Boo boys give supporters a bad name

England fans did not exactly cover themselves in glory at Wembley on Saturday.

Whether they were visibly absent from the corporate seats when the second half kicked off, childishly booing Ashley Cole after a moment of human error or embarrassingly fawning over David Beckham’s every touch, the home crowd were doing their best to suggest the ‘home of football’ is not all its cracked up to be.

For a number of countries and many clubs around the world the home stadium is a fortress, where the supporters create a bear-pit atmosphere designed to intimidate visiting sides and act as a ‘twelfth man’ for their team.

Unfortunately since England returned to Wembley the players have grown so concerned about facing the wrath of their own fans that it is our own team that is intimidated and inhibited by the crowd.

We constantly hear England players denying the ‘fear factor’ that comes with donning the Three Lions but it is hard to find a more compelling reason to explain why so many of our current crop of players perform so much better at club level, when they have their fans’ unconditional support.

Another telling sign is the way several of the England side have moved so quickly condemn the boo boys who taunted Cole at the weekend – they are clearly worried it could be them next time round.

For some reason we treat our club players as heroes, win or lose, but when players play at international level as soon as things start going wrong they are overpaid prima donnas who don’t give one hundred per cent.

It would be interesting to see how the players would react if they were given the kind of support they receive at club level.

Many might say an experienced international such as Cole should be able to cope with the booing and the importance of ‘confidence’ is often overplayed in football.

But we must consider the impact of the negative chants not just on the Chelsea left-back but also on his teammates, who included the inexperienced Matthew Upson and the 19-year-old Theo Walcott, and the fact that it would make them scared to make a serious error.

It is an almost ironic aspect of football, and most sports for that matter, that at any level if you are thinking too hard about not making a mistake you tense up, don’t play as well and mistakes inevitably creep in.

If you are confident and relaxed you think less and play your natural game.

I know fans are entitled to their opinion and those who went to Wembley parted with their hard earned cash, but it’s time our ‘supporters’ started supporting the team and helping rather than hindering our national team.

I haven’t even mentioned the fact that England actually won the game 5-1 and, even if the performance wasn’t outstanding, that sort of result against any international side should be a cause for celebration.

I would rather fans stayed in the executive bars for the whole of the second half than watch the game and boo their own side.