This would have been called “The Suso Lens,” but Suso got
sick of the abuse of Milan fans under that lens, and is now at Sevilla, as of
yesterday. Social media won. #SusoOut. So the next obvious choice would be
Calhanoglu: a player who has also seen much unwarranted abuse by fans, and at
best is very underappreciated for his contributions on the pitch. People will
say anything under the guise of personal opinion on social media, and maybe if
it were just one person, it wouldn’t be problematic. But that’s never how it
works. One person becomes thousands, it becomes a mob mentality, and then it directly
impacts the players and their mentality. Unfair criticism and outrageous
expectations are only part of the Calhanoglu Lens.
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| Criticized by fans on Tuesday even in his MOTM performance |
This phenomenon has been around for a while. People viewing
matches via social media instead of their own eyes, the words of others on
social media more powerful than the actual football or their purported
footballing knowledge. People start talking, and others copy them, and reality
no longer matters. The abuse spreads from social media directly to the players,
or to the media and eventually to the fans in the stadium. That hate directly
impacts the morale of the entire team.
It happened to Suso, a player who sweat blood for Milan for
five years, through all three ownership changes, dozens of teammates in and
out, and multiple coaches, too. If I had a nickel for every time someone tried
to justify to me their hate, criticisms, and unrealistic expectations of him
very unsuccessfully, I would be able to move to Milano to worship the team and
never have to work again. And now Suso is gone. Who’s to say that the next guy
is any better? That he will sweat blood and stay with the team through thick
and thin and work as hard as Suso did?
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| The emotions run even stronger under the weight of hate |
This season, fans have added Calhanoglu to their hate list.
Like Suso, they expected brilliant performances from him every game, but not
expecting the same from other Milan players. For example, Conti, after having
that brilliant performance against Juve, has received virtually no criticism
whatsoever for having zero subsequently equally brilliant performances, let
alone his shakier performances since.
However, with both Suso and Calhanoglu, people “expect more
of them” because “they are more talented.” To put it into an analogy you people
can relate to, you might have one (or maybe a few) tweets/posts on social media
that are brilliant, or at least very well received, with the most likes of any
of your tweets/posts. Now imagine if your followers started spreading hate
about you and your account because you didn’t live up to that brilliance with
every single tweet/post. You have to produce better content because you can,
they tell you. Every tweet/post needs to be as good as your best, or you need
to get out. They aren’t criticizing anyone else on social media, just you.
Because you are not living up to their unrealistic expectations, to your most
brilliant performances. That is the Calhanoglu Lens.
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| Was brilliant vs. Parma, but fans didn't even notice |
People think of the Parma game at the beginning of December,
and they remember Theo Hernandez’s 88th minute goal, he was chosen by the fans
as the Man of the Match. Do you remember what Calhanoglu did in that game? I
doubt it. Yet his
rating on WhoScored was actually a little higher than Hernandez, and he
was named as their MOTM for his technical performance. People don’t pay
attention to what he actually does, as
we talked about on the last podcast. They pay attention only to what he
doesn’t. They only look through their lens that they have created, a set of
expectations that they are enforcing on him with negativity, abuse, and hate
online and at the stadium.
Fans complain that he plays every match, then they complain
when we literally lose if he’s not playing because we miss him that much, he is
that important to our team. But they don’t make that connection between him not
playing and the team’s poor performance. They judge him because he wears the
number 10 jersey. You know, the one also worn by Milan legends who won
everything, like Keisuke Honda and Kevin Prince Boateng. Fans don’t care that
he’s played almost every match out of position. In fact, apparently, they
expect more from him there. They complain that he doesn’t score free kicks like
he did at Bayer Leverkusen. Even though that was a different league, with
inferior defenders, a team that wasn’t in turmoil and constant upheaval, etc. No,
they apply their version of him, and if he isn’t that player, then abuse.
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| Pointing out your hate when he scored the gamewinner... again |
The point is, you have a right to your opinion. However,
perhaps your expectations are better kept to yourself, because on social media,
they turn to abuse and hate. They also make you look like you are not
supporting your team. If you can’t appreciate the contributions that Calhanoglu
makes in every match without comparing him to whatever dream girl fantasy
expectations of him that you have in your head, then it might be time to
re-evaluate your fanship, or at least your footballing IQ. If you are lacking
in footballing IQ, that’s fine. Just don’t post on social media as if you do
have it, because, again, it turns to hate. Expecting anyone’s most brilliant
best in every match and then condemning and criticizing them when they don’t
achieve your fantasies is unfair, particularly when you don’t apply it evenly
throughout the team. The entire team has struggled with nearly every
performance. You look like a terrible person when you only call out certain
players. All you need to do as a fan is support your team.
I don’t think this will change anything, a lot of people
read about the
impact of fans in November and they are still doing what they did
before. Mob mentality is very difficult to change. But I cannot sit here and
watch another good player get bullied, abused, and pushed out by his own fans
without at least trying to affect some change. Hopefully, at least someone will
read this and think twice about spreading the cancer of their Calhanoglu Lens.
This post inspired by the music of Lush’s
“Ladykillers”
Our next match is
Serie A Round 22
Milan vs. Verona
Sunday, February 2
• 15:00 CET (9am EST)