In the first half at Tottenham and after Brentford, the worst of our fanbase decided to soil themselves publicly on social media. Without any regard to the context in which those matches were played, we were treated
to a total meltdown from a group of what I can only describe as “wetwipes”. There were a series of takes that could only be properly categorised as Mag-like.
So, to the context.
We have a pretty impressive squad for a newly promoted side but any team would struggle when Habib Diarra, Noah Sadiki, Reinildo Mandava, Bertrand Traoré, Chemsdine Talbi, and Arthur Masuaku are selected for AFCON. Thankfully it is a situation that we don’t have to worry about again until 2027, and it was a risk that we knew we were taking when they signed – arguably some of them may have gone elsewhere if other clubs had been willing to take the same risk.
We went into this period with a tricky fixture away at Brighton just before Christmas, and eked out a 0-0 draw on the South Coast. There was a brief cameo from Diarra before he joined up with the rest of the AFCON contingent. What should have been a Boxing Day fixture in any other year brought Leeds United to the Stadium of Light on 28th December, with the Yorkshire side beginning to get into their stride. Dan Ballard was an additional absentee through injury as Dominic Calvert-Lewin levelled up Simon Adingra’s opener.
Three days later, 10 of the 11 who started against Leeds lined up against Erling Haaland and Manchester City. Those players absolutely emptied the tank as the Lads blunted Pep Guardiola’s talented side.
Just 63 hours later, the same starting XI took to the field against Spurs. It should have come as no surprise that they started slowly. And then the social media meltdown started. The same players who had carried the team through the start of the AFCON period to seventh in the Premier League were suddenly subjected to a tirade of abuse.
You can argue that Régis Le Bris got the initial set-up wrong. And??????
- He really didn’t have much in the way of options available to him.
- It happens occasionally. If it didn’t, he wouldn’t be managing Sunderland; he’d be in charge at PSG.
But, as he has done so many times, Le Bris changed tactics and personnel, and Brian Brobbey hammered home Enzo Le Fée’s beautifully placed pass. A lot of people very quickly forgot that.
Yet the social media meltdown continued – “I had massive hopes for this season but we’re in danger of throwing the whole fucking lot in the bin” was one of the less rational takes about a newly promoted side still sitting in the top half of the Premier League. I know what my massive hopes were, after two seasons when all three promoted sides were immediately relegated back to the Championship. My request for clarification as to what these other “massive hopes” were went unanswered.
And so it went on – “the worst bench in the Premier League” was one spectacularly dumb post. Six players at AFCON, Wilson Isidor injured, and a supposed fan is surprised we’ve had to draft some Under-21s in to make up the bench?
I won’t even begin to dissect the absolute barrage of idiocy on display during and after the Brentford game. There was always likely to be one game during AFCON where everything caught up with us, and it happened at the Gtech. Even then, Brobbey’s brutal persistence bought us a chance – one that Enzo couldn’t convert. Suffice to say, if you want a player who misses a penalty against a keeper with the best ratio of spot-kick saves this season to be “dropped”, “fined”, “transfer-listed”, “never play again”, or worse, then it’s probably time to stop pretending to be a supporter and spend the rest of your life playing Football Manager.
There is a serious point here. If you don’t think that some of that filters through to the players and affects them, you need your head examining. Just remember every time the likes of Granit Xhaka or Trai Hume talk about how the crowd lifts them, or how they understand how much the club means to this city, then think about the little French lad who has absolutely run his socks off in the last few games only to be told he’s not fit to wear the shirt because he missed a penalty.
There are a bunch of “supporters” who would do very well to go through some of the absolute abuse and hateful dross they have posted and delete it. You’re not some deeply intelligent football genius; the closest you’ll get to professional football is trying to get a selfie with Luke O’Nien if you bump into him in Tesco.
Finally, a special mention for whoever it was that started posting AI images of Granit Xhaka in a Gladiator outfit during the Christmas period. And that special mention is “Just stop”.
It’s proper Mag behaviour, like that AI slop of the late Sir Bobby Robson looking down out of the clouds upon Eddie Howe and Joelinton.
After all the crap we have been through for the last eight years, I’m proud of this team and I know they will be playing Premier League football next season – which is all any sensible supporter could realistically have hoped for in August. With the AFCON boys slowly returning, Le Bris can start rotating the players who have carried us through this difficult period, and some people can go back to abusing whoever it was they were having a dig at on social media before the Christmas fixtures.
