Is our home crowd the biggest weapon either side can have at St James' park?

I've noticed that whenever our crowd produces an optimistic vibe and atmosphere, the players seem extremely up for a fight and full of juice. The best atmospheres - The 2nd half against Arsenal and the Mackem game at home - produced the best performances.

However, whenever we show our frustration, and produce a negative vibe, the players look like they want to give up.

This has obviously been recognised by other clubs that come to SJP, as they seem to do things like get their players to walk extremely slowly off the pitch or stay down for a ridiculous amount of time after a small fowl. The home crowd boos and makes a noise that could only sound like deafening torment to our players.

Some people don't realise how important our contribution to the game is. We give the lads the fighting spirit to battle it out for a result. However, we can do the exact opposite and totally crush their will to fight by creating a negative atmosphere, even if it's not the lads fault, it's the other team time wasting or playing dirty, or whatever it takes to get the Toon fans frustrated, as they know that frustration and anger will travel onto the pitch and damage our players morale.

Other teams come to the Toon and know exactly how amazing our home support is, and how it can effect the game. It destroyed Arsenal during the second half as we got behind our team and showed that we believed in them. The opposition will try to use our own crowd against us, and we must understand that booing and producing a negative atmosphere is like heavenly music to our opponents ears, but it's like hell to our own players.

However, if we create the atmosphere we know we can, if we produce the tear-jerking roar that drives the lads on, the opposition **** themselves, as we create a noise not many other crowds can. We have a choice - Crush the enemy team, or crush our own.

HOWAY THE LADS!

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OK I'll let the crowd know we cant be negative

In all seriousness, the players obviously understand what we are booing. If an opposition player is walking as slowly as possible off the pitch they arent thinking "oh no, they're angry at us" when we shout at him to hurry the **** up.

 

You've totally missed the point of the article mate.

 

Plus our other big home performance, 6-0 against Vile, had a great crowd what with it being our first home game back in the big time

 

No, I can read thanks. You are saying the crowd getting angry at something affects the team because they dont understand why we are angry and think we are disappointed with them. You've based this on nothing at all, as if you've been recording the general mood at games then countering that with the final result. Bull ****.

The crowd cheering the team on obviously helps, and we always do that but are allowed to express anger when some one ****s up or the team are not playing well. We booed them off at half time at Arsenal, did that make them play worse second half?

Even if the article is accurate, 100 or so people reading it on here wont change what the crowd do and say at the match.

 

It works both ways.

If the players up their game and create a chance, the crowd get behind them more.

 

When we boo at the opposition/ref for cheating or time wasting our own players no that we aren't booing at them and if anything they will share the fans frustration with the opposition and this will fire them up and spur them on to victory. I believe we should get behind our team and support them like always but make the atmosphere more hostile towards the opposition.

 

Such is the passion that our fans have that obviously it's going to be a massive weapon and yes the opposition can use it because the crowd get frustrated easily...

 

I never said the crowd could never show it's anger, but there is a point where it starts to effect the players. I'm not saying we should just clap them at every loss and say "better luck next time", but our crowd is a massive presence, and there;s a point where the negativity can really damage the players will power, and my point is, that the opposition use that against us. They make our fans boo and get the crowd frustrated, because the frustration from the crowd travels on the pitch.

My point isn't really that we cannot express our anger at a bad performance, it's that if we get frustrated and starting booing for what ever reason, it really does effect the players.

 

We will always be hostile to the opposition and we will always show frustration at a mistake or poor performance from our own side. The players cant go on about how passionate the fans are then expect us to only be positive. It takes a certain type of player to play in front of crowds like us, and if a player cant handle it, the fans arent going to change for him.

 

I kind of see what your getting at Tash but I cant see it changing the way anyone reacts, Its uncontrolable the feeling you have at the match, be it anger or excitement, its passion that gives you these emotions. The crowd is something you just have to get used to being a Newcastle player

 

We get on the teams back too easily and they start to panic. Then again its a bit of a cycle, player does something positive, the noise grows, the players get encouraged and start playing better, the noise grows even more, etc. Or, a player gives the ball away, 50,000 people groan, the players get panicked, we get on their backs even more, we completely implode. For example in the Arsenal game, it was all kick started by a couple of hard tackles from Tiote and Barton which lifted the crowd who then lifted the team.

Our home fans can be the best in the league but they can also be the worst when they start getting frustrated or agitated. When teams play us at SJP they try to take advantage of this by pressing us high up the pitch.

I think this was kind of the point Tash was trying to make but I dont think the players care when we get on the oppositions backs.

 

I agree with this, but the players need to give us something to shout about! Rolling over and getting beat of Stoke at home isn't worth shouting about if you ask me.