"Against the tide" Essay by Alan Edge on the anti Houlier crowd

[usscouse]

"Against the tide"
What is the take here Matt? We've all heard the grumbles from people who want instant gratification, has it really reached these proportions?

http://www.lfconline.com/news/loadfeat.asp?cid=EDZA&id=100075

[Matt Clark]

Well, he's hamming it up a bit, of course, but that's Edgy. The central point is real and true though - the demographics of the crowd have changed to such an extent that the older notions of support in it's purest form is harder to come by now. You tend to get it in European matches and the like ahead of run-of-the-mill league fixtures.

With regard to the moaners, well that's a sign of the age innit? Every Tom, Dick and Harry from Old Swan to Kuala Lumpur thinks they know best. And with Anfield still a relatively accessible place to the non-season ticket holder, you get a higher than average number of part-timers in the crowd. Mostly in exactly the sort of fixtures where you expect Liverpool to win and win well -easier to get tickets for. So the 'entertain me' type is more prevalent at exactly the games where atmosphere is more muted in any case. And when the team does not put on a blockbuster show, they don't have the attachment or the commitment of the regulars and start bitching.

[usscouse]

Thanks, that's sort of what I was hoping to hear. The old time regulars know the team and the game, sometimes they're not happy but they don't often call for heads on poles.
The fuss with signing on Kewell reminds an old fart about the fuss of signing on St. John. Ian did make a difference to the team especially scoring a hat trick at goodison in the Derby.
Hope Harry can do a bit of the same. That would shut some of the whiners up.