Here we go again.
On a rather dire night all round, where Nottingham Forest (NOTTINGHAM FOREST!) departed Cardiff with all three points, Josh Murphy, who had one of those games where he toiled without success and nothing he tried came off, was withdrawn to a smattering of cheers.
Look, I get it. He’s not cutting it. Despite five goals since the turn of the year, that return has masked the fact that he looks a shadow of the player we signed last season, who ripped in to the first few weeks of Cardiff’s Premier League campaign. He was a substantial investment and the club really need him to step up and show it.
Instead, Murphy looks short of confidence, ideas and drive. The stats tell a somewhat different story, but I think we all feel it. He just doesn’t look happy, so some supporters see fit to compound that by cheering his substitution. Way to go guys, I hope you got that off your chest and feel so much better now.
It’s not the first time either. It happened earlier in the season too and just as Murphy starts to show some shoots of form, the same people just knock him back down again.
If Cardiff have any chance at all of making it out of this division, they need Murphy to turn it on. Maybe carrying a club’s creative burden is beyond him. It’s a big ask after all and a lot of pressure. I know I certainly couldn’t handle that, could you?
You know what though, I bet Murphy didn’t wake up yesterday with the goal of being sarcastically applauded last night. I bet he half expects it though. Imagine going to work feeling like that. Imagine going to work today off the back of that sort of experience. He doesn’t deserve that. No one does.
Yes, Murphy earns lots of money and I know it’s an angry, unfair world we live in, but that’s not his fault and taking that out on him might make you feel briefly better, but only ever makes matters far worse.
Cue people telling me that they pay their money and can say what they like. No, actually you can’t.
That doesn’t afford you the opportunity to abuse individuals and tear them down. The fact that it’s one of your own only adds a whole other level of stupidity to it. You’re supposed to be a supporter and you’re not keeping up your end of the bargain, which is ironic when you think about it.
You may well think that Murphy and various others are not fit to wear the shirt, but guess what, they’re not going anywhere any time soon and we’re all in this together. We all want the same thing too, which is a thriving Cardiff City.
Surely the real question is, if you heckle your own players, are you actually fit to support the team?