Entitled much? A devils advocate's view

The age of social media and instant gratification has changed not only how we digest news but also helped shape a different relationships between football fans and their clubs . Anyone, should they wish to, has a public voice which and a means by which to be heard (read) – forums, message boards, blogs, podcasts, twitter and Facebook. "What do you think? Tell us!". I know what you are thinking, as someone who is very visible on these platforms should you really be going down this path? But stick with me....

Old media is playing catch up, the consumers of media now create content. Phone-ins no longer need 90 minutes of callers when they can read out emails and tweets. The emails and tweets become a generator of calls and tweets and emails. Local newspapers can write articles that comprise a couple of lines of often mis-spelt text and a page of tweets. Our thoughts, hopes and dreams, hates and loves shared even wider, to be rated or slated. Agendas, stubborness and subconscious bias play a huge part in any post match mortem being carried out nowadays. Is our quest to be proven right affecting our ability to objectively discuss certain individuals? Or is it now being in an age of being consumers rather than fans that is impacting on our ability to develop relationships that help forge more trust and loyalty (sometimes blind) in players and more importantly managers and boards. It's fair to say that I have had moments of performing so many turns on an individual that I need to screw my socks on in the morning.

As society is changing, so is football. An ever expensive business with higher stakes that means clubs increasingly have customers rather than fans. Whether we like it or not there is an increasing number of football fans who are as much consumers and customers as supporters and fans. Take Dundee United for example who have in recent months been very comfortable with blackmailing fans with threats of player budgets being slashed if fans redeemed discount vouchers that had been provided as a season ticket snafu. With ticket prices reaching, what for many people are, unsustainable levels and in some cases way and above those being charged in more elite leagues, an increasing number of people attend expecting some semblance of value for money. Nowadays when managers are released, style of play appears just as often on the charge list amongst fans as results do.

A sense of fan entitlement is rising in football as is the backlash against it and whilst many campaigns are worthy of wider support – Twenty’s Plenty and challenging the disregard to supporters with TV match scheduling as examples – there is a tough balancing act for fans to strike in terms of ambition and realism. I think about my own micro analysis and wonder if monthly instead of weekly debriefs and reactions would provide a more rounded analysis of the clubs form or an individuals progression or regression or is it a case that we are all providing a service for one another in terms of plugging the gaps that can be created by silence from the many boardrooms across the country.

Sadly we are not immune to this at Tynecastle. We all want success, we all yearn for cup runs, cup finals, European adventures, but there is an issue. As fans we are sitting back waiting to be entertained - like the emperors in the Coliseum. The question is, given the expense of match day football along with the other outgoings associated with fan ownership and helping keep the club on an even keel during Covid when there was an uncontrollable imbalance between what fans gave and received, are we right to wait for the team to help provide a positive atmosphere or do we need to be more proactive in setting the tone in particular during home matches.

There has been much comment passed on social media and in a recent post match interview with Brendan Rogers regarding the Tynecastle atmosphere. The fact is we are quiet but is that a new thing or do we view the old days with rose tinted specs?. Many of us are sat waiting for it to happen, with impatient expectation. And when the goal doesn't come, or a mistake is made, you hear the muttering and the groans. The second, third, fourth mistakes greeted with ever louder groans. Please don't interpret this as criticism. We have given so much to this club in terms of time and money that I can understand the frustration. I just wonder if a change in tact would possible yield a different result? It should also be noted that we have not hit rock bottom in terms of atmosphere quite yet which would see anger being replaced by apathy.

This entitlement and backlash then transfers from the stands over to social media. There is a tendency in some tweets I have seen to focus on many surface level or selective stats such as being fourth prior to this weekend or failing to recognise a run of one defeat in 5 prior to the old Firm double header. Panic stations and doubling down seem to prevail at the expense of seeing the alternative view to yours.

All sense of perspective is lost. The need to comment in the immediacy of the final whistle, leaves little time for rationalisation. Comments that were previously kept within the privacy of friends and family are now out on public display. Maybe there needs to be law banning any reactions by 24 hours. I know this would help me and I think it would benefit many managers as well.There appears to be a reluctance to pause and think before hitting ‘send’ or ‘tweet’, a pause that might have more value than the words that have been typed.

Wednesday night is going to be pivotal in terms of whether it will offer comfort that we can turn our domestic fortunes around or if it results in us being cut further adrift from the European places. Whether I or anyone else feels justified in our concerns, I think we can all agree that it can be shelved for 90 minutes.