's your local team and its ever present to you.

But I urge You, every single one of you who go to the stadium. Make Goodison the fortress it was. I can say from my heart that you have the power to do it. I know it is always depated does the home crowd have any impact on the match. YOU do, you truly do.

We are Everton. But you are the heart of it.
 
There's nothing new in this. I was a season ticket holder for about 15 years, between 1975 and 1990. I then went to the match periodically. I noticed in the late 90s that supporters were starting to moan more, and it's got progressively worse. The match never used to be the be all and end all. It was pretty cheap to go to football. You met friends, had a chat, if you won great, if you didn't not so great. Then it became as expensive as a theatre ticket or going to a big concert. Then you demanded a great match every time, because that's what you'd paid for. I miss the atmosphere of the old days. I don't miss the violence, or some divvy weeing on your leg in the standing areas, but I do miss the sense that it was your tribe, and you stuck with it whatever happened. Football is business, and will never be what it was. But still, get behind the lads!
 

hallamblue said:
There's nothing new in this. I was a season ticket holder for about 15 years, between 1975 and 1990. I then went to the match periodically. I noticed in the late 90s that supporters were starting to moan more, and it's got progressively worse. The match never used to be the be all and end all. It was pretty cheap to go to football. You met friends, had a chat, if you won great, if you didn't not so great. Then it became as expensive as a theatre ticket or going to a big concert. Then you demanded a great match every time, because that's what you'd paid for. I miss the atmosphere of the old days. I don't miss the violence, or some divvy weeing on your leg in the standing areas, but I do miss the sense that it was your tribe, and you stuck with it whatever happened. Football is business, and will never be what it was. But still, get behind the lads!
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Sorry mate I'll try and get to the toilets next time
 
I keep hearing pundits and ex-footballers talking about how hard it is going to Goodison Park and about the passion of the crowd.

Then I look at the away support Everton gets; full allocation regularly sold out and feedback about the great vocal support.

I assume that almost all of them go to the home games and you'd think the level of vocal support would be the same.

How many people are we talking about here? Up to 7000? Surely with that number in the crowd it wouldn't be that toxic.
 
Myllos said:
I've been meaning to write about this and I'm glad that Ben Foster provided a segway to it.

I'm from Finland and have been to Goodison five times. First trip was 2009. Then 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018. From my perspective the biggest change happened between 2013 and 2016. 2013 the atmosphere and the support vs. Spurs (3rd November) were top class, but then something happened.

I remember arriving to Goodison for the Swansea game 24.1.2016. Happy as every to see my beloved Everton after many years. Me and my wife took our seats and watched players warming up. I took in the smell of wet grass and the feeling of being at Goodison. Then the Z cars started playing and the crowd erupted to cheers as the players walked on the pitch. As always I was overwhelmed. That is the one thing I can thing of that the overseas fans have over local fans. After years you forget what that entrance is like. And when you experience it again it hits you in a way that is impossible to describe. But then, after 15min everything had changed.

I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing. The place was so toxic. I remember feeling distraught. I could not understand what was happening. I have watched every single Everton game in the last 11 years (Personal bride of mine). And I can tell you that the Goodison atmosphere doesn't transfer through tv. Back then I had no idea what was happening at Goodison. I had no idea that the atmosphere had changed like that.

The point I'm making is that the Ben Foster is 100 percent right. But I'm not in anyway blaming you who fill the stadium every match. I have no doubts that I would react in the same you do. You don't have the luxury to turn off the sound from your tv or just ignore everything Everton related after a defead. In Finland you can do that, in Liverpool and in the UK you can't. It's your local team and its ever present to you.

But I urge You, every single one of you who go to the stadium. Make Goodison the fortress it was. I can say from my heart that you have the power to do it. I know it is always depated does the home crowd have any impact on the match. YOU do, you truly do.

We are Everton. But you are the heart of it.
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Never been to Goodison (or Finland), but this really resonates with me, thanks Myllos. I love this club and this community.
 

Jeff Jones said:
I keep hearing pundits and ex-footballers talking about how hard it is going to Goodison Park and about the passion of the crowd.

Then I look at the away support Everton gets; full allocation regularly sold out and feedback about the great vocal support.

I assume that almost all of them go to the home games and you'd think the level of vocal support would be the same.

How many people are we talking about here? Up to 7000? Surely with that number in the crowd it wouldn't be that toxic.
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Ex footballers though, they are talking about what it was like years ago.
Today it's a walk in the park, the only ones under pressure play for Everton now
 
Everyone pays the same to the game. So for me if you want boo then okay If you want to get on players back fine. Needs to be a balance though. The players themselves don’t help themselves at times. For me I find that the crowd only really getting toxic, when the players keep doing the same mistakes time and time again. Like at set piece defending or trying to pass a ball 5 yards and mess it up. Or when you can see players not giving 100%. It’s just the basis that I think get us annoyed. And I believe as top professionals who earn stupid money, these basics should be the bare minimum standard. It wouldn’t be accepted at any other work place so. And on the flip side. when we seen our team put the yards in and so pride and passion. Then the old lady rocks like no other ground.
 
Azza said:
Just proof how weak mentally our players are.


Which is something we all already knew.
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You say that, but how would you react in your job if every time you made a mistake hundreds of people moaned at you ?

“WHAT ARE YOU DOIN PRINTING IN COLOUR NOBHEAD ?”

It’s a weird contradiction in football where players by virtue of being rich and skilled at a sport are expected to just take abuse and get fired up. This despite all of the talk we have in society about mental health, social media etc.

In no other profession would it be seen as acceptable or conducive to a good workplace to hurl abuse at people.

Players are just normal people at the end of the day.
 
Lanolin said:
What he's saying is definitely true, but i'm not sure of the relevance of it. I've been to most PL grounds and the crowd reacts the same pretty much everywhere. The key differences here are probably 1. We have bigger attendances/are closer to the pitch than a lot of clubs and so it's more noticeable, and 2. We're often not very good, so the frustration doesn't get lifted like it does at some of the better teams. Our reaction isn't unique but maybe our circumstances are.

As an aside, I can't help thinking that if all the people on my twitter timeline and on here who keep saying 'we need to get behind them and make Goodison a bearpit every game' actually did it, they would have nothing to worry about. Either they don't go, in which case they've got a cheek complaining about the people who do, or they do go and just don't actually do anything to change the atmosphere in the ground, in which case they're every bit as much to blame as the people they're moaning about.
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Last paragraph nails it.
 
If we get beat it wouldn't be too hard to take, if we put a shift in and went down fighting.We go down with a whimper and that is very hard to take. So Koff Everton is right.
 

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