The ironic cheering directed at Bart Bialkowski after his blunder against Blackpool is of no help.

Last week I wrote an article about the abuse hurled at Guly at Doncaster and its negative effect on individual players and the team as a whole, sadly I find myself writing a similar piece again after yesterday' match against Blackpool.

Bart Bialkowski came in for his first league game of a season, without making excuses for him, this is even more difficult for a goalkeeper, unlike outfield players they dont get much game time off the bench to keep them fresh, they have to rely on the odd Cup game plus the sporadic reserve team games and then suddenly like yesterday they find themselves in at late notice and in the case of Bart yesterday behind a defence that is not the tightest in the league by a long chalk.

In the first half he didnt look confident, however he had a couple of saves to make and he made them, for the second one it was the type of save thats more difficult than it looks because of the way the modern day lighweight ball swerves and dips sometimes, but keep it out he did and that all you can ask of a goalkeeper, but even at this time you could hear slight rumblings in the crowd whenever he was called into action.

There can be no doubt the second was a complete howler, however Bialkowski is not the first goalkeeper to make this type of error in a Saints shirt and he wont be the last, at times Kelvin is talked of in hushed tones, but he has had more than one dodgy period in his time at the club, indeedin his first two years he was a figure of hate at times and had more than one spat with the crowd who were on his back.

So I was slightly disapointed with the reaction of some sections of the crowd after the goal, the ironic cheers etc that followed every simple cross he caught or ball he collected where of no hope whatsoever, in fact in many respects they threatened to ensure we lost the game, it was still only 2-1 and we were in the game, so why get on the back of a goalkeeper who was clearly lacking a bit of confidence, it can only make him play worse not better, the supporter who stormed past me down the aisle screaming at no one in particular "Why does he pick that ****er" would do well to think a bit harder, Bialkowski was playing because Kelvin was injured, we didnt even have a sub keeper on the bench, if the supporters want to vent their anger at why he was playing they should ask why the manager hasnt signed another keeper if Bart is really that bad.

Lawrie McMenemy always used to say about the difference between Saints and Newcastle supporters, he said that up there the Geordies see the team struggling and get behind them, whereas down here the crowd need to see something from the team first tnad then they do their bit, over the years in the main I have usually found that to be true, when we are winning we are as good as any crowd in the country, but when things arent going are way things are different. In the 90's the Dell encouraged a siege mentality and there were many games when the crowd played as big a part of the team as it dragged itself out of the relegation zone, since we have moved to St Mary's we have lost a little bit of that, perhaps thats no different than other teams, but the downside of the move was an influx of those who are there for the good times, but cant be bothered going through the bad.  

In the coming weeks we need the fans to get behind the team throughout the game and reserve their frustrations for the pub and message boards on the internet, hopefully no member of the Saints team pulls on a shirt and goes out there with anything else in their mind other than winning the game, no player deliberately makes an error, when it happens it happens, and we supporters should do our bit then and urge on the player making the error, not dent his confidence even more by boing, abusing him or even the ironic cheering we heard on Saturday.

This season Saints have stepped up to the plate on the pitch and performed above our expectations, now is the time for us to do our bit in the stands and show that when the chips are down we are supporters not abusers of the players on the pitch, of course I have my favourites in the team and those I dont like very much, the time to question their ability is away ffrom the ground, when Im at the game they have my 100% support, this week more than any we need to be united as we take on our traditional enemy at Fratton Park.     

Photo: Action Images

felly1 added 12:08 - Dec 11 Totally agree mate. I recognise that passions run high and people naturally react badly to mistakes that cost goals but thats when the players need our support..hence the name for us..supporters!! As for Bart I partly blame the manager and his obvious insistence on playing out from the back. Like most Saints fans I want to see good passing football but when you expect a goalie to be able to distribute the ball accurately like a midfielder then you are asking for trouble.I say this because a minute before Bart's howler he tried to pick out a teamate with a pass rather than kick it down the pitch and it resulted in him passing to the Blackpool player, this was obviously playing on his mind which I reckon meant he wasnt concentrating. It's the same with Kelvin , most of his errors this season have come through his poor distribution of the ball. You get the feeling that they are scared to just kick it down the pitch in case of the rollocking they will get in the dressing room.

