Avoiding the Drop

One of the first pieces I wrote for this here blog was a reaction to the booing of Gabriel Agbonlahor at Villa Park. Agbonlahor, after starting the season well, had tapered off, failing to score for a stretch that he only recently put behind him; after being subbed off against Tottenham, the fans at Villa Park booed him.

The reaction was understandable; the 2-1 loss put Villa’s shot at the Champions League in very real danger. In hindsight, the problem was probably more due to a change in formation than the sudden loss of all of Agbonlahor’s footballing prowess, but fans are fans and they responded as is their wont. Martin O’Neill was understandably perturbed at the treatment of his striker, but fans have short memories; they only see what happened that day, and what happened that day was them losing their hopes for a European spot.

Now, six months later, we’re watching as pretty much the exact opposite situation unfolds at the City of Manchester Stadium. Now, on every club, there are players that the fans never fully embrace; Manchester United fans think Dimitar Berbatov is lazy, Chelsea fans have a love-hate issue with Drogba, and Liverpool fans mostly think that Lucas is just about the worst football player ever to wear the color red for any team in the whole history of the sport. Arsenal fans have that same relationship with Emmanuel Adebayor.

The issue was never his skill; they knew he had that in spades. For whatever reason, he was never really embraced there, and few fans were sorry to see him go to Manchester City. Going into the first match against Arsenal, then, it seemed obvious that he was going to get what they refer to in England as “stick”.

Now, let’s stop here for a moment. The only professional soccer match I’ve ever been to was a friendly between Celtic and Boca Juniors at Cleveland Browns Stadium; this match may have brought out some serious fan craziness somewhere else, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t sell out in Cleveland. I have been to several American football games, however; say what you will about the sport itself, but fan behavior is fan behavior the world around. It’s not better or worse at soccer than it is at football; fans hate being taunted by athletes, especially when they’re losing.

A couple years back, Bengals receiver Chad Johnson was on a tear. He was desperate for attention, and going into Cincinnati’s match against the Browns he said that, when he scored (not if), he was going to jump into the Dawg Pound to celebrate. He did score, and did jump up…only to be pelted by beer cups (no bottles in Cleveland anymore), mostly full. He incited the crowd ahead of time, and then made good on his threat, only to be repaid in the only way fans can really repay him: by throwing shit.

And so we return to England on Saturday. Arsenal fans hate Adebayor, and (apparently) Adebayor is none to fond of them. The first incident, of course, was the van Persie tackle. Let’s all watch it together; make sure it’s fresh in your mind.

Of course, depending on your slant, Adebayor slightly grazes van Persie or tries to cave his skull in with a hammer; what’s clear is that he’s maliciously fouled by van Persie and then, well…retaliates. It’s a pretty clear retaliation, and van Persie certainly has every right to be miffed, even if he did precipitate the incident himself Neither player receives a booking, but if I’m an Arsenal fan – spurred on by Arsene Wenger’s insistence that the refs hate my team and are constantly looking to screw us – I’m going to be angry. Also, Arsenal is losing; that’s not how the script was supposed to go. And you’re in Manchester, a long way from home, being taunted by opposing fans.

And then Adebayor scores. That’s been your solace: he’s a wanker, but he’s not done anything against us. Sure, we’re losing; but it’s not because of him. And then…this.

And so you have a situation where, at the end, everyone is wrong. Adebayor is certainly wrong; as a professional, the danger to both yourself and stadium employees should be very clear. You can’t taunt back; they can heckle you, ridicule your parentage, and generally demean you. There are some limits, but not many. Adebayor might have gotten it bad, but it probably paled in comparison to the rhetoric thrown at David Beckham after his disastrous World Cup in 1998. After that, his wife, children, and ability were all assaulted, much more brutally and routinely than anything Adebayor would’ve received. His response? He kept his head down and helped Manchester United win a treble the next season. Adebayor could stand to learn something there.

See, fan abuse is no justification for acting like a jerk. Sure, a lot of it is over the top; it’s personal, it’s mean, and it’s intended to get under your skin. They’re trying to make you angry, and when you give in, well…it’s not going to make going to the Emirates easier, that’s for sure.

That’s not to say that the blame is totally on Adebayor, though. See, just because a guy is trying to incite fans doesn’t mean that he should automatically be successful. The fans still have a responsibility to not, you know…throw stuff. This isn’t a zoo, guys; just because you feel like throwing something doesn’t mean that you are, in fact, entitled to throw it. As Martin Samuel points out in his excellent piece on the matter from today’s Telegraph: “Buying a ticket…is not a free pass to be vile for two hours and does not afford temporary resignation from the human race.”

Mark Hughes should’ve also acknowledged that both incidents were more than a little immature; in his refusal to pile on top of Adebayor, he’s become the parent who doesn’t discipline his child, giving him a pass on egregious behavior and mixing a chance to fix it; by accepting the excuse that Adebayor was “caught up in the moment”, he’s given him the green light to get caught up in the moment any time he’s being incited to do so. You need your players disciplined, both in game situations and out of them; Adebayor’s only got half of that down.

Then, of course, there’s the media. Check out this video, around the 4:30 mark.

That’s Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor scoring against Birmingham City on Sunday…and promptly taunting the Birmingham fans. Watch it through; see how it all falls apart and devolves? How stewards need to get involved? Fourteen people were arrested at this match; only seven were arrested the day before. Yet Gabriel Agbonlahor – who committed, essentially, the exact same offense as Adebayor – is barely discussed. A Google News search sorted by date for Gabby talks only about his late winner, and not his antics; the same search for Adebayor talks only about his discipline hearings.

Incidentally, if you want an example of how you should play against your former team, look no further than…the City of Manchester Stadium. In the same game, Kolo Toure – also just sold to Man City by Arsenal – was reportedly given a standing ovation by the Arsenal fans. They remember his service to the club and not his whining for a contract, and can support him as a player even if they can’t support his team. That’s the best side of being a fan, and frankly, the whole weekend would be better if everyone had let the situation be after that.