It was a tale of two sets of supporters in last night’s game at Villa Park. Gareth Barry returned to the club who once idolised him to a chorus of boos and jeers while fake £50 notes with Barry’s face on it were waved continuously during the match.
In stark contrast however, former City captain Richard Dunne received a warm reception from the visiting blues supporters, a move that was well appreciated by the big Irish defender who spent nine years at the club before moving to Villa in a £6m deal.
The attitude of the City fans didn’t change even after Dunne had opened the scoring against his former club with the travelling support applauding their former hero as he walked back to the centre circle, unable to celebrate.
Barry’s reception though is the sort that makes a person realise why a player will react in a certain way. What would Barry’s reaction have been had he got on the score sheet at Villa Park considering the jeers and taunts he was receiving? Although it is not on the same scale as Emmanuel Adebayor’s celebration against Arsenal, it was the kind of constant jeering throughout a match that would make a player not only determined to score, but determined to celebrate.
Only recently, Carlos Tevez, who planned not to celebrate if he scored against United, changed his stance when his reception at Old Trafford was the opposite of what he expected. Tevez though, refused to celebrate his double strike against West Ham out of respect for the club.
Some supporters need to grow up and realise that sometimes a player just wants to move on. When Shaun Wright-Phillips moved to Chelsea for £21m in 2005, blues fans were obviously gutted he had left but he was always given a good reception on his return to Eastlands. What is the problem with other supporters?
Players are allowed to leave their clubs if they really want to join another team. Whether those reasons are to progress as a player, to stand a better chance to win silverware or, as many Villa fans are misguided enough to think, for money, it doesn’t really matter.
What does matter is the reaction of the crowd can greatly influence the reaction of the player, hence the Adebayor incident. If this is to continue for every player who moves clubs, then it will surely mean the FA will have to step in and punish clubs whose supporters continue to act in this way.
And I am sure that, as supporters, none of want to see that happen.