WalkerMcCollsAvenue

The OP had stated that they are 'only children'. But these 'children' can be equally as offensive and abusive as the adults. Seem to be implying that it's absolutely fine that a 10 (or so ) year old is screaming at the top of his lungs over and over to the opposition goalkeeper that said keeper wants to f**k him. Guess there still is no moral code once you enter a football stadium - everything is acceptable. Don't think I particularly want to go to Callum-ayr's pub where you can hear a ten year old screaming that one of the adults wants to f**k him! Or worse!

Sadly, these 'children' can be some of the worst offenders. Was at the railway end at an ICT game last season. Wee mouthy 10/12 year old shit kept repeatedly yelling "haw Ridgers, yer a fukn paedo"..."and when Ridgers was stupid enough to turn round, was rewarded with "hey paedo, you wanting to f&%k me, eh". Stewards did nothing and self policing would only lead to the adult getting the flak. And the wee shits are all too well aware that they're virtually untouchable (resisted the obvious gag here) so carry on unchecked.

To categorise any of the abuse shouted as 'constructive criticism' is disingenuous at the very least. It's all variations of sreaming "you're shite" and trying to insinuate that it's in any way acceptable or could have any mitigating factors only highlights the neanderthal mentality that's still deemed to be just a 'part-of-fitba'. Screaming abuse at anyone doing their job (usually to the best of their ability) can only have negative outcomes. We've all seen players freeze or try too hard as a consequence of being singled out. And yet, the attitude of "I've paid my money, I can say what I want" (which was spat back at me earlier this season from an abuser in the stand when I questioned it) seems to still be the default setting. Hence why I'll be at fewer games this season as it's almost impossible to escape the vitriolic screamers anywhere in the ground now.

For me, it's less about whether Bullen can turn this around than can these players do it. The signings should/could have been the perfect balance of an offensive force for this season. The maturity and undoubted skill, nous and awareness of McGeady and Murphy, the unpredictable, bums-off-seats trickery of Chalmers, the raw speed and youthful fearlessness of Amartey and a young hungry guy with an eye for a goal of Rose. We needed it to click and meld, coupled with a key midfield missing link to supplement Dempsey and Murdoch.....but on paper, it should have been a shrewd set of acquisitions. But all was thrown into the air with Murphy's (not unexpected) injury, McGeady's bafflingly poor form and of course, the two long-term injuries. We assembled a bunch of inexperienced firefighters and the question is, can anyone, Bullen or otherwise, make a cohesive unit out of this lot? For me, the jury is out. Saw flashes of grit and potential in Syla (and piss poor decision-making for his yellows), plenty to get excited about with Young and thought that as the game went on, Ahui seemed to unshackle his Bambiesque nervousness to make me think that in 3 years, he'd easily make the Whitletts Victoria first team. But a massive amount now rests on whether Murphy can continue his scoring streak from the cup games but more importantly, can McGeady shake off his rustiness and actually be the player he's still capable of. The toxicity around Somerset is worse than I can ever remember so it just makes a very tough task that much harder though.