Source: FOOTYMAD
Are the fans fickle?
Results inevitably change the mood After suffering three bad defeats in succession sections of Sheffield Wednesday supporters are starting to fear the worst and casting an eye over prospective trips to League One grounds next season. Only a few weeks ago new manager Alan Irvine had masterminded a return of 15 points from a possible 21 and the more optimistic (some might say delusional) were talking of a late play-off push. So are the fans of the club fickle? I would argue against this for the majority. A few perhaps will turn their back on the club after a run of bad results and won’t make the trip again this season and yes those could be described as fickle but in most cases those that go to Hillsborough week in week out will be there for the next game and those that regularly attend away games will be making plans for their next trip. However there will be plenty that go to the forthcoming games with a feeling of pessimism about the 90 minutes ahead, this is not them being fickle but more of a natural reaction considering what has gone before it. Having viewed a number of forums in the past couple of weeks I am astonished by the number of posts slating people for feeling disappointed by what the team has given them in the past few games, after all it has not just been the results that have been poor, the manner of the performances by the vast majority has left a lot to be desired. Most loyal fans myself included give their team blind faith in that regardless of the last result they will applaud the team out for the next fixture and give them encouragement from minute one. This will be the case when the Owls walk out against Leicester on Saturday and rightly so but to expect people not to voice legitimate concerns in the meantime and have a go at them for doing so almost beggars belief. Supporters that were happy after the first few games under the new manager cannot be criticised now for feeling despondent about what lies ahead, the facts are there for all to see. Yes it is true that relegation seemed odds against following the back to back away wins against Barnsley and Blackpool and the home wins against Peterborough and Plymouth but recent results have put these games into perspective. Clubs that change manager during the season usually do so as a consequence of a prolonged poor run of results. More often than not, for whatever reason be it a fresh face, a fresh approach or a combination of factors this gives a team a lift commonly known as a honeymoon period. This was no different for the Owls but the honeymoon period has most definitely come to an end and the squad need to pick themselves up again for the remainder of the season. Alan Irvine has been in charge now for ten games in which Wednesday have accumulated 15 points. For this he deserves credit given that in the 23 matches prior to his appointment the Owls had only amassed 19 points and if his points return as things stand was averaged out throughout the course of a full season then the club would sit comfortably in the top half of the table. However, the fact remains that with three quarters of the season played Sheffield Wednesday sit in the bottom three in the division and have floated in and around the relegation zone for most of the campaign. Having finished 12th last season and apparently strengthened the squad with an improved budget in the summer it is fair to state that more was expected of the team than has been produced this time around. The Owls now have thirteen games left and the general consensus is that six wins are needed to have a good chance of Championship safety. Of the thirteen teams that Wednesday have left to play they have beaten only two of them in the reverse fixtures this season and have lost to nine of them. Having conceded eight and scored none in their last three matches the next three see Wednesday face sides that are all in the top six in the division. The team will no doubt get the backing of the crowd come kick-off time in the remaining but for supporters to pass negative comment in discussions between games, be it with the family, in the pub, on a phone in or a football forum is not fickle, it’s just realistic and understandable.