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Saintpaul120 added 12:19 - Dec 11 Nick, agree with the principle of this article but would say that I sit in the Kingsland and, frankly, didn't hear too much negative stuff about Bart. Having said that he did have an absolute shocker of a game. I'm a proponent of Bart's as I think his distribution, apart from yesterday, is far better, or was until he improved under Adkins, than Kelvins. I think he has the makings of a top keeper as he's still young but what damage yesterday may have done to him god only knows. Holloway was quoted in The Telegraph as saying "absolutely disgusting that they had a go at their own keeper, I’ve seen loads of keepers do that, that is his first game, how dare anyone criticise him that badly" But I have to say this left me with my mouth wide open. I haven't heard anyone criticise Bart. Adkins said exactly the right thing, which I was pleased about, but not aware of anyone criticising him. I have always agreed with you that we should support the players and not get on their backs or boo them - it does no good in my opinion, counterproductive. That's not to say that they are exempt from criticism. So, I'm with you - LETS GET BEHIND THE TEAM AND GET PROMOTION!! Live up to Adkins praise of the fans. Can I ask a question of you Nick. Do you stand up and sing support for lengths of the match?

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hortonsaint added 12:34 - Dec 11 I too sit in the Kingsland and thought the reaction was not as bad as it could have been, certainly I've heard Kelvin get worse in the past but never seen Nick write an article of defence of him when it's happened Regarding the first half 'saves' Nick is being very generous, the first was a routine cross that bounced in front of him and he contrived to fumble for a corner and with the long range shot, yes it moved but come on he didn't even pick it up and it hit him! Plus he didn't even move for the shot that hit the post. I've always maintained that Kelvin has been consistently selected over Bart because he has a better temperament and can deal with making errors, Bart was a bundle of nerves from that first error onwards the defence had zero confidence in him. As Nick points out, Kelvin does make errors but I can never remember as many in one game. It was a shocking performance and it can't be put any other way. Saying that I felt very sorry for him and certainly I didn't give any stick and never would to a keeper as it serves no purpose. Re Geordies and their 'support' Nick ought to listen to a few of their players in the 80s who were scared to play in front of them due to the unforgiving nature of their support when things go wrong. I agree that our crowd could be more positive at times but to make out the fans in the North East are so great is absolute rubbish, they may make more noise at times but that can quicly turn to horrendous abuse that goes way beyond anything our fams dish out. Sunderland fans weren't much help to Steve Bruce were they?

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SaintNick added 12:35 - Dec 11 To answer your question I sit in the Kingsland as well so dont do much standing and singing at home games, however i do shout encouragement throughout the match.
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hortonsaint added 12:38 - Dec 11 Even when Kelvin is rooted to his line Nick? I'm sure you're one of those I regualrly hear shouting 'get off your ....ing line Davis.' I wish I sat near you so I could take you on about it as well as those I sit near, I've had some great 'debates' with them over the years!!
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BlackRod added 13:47 - Dec 11 Agree 100% that we should get behind the team during matches. Ironic cheering and booing can only contribute to dropped points. Wait until after the game to disect it. That said Bart is treated kindly in the above review. He can't be let near the first team goal for a good while to come. One of the reports I read said it looked as if he had won a competition to stand between the posts and when he got there he didn'n know what to do. De Ridder's effort right at the end shouldn't be forgotten either. A break with four against two and he lets the ball run away from him! This was a howler to match Bart's. Nigel has always talked about this being a squad game and our lack of cover for key positions may end up costing us.

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Zambucco added 14:05 - Dec 11 Nick I'm block 42 and I was not aware of any abuse there. The bottom line in my opinion is, he did not look comfortable from the kick off, let alone after suffering from abuse. Yes he is a competent keeper, but is severely lacking in full match practice. I also agree with hortonsaint in regards to Geordie supporters, they like every other bunch of supporters can and do show their displeasure of performances. In fact NA regularly remarks about how good our support is especially when the team are struggling. Apart from that another good and thought provoking article. p.s. I bet the support will be 100% next Sunday!! COYR!

