I refrained from writing this piece in the immediate after math of Bolton Wanderers' cruel last-minute defeat at the hands of Liverpool last Wednesday. I did so so that my opinion wouldn't be completely delegitimised on the basis of it looking like a knee-jerk hissy fit, as if I was throwing my toys out of the pram, as if I was, dare I say it, 'bitter'.
Not that there's much wrong with being bitter, but that is another argument for another time, I'd just much rather my argument by debunked due to the words I've put forward, rather than any further exterior context.
Pressing on, it's no greatly kept secret that over the last two games in which Bolton faced Liverpool, the supporters of the prestigious Premier League side were nothing short of massively disappointing and almost embarrassing.
They made not a peep during the Anfield fixture, which I'm not really fussed about in all honesty, as it's more rare to find a set of home supporters who do sing, rather than those who do not in this day and age.
However, when 5000 or so Liverpool fans made the short journey to the Macron Stadium I really thought they would have been better than they were. They stood in silence for the near entirety of the game, and were easily out sung by small pockets of Wanderers fans positioned either side of the away end. How do I know? I was there starting most of the chants, init.
It was not until Raheem Sterling's 86th minute equaliser did the Liverpool supporters make anything close to resembling some noise, and only when Philipe Coutinho struck a brilliant late winner did the away stand really erupt into a chorus of famous Liverpool songs.
Worry not, Liverpool supporters who may have wandered onto here, insults at the ready, expecting me to be making a deluge of jokes. As much as I do love to poke fun at Liverpool fans, mainly because they quite easily top my 'twats-on-Twitter' list and the absurd fickleness with which a lot of you act, it just isn't what this article is about.
Since the referee blew the final whistle and sent the Whites crashing out of the FA Cup, Liverpool's support has been at the forefront of my mind because I just don't understand why they were so goddamn bad?
It's Liverpool for gods sake!
It made little sense to me, especially since when they finally did start to bellow out songs, they were deafeningly loud. Had they provided that level of noise for the length of the 90 minutes they would have created an incredibly intense atmosphere, one that I believe would have resulted in their team finding a stubborn Bolton side a lot easier to overcome.
So in my time of thought I devised a theory that might explain why Liverpool supporters are as lacklustre as they are, why they don't live up to their 'famous atmosphere'. I'm not just singling out Liverpool, however, and this theory can certainly be applied to a host of other big clubs too, including Everton and Arsenal.
My theory is as follows:
Supporters of said big teams no longer see themselves as merely supporters, but rather, even if just subconsciously, as customers. They pay big money to watch their teams, and as the clubs used to be dominant forces in English football, they feel a degree of self entitlement and constant high expectations - as if their teams should always be winning. So as a result of this, they feel as if the players don't deserve their support unless the players are giving them their monies worth. This leads to fans of these clubs providing dreadful atmospheres as they'll only get going once the players fulfil their end of the bargain and satisfy the customers, instead of the fans supporting the team regardless.
This is, as I said, only a theory plucked out of the doldrums of my mind and it certainly has no scientific evidence to back it up and is a bit of generalisation, but who knows? Maybe I've just solved the impossible conundrum: just why are Liverpool fans so bad?
Think I'm right or think I'm an idiot? Let me know your take in the comments below.