Why England's fans were right to boo an away win

Still, the players had it easy. Hapless Steve McLaren had to face chants of "still want McLaren out" as he made his way down the tunnel (chants which had started mere seconds after the first goal went in). His name was even booed as it was read out before the kick off.

It stung the players (and the manager too, who left his own press conference after less than two minutes, after a slightly overwrought invitation to the press to "write what you want" - be careful what you wish for, Steve).

John Terry stepped forward to offer some advice to the fans. "To hear that during the game is not nice for the players", he pointed out, adding that "the players' sake, and for England's sake, it would be better if they kept that sort of thing until after the game". Gerrard talked of "as difficult a 45 minutes as I have ever played in an England shirt" and praised the character that the players showed as they tried "to play football with that kind of thing in the background". Terry summed it up: "The supporters are entitled to their opinion ... but ... booing and the McClaren shouts are not helping".

By "the supporters are entitled to their opinion", Terry meant , of course, that he thought the fans were in the wrong (just listen to the tone of his interview and it's clear).

But they weren't. They were absolutely entitled to give the players exactly as much stick as they wanted to. And the players were and are absolutely obliged to take it, without complaint. Because the fact things have come to this state is their fault entirely. Whatever stick they reap from the terraces is wholly down to what they have sown.

It probably was a bit unfair, but England have hardly given a performance that's been fair on the fans for nigh on five years. England's supporters have had to put up with being told that poor performances, ground out wins against mediocre opposition, pedestrian quarter final performances and defeats against any team that raises its game above average are excusable because of injuries, players being too tired after long seasons or whatever excuse the FA's press team have dreamt up. They've even had to accept being told that absolutely limp showings (like the one against Israel) were actually good displays, to have to listen to the national team telling them they're not only wrong but stupid, too.

The arrogance and disdain that the England team have shown towards their country over the years is now biting back. Fans have eyes. They see how Lampard, Gerrard and the rest can perform with drive and focus and passion when they want to, when it matters to them. When, for example, they're playing for their clubs. It's patently obvious that Lampard, Gerrard, Ferdinand, Cole etc etc etc simply do not care as much about playing for England as they do for the teams that pay their wages.

In a way, that would be ok, if the success of their club sides could stand in the place of the success of the national team. But the average England supporter (the one that goes and gets soaked in the crumbling Olympic Stadium in Barcelona) has very little to do with the top half dozen teams from which most England players come. The average travelling England fan supports Scunthorpe or Rotherham or Walsall or Wolves or any of the 70-odd other teams for whom a European club game means a trip to Cardiff or Swansea or Wrexham.

England might not matter as much as club competition does to the average Man United or a Chelsea fan (or to the average Man United or Chelsea player) but it matters to those supporters who turned up last night and in Israel and in Croatia and goodness knows where else over the years. By and large, they have had to endure performance after performance of England just doing enough, just about getting through, not showing the flair or drive that they show for their clubs. And they've been asked to praise them (or been told the players are disappointed that they've not been praised enough) for lacklustre, bare-minimum displays.

Now they've had enough and the players don't like it? Well, tough luck. People who don't earn in a year what the players earn in a week don't like having the piss taken out of them, but they've had to put up with it.

For too long, the players have expected to have it all their own way, to play for their country on their own terms. If the fans don't like it, they've not only had to lump it, but face criticism for daring to question these cossetted, fawned over, under-achievers. Yesterday suggested that the tide has turned.

Steve McLaren's reign looks like it will be forgettable. If, though, it gets the fans to the stage where their patience expires, where the players are forced to give their all or ship out, it may just be the best thing to happen to the English national side for years.