For the purpose of this blog I will focus on Rafa Benitez' appointment as Chelsea FC interim manager, following a universally popular manager, Roberto Di Matteo, being fired. Already Rafa was off to a bad footing, but previously he had said negative things about Chelsea and the fans.
"We don't need to give away flags for our fans to wave - our supporters are always there with their hearts, and that is all we need. It's the passion of the fans that helps to win matches - not flags."
Criticizing a Chelsea fan tradition and further said;
"Chelsea is a big club with fantastic players, every manager wants to coach a such a big team. But I would never take that job, in respect for my former team at Liverpool, no matter what. For me there is only one club in England, and that's Liverpool."
From the start he was not accepted, every game near the start of the season he received abuse and negative banners were placed around the stadium, such as the ones below.
During this period Chelsea's form was better away from home, than it was at home. This could well be explained by the negative chanting and atmosphere leading to hurt feelings and decreased self-esteem, which manifested in poorer performances from both the players and the manager.Furthermore to this theory, Rafa Benitez spoke out against the abuse, citing the effect of it on his team's form. Following this outburst the fans stopped acting so negatively, and in turn Chelsea home form soon improved.
Perhaps the hurt feelings of both the manager, and team were indeed to blame for the changes in form.
Snell (1989) found that Men do not want to appear weak especially in front of other men. This was also demonstrated by Benitez, who wanted to make it clear that he was not bothered by the Chelsea fans. At times it was very obvious he was upset and at times quite nervous because of the negative chants and atmosphere, but he tried to make sure not to show it. This is shown in the video below;
Fixing Fernando
This blog has probably already exceeded a normal length, but I wanted to at least make a short note about Torres. In the case of Fernando Torres, his form and confidence, have seemed to build upon success and from good press and fan reception. When fans were calling for him to be sold, and singing negative chants were the times at which he performed the worst, but whilst playing for Spain and Liverpool where he was universally adored, and fans sung his name positively he performed much better. Perhaps this shows the potential effects of hurt feelings on performance In order to get the best out of Fernando, it might be necessary to make sure his feelings aren't hurt and not make jokes at his expense and sing supporting him regardless of how well he is playing, allowing his confidence and self-esteem to increase.
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