Fans Make a Difference 
Fans Make a Difference
"Lowndes had been booked and the home fans were shouting at every challenge he made after that, so I had to take him off"
This is a quote from Sandy Clark made after the recent Cup game at Fir Park against St. Johnstone. It implies that we, as "home fans" were doing our best to intimidate the referee, and that this had never been done at any other ground in the history of the game!
It also implies that he as the manager of the Saints team was "made" to make a substitution because of the reaction on fans. I find this strange that a man in such a high profile position would not pick his best eleven because of the crowd reaction. We know that he chose to take the soft option and take his player off knowing that if he continued to behave in the second half the way that he had in the first the ref would have had no choice but to send him off.
I firstly found it flattering that we had been able to influence something as major in a game. Then when I thought more I was insulted that the manager of an SPL club chose to hide behind the home fans rather than criticise his own player's behaviour. Being the passionate (or do I hear some of you say sad!!) Well fan that I am I wrote to Sandy Clark to point this out to him and hoped that he would apologise through these pages to the Well fans for this tremendous slur on our character.
I received a reply a week or so later which probably fell short of an apology. BUT what it does seem to say is that supporters can have an influence on the thinking of managers. (Letter printed on next page) This is the first time I have ever heard any of them say this, as through the media they usually say that they switch off and can't really tell what the crowd are saying.
Therefore as a result of this I make a plea to all those Well fans who sit with their
hands in their pockets and their mouths closed - LETS MAKE SOME NOISE. It obviously can have a positive difference to our own players but also does have an influence on the officials and visiting teams. We have probably know that this is exactly why the Old Firm get so many borderline decisions in their favour.
At the end of the Saints game I was also reminded of how fickle Well fans can be. Just as it appears that we find out the fans make a difference many of ours appear to give up too quickly. I couldn't believe the ranting at the end of the game when people were pouring out early. OK it had been a poor performance but we had lost to a better side on the day, and 4 months earlier had lost 5-0 to them and gone bottom. There was also people throwing scarves on to the pitch, what is that all about?
As I have said many times in these pages we need to get behind our team at all times!! Its not really okay to revel in the two Hearts victories and then turn on the same players as a result of losing 1-7 to Celtic and then going out of the Cup in the Quarter finals!! Players who were feted over weeks before were now being called all sorts of names. Not exactly the best way to build their confidence.
I realise that after the Cup game many people felt the season was over BUT Dunfermline's results against Killie and Dundee s should've soon knocked that out of us. These meant we were only 6 points off the bottom with 9 games to go. The fight to stay up will be harder if everyone at the club is not pulling in the same direction, management, players (maybe that's why we are better off without Coyle) and supporters. If we cone through this with flying colours I am sure that we have a rosey 1999/2000 to look forward to!!
Graham Barnstaple
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