Is Thierry Henry right when he says fans were out of order even if they have a right to express an opinion? I think he might be right. In this day and age of technology when privacy is not sacred anymore and there is a lot of public scrutiny in every inch of a player’s life and a manager, it is very easy to form an opinion about a team in general and a player in particular. It does not help that every fan is now a football manager after playing…well football manager among others.
Arsene Wenger is very strict about protecting players from the spotlight especially young players and those whose form has slipped but it has become quite difficult when everyone is involved in the frankly quite addictive social media scene including the players themselves.
Arsenal club was the first Premiership club to reach four million followers in July 2014 and behind only Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Obviously this can be a massive disadvantage especially for a team that is still rebuilding and needs the support from its fans to have vitriol thrown at them from all sides. Definitely every fan should have an opinion but there is a major difference between having an opposing point that is sensibly put across and hurling insults at a player that might turn to social media for support after having a stinker of a game. Imagine the dent it will take on a player’s confidence and the overall effect on the team’s performance.
A bad performance will increase the dissenting voices and apply more pressure on the team. Is it possible that Mesut Ozil would have reached the desired level much earlier if he had not being so active on social media? Do you think the invincibles would have gone unbeaten especially during that dramatic week when then they were dumped out the FA cup and the Champions League? Probably not…
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Maybe that is why Arsene Wenger is able to bounce back so quickly after losing due to the simple fact that he is not an active participant on social media. Again let me specify again that everyone IS entitled to an opinion and social media is good at raising the profile of a club and can be a massive asset especially when motivating players.
Arsene Wenger asked to be judged come the end of the season and not for every bad performance so how about we support the team as one through every bad performance and we might be surprised at the results.
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