Tractor Boys Let’s Make Some Noise!

I think one of the most underestimated aspects of the modern game is just how supporters can influence the results of matches.

When a side is desperate for the points as Wolverhampton Wanderers were last Saturday, the crowd can become anxious and then even rather angry when things start to go astray and this was especially apparent at Molineux when we held out for a draw and the home fans got restless and then began to boo!

Of course not every set of supporters are the same and some are much more vociferous than others. Suffolk folk by nature tend to be more reserved than most but once something happens of note then there is a great awakening throughout the ground.

Sir Alex commented when he was here with his Manchester United team the last time we graced the Premier, that it was one of the nosiest and most atmospheric grounds he had ever visited!

Admittedly in football terms that was eons ago but I firmly believe that with a big crowd at Portman Road on Saturday we can give the team a head start and I applaud The East Anglian Times and their Editor Terry Hunt for getting the ball rolling with their Back The Blues campaign with the intention of turning Portman Road into a blue and white mass!

Some people might remember Bill Shankly, the successful manager of Liverpool from 1959 to 1974 who always courted controversy with some of the comments he made. He often waxed lyrical about the support he got – especially from the Spion Kop – which he claimed got the reds more penalties at Anfield than most teams have hot dinners and other decisions can go the way of the home side too.

There is little doubt that officials are influenced by a fanatical crowd and we bore witness to this last night in the Champions League Quarter final second leg between Real Madrid and Atletico.

No matter how hard a referee tries to be impartial the influence of the crowd accounts for a lot! There was a two footed tackle the night before when Bayern stuffed Porto 6-1 that was a red any day of the week but the home player escaped with a yellow handed out by an experienced referee. Coincidence? I think not!

The players too respond to the atmosphere and that is why booing is a futile exercise when things do not go to plan. Captain Luke Chambers intimated as much the other day when he said that the team is affected by the mood of the supporters and encouragement is half the battle in the end.


I just hope that sleepy Suffolk smells the coffee on Saturday and the noise does not only come from the lower north.

This game may not get the media coverage of a top European encounter but it is massive in our bid to get to the play-off’s and perhaps further still so I urge you all to make some noise and see where that might take us?

Frank Weston – Editor of Vital Ipswich