Crewe Alex: Working Together

It’s fair to say that the the team hasn’t given us all that much to shout about in recent years. I think the relationship between fan support and team performance works like a negative feedback system.

The fans start off excited, and get behind their team. However, the team underperforms, and fans become disenchanted and fewer come to games and they back the team less. This decreased support means that the team loses their ’12th man’ and they play worse. Since they play worse, even fewer fans come, and then they play even worse. This process continues until the system reaches an equilibrium and eventually we end up playing awfully.

If we follow this model, then the only way we are able to get the players back to form is by injecting support, filling Gresty Road and cheering them on as if we’re on a massice winning run.

Clearly this model is entirely theoretical and simplifies everything. Also, it’s not as if we’ve not given them any support: I think many fans have been pretty goon on the whole.

However, if we possibly can, let’s try cheer the team on as much as possible. Get behind them. Get them over the line.

That’s what manager Steve Davis is asking for. He told CreweAlex.net:

“The players need that spark and the crowd help with that. I think the younger players go into the games full of confidence but things happen in the game that can affect them. They have to learn to cope better with that and make sure they mature.

“We have spoken to the players about it and they do say that the crowd and the atmosphere does make a difference.

“When the crowd are noisy, singing and getting behind the team like they did against Carlisle then they do seem to play better. They respond to that and it helps them.

“When there is a lesser crowd or the away fans only bring 100 or so then it can be quiet and then it is up to us to create a better atmosphere and get the crowd going.

“The only way we are going to do that is by playing attacking and exciting football. We did that against Carlisle and we were pleased with the level of performance despite the fact that we didn`t quite get the three points I thought we deserved on the day.”

Let’s work with the team. Be their twelfth man, and break the cycle of fan support demise.