Make Players Feel At Home

[MayoDomo]

I'm going to start this post with a memory from back when I lived in London.

I saw in the Hammy end, about halfway up on the right side if facing the field. (I forget what block this was.) John Pantsil was the right back for much of the two seasons I had season tickets. He would do this thing, as I'm sure some of you remember, and stick both his arms up perpendicular to his body before each match. After quite a few matches of him doing this, a smart bloke a couple of rows in front of me decided to do it with him, and slowly but surely, my entire section did as well. I'm not sure John ever saw us, but if he had ever looked behind him, he would have felt a huge sense of community, a huge overwhelming feeling, that this was his home.

The reason I bring this up, is because, that sort of feeling only helps the players perform. Hugo is a perfect example, with his success we have shown him more love, and with our love he has shown more success. They build off each other. What I'm not suggesting is unconditional love, but instead to make those having a rough time, such as Ruiz, or our back line feel a little better about themselves. Nobody enjoys being slated for what they do for a living, and with appropriate praise, people try harder at their jobs. And while it's not our obligation to help our team perform better, and while they are professionals, everyone is only human, and we can do our share to help.

So maybe for every time we make a thread slandering a player, we can sing their name when they do something good in the next match. Positive energy feeds off positive energy, so lets take a stand, and be the first to be truly positive.