Were Arsenal Fans Right to Boo Eboue?

The booing that Emmanuel Eboue received from the his own (Arsenal) fans as he was taken off this weekend has sparked a great deal of media debate. I think there are a number of reasons why Arsenal fans felt that it was OK to boo him on Saturday, although few appear to be justifying it in retrospect.

Reason 1: Fans think that they can 'see' a player's lack of motivation, but they can't

This is absolutely fallacious. As human beings we are all relatively well trained at observing people and making judgements, for they are often required without further evidence, but we often get it wrong. Michael Apter's observations of truant children in the 1970's, that led to the formation of Reversal Theory led him to realise that you cannot reliably infer motivation from observing behaviour. Take the behaviour of truancy. When talking to truants, Apter realised that there were polar motivations at play. While some children were driven by a need for safety, because school was frightening, others were driven by a need for fun and excitement (school was boring).

In Eboue's case, Arensal fans have cited his lack of effort, that he appeared not to care, as justification for booing him off. Apparently he was rotten on Saturday, but I'll not be the judge of that. What we have is a player that made his name at right back, struggled with injury, lost his place on the team, was moved to the right wing to less effect, and then was asked to play on the left wing on Saturday. Fans talked about his lack of movement, and apparent disinterest in the game. As much as anything, this could equally point to a player, bereft of confidence, that doesn't know what to do; and an anxious player frightened to make mistakes. You wouldn't blame him for that, would you, but they main point is that an anxious player, lacking confidence, i an unfamiiar role probably doesn't look all that different from a player that doesn't care.

Reason 2: Fans are customers and believe that they reserve the right to show their displeasure

This, I think, the football industry has cultivated. Crazy ticket prices, players on astronomical salaries. It isn't that there aren't arguments to justify player salaries, but football has turned into big business, and fans can no longer be expect to stick with the team through thick and thin. Football has lost its connection to the community. Going to the football is no longer an expression of affiliation to that community. Fans are customers now. Given the prices that they pay, whether to watch on TV or to get to the game, they expect to be treated like customers. That means that they expect the product to be up to scratch, including the performance of the players. They expect, perhaps rightly but not rationally, players to live up to their salaries week in, week out.

The sport of football and football clubs have courted a wider fan base. They promote their brand globally. Their consumers are not fans - not in the way that they used to be - and cannot be expected to be as loyal as they used to be. If the brand doesn't live up to expectation they will express their dissatisfaction - as Eboue discovered on Saturday (and Birmingham City directors discovered in May - pictured right).

Reason 3: Crowds of people don't behave like they do as individuals

Of course this is nothing new. Social Psychologists have long studied crowd behaviour and it is apparent that the psychology of the crowd is different from that of the individuals within it. What's important here is that given the possible combinations of Reason 1 and Reason 2, the Arsenal fans that did boo Eboue from the pitch last weekend might not have done so individually.

I don't think that many would, in retrospect, justify the behaviour of the Arsenal fans towards their own player, but we can understand it. If I am right in my assessment, the players can only expect more, not less, of the same.

Check out my article for more on Reversal Theory, or connect with Michael Apter direct.

Recommended reading on RT:
Apter, M.J. (Ed.) (2001). Motivational Styles in Everyday Life:  A Guide to Reversal Theory. 
Washington, D.C.:  American Psychological Association.

Kerr, J.H. (1997).  Motivation and Emotion in Sport: Reversal Theory. Hove (U.K.): The
Psychology Press (Taylor & Francis).



--
Rob Robson
Co-founder, iStadia.com