To boo or not taboo is the supporting question for Linnets

The mere definition of the word supporter will settle this old-age argument for many.’A person who gives encouragement and approval to someone or something’ is certainly not the type of person who would boo the thing they are supporting.That’s why some fans will be up in arms at the reaction of parts of the Linnets’ faithful after Saturday’s disappointing home draw with Radcliffe.As a chorus of boos rang around sections of The Walks, there will be others who will say it’s not taboo to boo.If you pay your entry fee, you’re entitled to an opinion and the best way to voice your displeasure, if you prefer not to vote with your feet, is to vote with your mouth.Whether or not it’s particularly fair, or warranted, to boo a side off after a draw is another matter but the debate is still raging on.It’s been discussed on the Blue & Gold Trust website forum at length while Lynn boss Adam Lakeland wasted no time wading into the hot topic himself. Speaking after the game he said: “I thought it was really harsh of the supporters to boo my team off today and I’m really disappointed with them. “They deserve better than that. That’s probably the most noise I heard all game was the boo at the end.“And I think that’s incredibly harsh and the players deserve better than that.“I just think it’s delusional, booing the team off today. “I’ll get battered, no doubt, for being critical, but 12 months ago when we were having a really bad time, I had 700, 800, 900 people shouting at me. This team’s fifth in the league now, and they’re doing incredibly well. We’ve got a young team that’s trying and giving everything, so now it’s my turn to have a bit of a shout at them.“I want and expect my team to get more support. I can understand frustration, no problem with that, and I can understand ambition because we all have aspirations to do well, but I think it’s incredibly harsh to boo them off today, incredibly harsh.” Harsh it may be indeed, but the problem with many in the world of football is they can’t take the rough with the smooth.They’re happy to lap up the plaudits when things are going well but when similar noises are made during negative times, they’re less than pleased. Lakeland is, of course, welcome to his opinion and will feel defensive of his players and the fortunes of the side he manages.But is it really wrong for a fan to boo? Does it make them less of a supporter for doing so?Football is an emotional game but is booing even helpful?Why not direct it at a ref or opposing players? Your own need picking up when they’re down – not pushing down further by booing them. Do you have an opinion? Email gavin@yourlocalpaper.co.ukFootball fans are used to drowning their sorrows.But one landlord in Nottingham could be forgiven for doing the same after her marketing idea caused more than a few sore heads on Saturday.Beccy Webster, who runs the Gedling Inn in Nottinghamshire, declared she would be offering free pints every time Forest scored during their Premier League match against Brighton. They won 7-0.The spectacular own goal led her to give away almost 300 pints at a reported cost of £1,500. To make matters even more amusing, she’d popped upstairs to feed her baby expecting “two or three goals” to be scored at most.But it left her crying like an, erm baby, as Forest kept finding the back of the net.Plenty of punters will have no doubt celebrated long into the night, or joined in the fun after the game, so there’ll have been positives out of the publicity-making own goal.However, wouldn’t it be nice now if locals continued to pour money into the businesses’ coffers or Forest offered to help foot the bill? It’s a challenging time for the industry and it’s less than a day’s wage for even the most average member of a squad that continues to defy all expectations.There’s a real feel-good factor around the Nottingham club as it enjoys its finest campaign since the 1980s.Plenty more drinks will be consumed in future too if they can make a return to European competition for the first time in almost 30 years by finishing this campaign in a similar vein.If you give it, you’ve got to be able to take it. So here’s hoping Erling Haaland isn’t licking his wounds too much after an embarrassing afternoon in London on Sunday.Those pleading the Man City striker’s case saying actions towards him were disrespectful need to toughen up a little bit too.Sport, and life, often has a habit of biting you on the backside and that’s certainly been the case for the Norwegian who has had no problem roughing the Gunners up a bit.His “stay humble” comment to Mikel Arteta, “who are you?” quip to Myles Lewis-Skelly and throwing a ball at Gabriel’s head during an ill-tempered draw earlier this season weren’t forgotten going into the weekend. So who can blame the home side and their fans for really rubbing salt into the wounds of the fallen champion’s star striker.Within minutes, Gabriel was celebrating in Haaland’s face as Martin Odegaard gave Arsenal an early lead. Banners in the stands and crowd chants reminded the City hitman about his actions.Supporters will always try to put a top player off their game, but so will those on the pitch and the goal machine gave them plenty of motivation going into this one as a result of his actions against them.Lewis-Skelly’s celebration mocking Haaland’s own was a moment for the ages.The stadium PA even got in on the fun by playing Kendrick Lamar’s song Humble after the final whistle.Haaland will get time to exact his own revenge, as will his City team-mates after the 5-1 loss, while the rest of us should enjoy their growing rivalry. It’s what football is all about.