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Whatsforpud added 14:12 - Dec 11 From my seat in the Chapel, I have to say that I was unaware of any abuse to Bart, although people obviously expressed a view each time he messed up. As a local league keeper from back in the black and white days, I like to study a goalkeeper's technique, and often sympathised with errors, on either side, but this performance was a keeper's complete nightmare. His first fumble was careless, and set the scene for the afternoon. I couldn't understand what he was trying to do the the second one. When you see the TV repeat, his hands were nowhere near the ball. It was a bit like a defender on the line, trying to chest the ball away. I know the modern ball swerves and dips, but at least he should be getting his hands on it. I suppose at least he had his body behind the ball. This wasn't the case for that goal. He really had time to get his legs in position as a back up, but didn't. Shades of Robert Green ! As the club opted to leave the Combination league, or whatever it is called now, I'm not sure how much match time the fringe players are getting now, especially the older ones not involved with the youth set-up. I assume they rely on those cup-ties, and the occasional behind-closed-doors friendlies.

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Natural_Order added 15:03 - Dec 11 I think we all would agree that there can be no possible benefit to not giving the Keeper full support during the game as he was clearly struggling with a crisis of confidence. Bart has proved himself to be a reasonable Keeper in the past and needed the support of his team and the crowd...I thought he got this. I read the Telegraph and Holloway's comments with surprise as I did not pick up on ironic cheers, rather cheers of encouragement and applause when he collected or distributed the ball well. I take nothing Holloway says seriously as he has become a media clown, constantly looking for a witty or controversial comment which he seldom achieves... The reason there was 5 minutes extra time Mr Holloway was because your team time wasted from the moment you scored your second goal and for a rare occasion yesterday the referee made a good decision and punished your gamesmanship.

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irishsaint added 15:03 - Dec 11 The first reaction of everyone in the ground was shock and horror yesterday when the ball trickled through Barts legs. But, from where i was sat, block 4 it sounded like the whole ground got behind the team and Bart. The loudest we wereall day was when they were on there way back to the centre circle. I actually prefer Kelvin in goal, think hes a great keeper. , prone to the odd howler, but what keeper isnt?

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stmichael added 15:50 - Dec 11 All things considered the crowd were very fair which is why Bart applauded them at the end . Really hard to see how Bart can recover from this. He cannot play next week under any circumstances. Don't want to be harsh but it was an all round disaster display from start to finish.
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LostBoys added 17:17 - Dec 11 I have never understood abusing your own players although I did complain loudly when Cork Schneiderlin and lastly De Ridder (with the easiest version) failed to make easy passes by local parks standard to put a team mate in on goal.
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cocklebreath added 20:30 - Dec 11 I agree Nick it certainly does not help booing your own players etc... but to put boocastle united up as a bunch of fans who get behind the players is dumb, they are constantly booing unless they are 4 up, bunch of minges.
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splatt added 23:11 - Dec 11 Your article has spurred me to a first time post Nick, so thank you. I agree with Saintpaul120 and others in saying I didn't hear anything negative shouted towards Bart AT ALL. It was a terrible error but as you say Nick, it happens. And certainly the immediate crowd around me understood that. I sit in Kingsland, near Northam and I amongst many others applauded when he occasionally kicked solidly in the second half and cleared well under pressure from a couple of back passes. This was to get behind our player and encourage him. But the point of your article is the ironic cheers and, in the ironic cheerers defence, sort of, I would say it was 'supportive' ironic cheers, not hostile ones, however misplaced that logic may be. It sounds silly but you pick up on a crowd vibe, you can easily feel what they are feeling and I certainly wouldn't say the vibe was hostile toward Bart or anti Bart in any way. I wouldn't choose to express myself that way, but I really don't think it was designed to embarrass him or abuse him. He made 22,000 people nervous right from the off and that's impossible to hide but his reaction to us - and our reaction to him - at the final whistle showed no hard feelings from either side I think, we analyse and we move on (as our great leader tells us every week!). I'd also love to think we NEVER get on the backs of our players as much as the Geordies do when the players aren't performing to our expectations. Keep up the good work on this excellent site Nick. Just like the lads on the pitch. They are doing us proud this season.

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StrasbourgSaint added 23:29 - Dec 11 Some good comments on here this evening in response to a well-worded defence of Bart. Having not been at the game, I can't say how fans inside SMS reacted, but some of the 'Bart is s*** comments on the Echo (and related Facebook forum) have disappointed me. Some fans are 100% for Bart and 0% for Kelv, others see things totally the other way. But the fact is that both have had (and will have) off days; and both can be match winners. As said above, De Ridders costly first touch at 2-2 probably cost a goal as well. And, in the lead up to Blackpool's second, where were the tackles which would have prevented the shot in the first place? And, love him though I do, for me, NA must take some blame for his selection which, in midfield at least, was proved wrong (and costly) again.

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