We have to take a bit of stock at fan reaction to the Borna Barisic fiasco of the weekend.
We’ve not covered it in too much detail, but essentially some Rangers fan shouted something that the Croat took exception to outside Ibrox at the signing zone, which made him turn the way around and confront said fan which became handbags pretty fast.
The reaction from other supporters to this incident sums up the schizophrenic nature of the fanbase these days.
The same fans who have abused Fabio Silva all season, smeared and criticised him as a rotten addition, then back him up when HE attacks the fans with a dismissive gesture.
Those fans, who have slaughtered Backwards Borna, hurling all kinds of hate at him at how weak he is, how little heart you name it – then one of them says it to him at the signing zone, he confronts said fan, fisticuffs and now that fan’s peers go into outrage and back up the player and slaughter the fan.
Nothing else shows how utterly inconsistent the behaviour and principles of our fans are, that we turn on the players, on each other, back the players, back each other, with a drop of the wind.
The fans’ reaction to the Borna incident was to slaughter the fan and defend the player, saying that players shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of abuse or treatment.
When they themselves have been giving it out to the same player all season!
In short, right now there’s a really unsavoury vibe in the support, with hypocrisy abundant and a real plunge in consistency.
Fans seem to get mega-sanctimonious when it suits them to do so, by saying things online especially that they think will attract likes and praise.
By showing how great a supporter they are – despite hurling rubbish at players all season.
And furthermore – the same fans are the ones blaming the players for being workshy and heartless, defending Clement 100%, then defending the players they’ve been slaughtering when other fans effectively say the same thing.
It’s… bizarre.
We have to say, psychologists must be having field days with our supports’ behaviour these days.