Boooooooo! The football fan's dissent

After another Sunday of football, a Super Sunday if you believe Sky, those who make a living and a hobby of being on Twitter talk about issues off the pitch rather than what happened (or not) on the pitch. Arsenal visited Stoke City, and the usual pre-match debated raged about the clash of styles, and remembering some of the battles of recent seasons.

The most infamous was in 2010 where Ryan Shawcross broke the leg of Aaron Ramsey in a brutal challenge, and many of the other matches between the two clubs have seen several questionable fouls. Ramsey eventually returned to the first team, and every match between the two clubs sees the predictable booing by the Stoke fans, directed at Ramsey. Now without showing the photo of the incident, it's fairly safe to say that Ramsey could never be accused of making a meal of the injury, and it could be argued that he hasn't quite reached the same levels since.

 Finally, the caveman is captured on film

Similarly, Sunday's match between the two sides has ended up in the same fashion. Ramsey came on as a second half substitute, while the Stoke fans have reverted to type.

But it's part of a more recently talked about subject, that of the conduct of fans on the terraces. Would Tony Pulis not prefer his team's fans to cheer for his team, to encourage, rather than focus their attention against a player whose career almost ended because of a challenge from his captain? He may well not be that sort of player, but it's becoming an annual tradition.

Another fan habit in the firing line is booing your own team. Of course it's not a new thing, but the Twitterati and bloggers generally disagree with the well-worn concept of 'you pay your money, you can do what you want'. But as above, would it not be more productive to support the team through bad spells? There are plenty of ways to vent anger, be it not buying club merchandise or protests outside the ground. Or wearing Kean Out earrings like a previous blog...

Blackburn fans weren't happy with Venky's

But there are other reasons to boo - the former player returning is a favourite, as it the star player of an opponent, or it may even be an attempt to placate someone (Springfield residents saying Booo-urns to Monty Burns). But be careful, you may end up booing your future darling...

Chelsea fans try to seduce Fernando Torres

PS This blog wasn't intended as a huge dig at Stoke... Maybe I should have concentrated on the blog rather than digging at someone else?