Opinion: Why Fans Shouldn't Abuse Kerala Blasters Forward C.K. Vineeth On Social Media
Kerala Blasters do have a mighty fan following; opponents coming down under to visit Kochi are greeted with an unbelievably hostile atmosphere. It is only logical to say that Kerala Blasters do have a 12th player playing for them in their home ground, though the results at home have not been as good as it should be.
When the team doesn't perform, it's only natural for the fans to get disheartened and this was evident when the Kerala Blasters fans tore into the players and the managers with regard to their strategies in fan groups and match circles. Unfortunately, the highest paid Indian player of ISL 2018-19 was at the receiving end of some extreme fan backlash.
But the question that arises is whether or not the fans are breaching their limits. Several fans took no prisoners as they lashed out against Vineeth.
C.K.Vineeth has been the trusted forward of Kerala Blasters for the last 2-3 years and he was a fan favourite having scored 11 goals in the ISL. Though Vineeth has scored 2 goals in the present ISL season in as many as 6 appearances, he has not been in the best of forms of late.
He has missed some good chances, has had considerably low passing accuracy and has been finding it difficult to dribble past quality defenders.
One can attribute his dip in form to the injury he sustained before the La Liga World Tour organized by Kerala Blasters or it may be one of the rough patches that every footballer goes through at times in their careers.
The fans are not amused by his game in the ongoing season and went about criticizing the forward to a great extent. Some fans went on an abusing spree on the forward, even taking the abuses to inexplicable levels.
Constructive criticism is fine and should be encouraged. But the fans need to understand the limits of that criticism and should not abuse the player. Though the trolls and abuses did not come from @manjappada or any other popular fan groups; the abuses did have an impact on Vineeth and rumours started to surface that Vineeth is contemplating leaving Kerala Blasters FC in the next season with The Hindu publishing an article on that.
The criticism was meted out not only at Vineeth but also at the manager David James for his experiments in the playing eleven. The fact that another local favourite Anas Edathodika did not find a place in the playing XI in any of the matches was also one of the reasons why James was criticized.
David James is yet to settle down with a stable eleven and still may be unsure what should be the right set of players, but his ideology of making Kerala Blasters great in the long run is something that every Kerala fan will support.
Also Read: ISL 2018-19: 3 reasons why Kerala Blasters are the next football powerhouse in India
It's just that the duo needs some time and the ardent fans of Kerala ought to give it to them.
Social media is a great platform to air your views. But the persons commenting are never held responsible for their statements. It is high time there is some form of accountability on mad fans abusing players and the need for footballers to stay away from these controversies and rumours between matches is crucial.
Social Media did not have much of an impact on the last generation of footballers. But the present generation of footballers need to develop great mental restraint to cope with the added pressure that Social media and the hysterical fans put on them.
The fans that go about on an abusing spree need to understand that their untoward comments are not gonna benefit the club that they love, but will have a negative impact on the players. Constructive criticism is what should be encouraged, for that will force the club and the players to develop themselves.