fbpx
Connect with us

Birmingham City

Everton, Cardiff and Birmingham fans protest towards owners at matches

Everton, Cardiff and Birmingham fans protest towards their owners at this weekend’s matches, with all sides going on to lose.

We start at the London Stadium, with West Ham’s game against Frank Lampard’s side one of the most talked about games with pressure growing on both managers.

But it was David Moyes who was the happier as his men picked up a 2-0 victory, with Jarrod Bowen, a new father with twins on the way, scoring twice to pick up a vital three points,

In the away section, the Everton fans which stayed after the final whistle were visibly not impressed, holding up banners against the board and making their feelings known.

James Collins (Former West Ham defender on BBC Radio 5 Live): “A high pressure game and a deserved win for West Ham.

“David Moyes should be really proud. You’ve got to be worried for Everton; they look dejected and it’ll be hard for Frank Lampard to turn it around.

“Not many players are clapping the fans. That is a really worrying sign.”

“You’re getting sacked in the morning” was sung by the West Ham fans towards Lampard.

Everton forward Alex Iwobi tells Sky Sports: “We were unfortunate not to get the result, we keep pushing but it wasn’t our day. If we don’t take our chances we will get punished.

“We discussed about getting on top of them because they are in the same situation as us but unfortunately it was not the case.

“The ownership is on us as a team, we attack and defend together. We still have half the season left and a lot of improvement to do.

“Frank Lampard made a few changes after the break, told us to keep pushing and be more dynamic.

“(Pressure) is nothing new to us, we were in the same situation last season. We have a break coming up and we have to regroup.

“It is not just the manager who takes responsibility, the players are fighting for him and the club.”

 
 

Everton manager Frank Lampard tells BBC Sport: “I didn’t see that (fan protests). The fans support us and travel a long way for us. It was a strange game, we had a load of control possession wise but the killer instinct in their team was better than ours. In terms of the tactical control, we had a lot.

“It is a big job, I knew that when I took the job because we were looking at a relegation battle then. We had a big fight and stayed in the league. We lost Richarlison and now have tried to build around that so it is normal we are fighting again, when other clubs are trying to move on.

“I don’t want to tell how Everton fans how to feel, my job its to give everything in the job here. We had a lot of possession, but were short in the final third.

“It is impossible for me to jump into the future, last season we were five points shy of safety with five or six games to go but as a club we have to move together. I cannot complain about the spirit of the players and how they approached the game. They may have passed it slow but we didn’t find it in the final third.

“Fans are realists, they have watched the team over the last few year. History moves and nothing gives you the right to be in their league, we have seen huge football clubs go down. If you don’t move you will hit tough times, we are in tough times and everyone has to try to move forward.”

 

Meanwhile at Cardiff, there were crowds of fans showing discontent at the ownership of the club, who sit 21st in the Championship table with 29 points from 28 games played after Saturday’s action.

The Bluebirds fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Millwall, but it was before the game that fans really got vocal, turning up outside the Cardiff City Stadium.

More than 100 fans gathered outside the club’s reception to protest against owner Vincent Tan along with the board, coming a week or so after the sacking of Mark Hudson.

Talk of a planned protest became more prevalent on social media after Cardiff lost 5-2 at Leeds United in the FA Cup in midweek.

Dozens of people reported to the club’s main reception at Cardiff City Stadium. A couple with banners reading ‘Tan Out,’ accompanied by banners, were among them. They then began to chant a variety of anti-owner, anti-board chants.

There were many chants heard: “We want our club to back,” “Sacking the board”, and “I’m city ’til my death”.

The Millwall match was also marked by songs, with Vincent Tan, get out our club, being sung at half-time from the Canton End.

Tan has been the owner of Cardiff for more than 12 years. He was responsible for two promotions to Premier League. Both resulted in immediate relegation to the Championship. He has contributed more than £200m to the club.

However, he has been controversial for changing the badge and the kit from blue-to-red. Recent years have seen the attention diverted from football by financial-intensive court cases such as Emiliano Sala’s move from Nantes.

This has led to a reduction in the money available for managers and players, which has accompanied the club’s continual decline down the table.

Cardiff has had four managers within two years. They are currently looking to appoint another manager. Dean Whitehead is the interim boss.

And at Birmingham, unrest continues. In a game which saw Rebecca Welch become the first female to officiate a Championship fixture, City fell to a 2-1 defeat to Preston.

Blues’ fans aimed their frustration in front of the directors’ box. It was described to have boiled over, round 50 moved to the area and unfurled a banner reading #BSHLOUT and a couple have come on to the pitch from the Gil Merrick mid-game.

The protests mainly started after Preston took a two goal lead, with some fans also running on the pitch.

Birmingham pick up a fifth consecutive league defeat against Preston North End with the result meaning the Blues sit in 19th place, with their most recent victory coming in mid-December. They sit just six points adrift of the relegation zone.

Their fans are plotting a bigger protest for the game against West Brom.

Credit: @connorgeraghty

Related Topics
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

More in Birmingham City