Saturday’s excellent 4-0 win over Port Vale should’ve been a morale-lifting day at Adams Park, as Wycombe Wanderers got back to winning ways after a disappointing defeat at Leyton Orient last week.
However, the excellent afternoon was marred by a number of disappointing chants towards Chairboys goalkeeper Will Norris, whose faced plenty of criticism this season having made a few key mistakes, which have cost his side points in their pursuit of a play-off spot.
The former League One winner made a poor error in E10 last week for Orient’s opening goal, which saw an outcry from some supporters on social media for him to be dropped in favour of young keeper Mikki van Sas.
Michael Duff stuck with his first-choice goalkeeper for the Port Vale game on Saturday, despite the debate and outcry for a change in between the sticks, and it paid dividends as Norris kept his 12th league clean sheet of the season.
However, senior players and the vast majority of supporters were left disappointed after a small section of the terrace decided it would be a good idea to ironically jeer and chant at their own goalkeeper when their side were 1-0 up in the first half.
Skipper Jack Grimmer rightly came out after the match and called out the fans who started the chanting in an interview, citing the need for togetherness around Adams Park as Wanderers aim to achieve a top six finish.
The Scot is bang on the money with his comments too. With six matches left to play, the Chairboys are in with a shot at a fourth play-off campaign in seven seasons, and the players certainly need the fans to get behind them for the run-in, rather than turning on one of their own.
That’s ultimately the crux of the disappointment, as Wycombe has always been a club spearheaded by the togetherness, comradery, and family feel between the fans and players, so to see a player getting jeered by some his own fans completely goes against the core values of what’s made the club so successful over the last decade.
Grimmer himself has been a part of those legendary Gareth Ainsworth squads which heavily relied on team spirit and togetherness to overcome opponents, so for him to come out and condemn those getting on Norris’ back is a clear indication that the Wycombe of old still exists in this ever-changing new era under Mikheil Lomtadze.
Of course, paying fans are entitled to their opinion, that’s never been denied, and if someone isn’t performing well or making mistakes, those questions will always be up for debate.
But that’s where the line should be drawn. There’s a difference between constructive criticism and personal attacks on players, which are absolutely unacceptable.
As Grimmer said, Norris is a human being, someone’s husband, dad, son. He will read what’s said about him on social media and hear the chants from the terrace, which will undoubtedly cut deep as a proud professional.
Whilst some may see these chants as a cheap laugh or ‘banter’, that certainly won’t be the way Norris views what happened on Saturday, and with his confidence seemingly already low after the mistake in E10, getting on his back is hardly going to help him or the rest of the team for that matter.
Some supporters have called out his attitude and ‘lack of appreciation’ towards the fans this season, but if you had a group of people stood behind you mocking and belittling you, would you go over and applaud them?
The rapport between supporters and players works both ways, appreciate his achievements, and if mistakes crop up, keep criticism constructive rather than abusive.
With six games left to go, the play-off race is very much still on, but the supporters and players need to be working together in harmony to get this final push over the line, and whilst the vast majority are, a small minority often speaks louder than the masses.
Norris will likely be in goal for the rest of the season, Duff has made that very clear with his persistence in selecting him, which is why everyone needs to get behind him, rather than getting on his back for his previous errors.
So the message is simple, support all of the players equally, keep criticism fair, and help the Blues get their play-off push over the line!
