I think the hard done by act some people are doing on behalf of Harrold is a little too much IMO. Yes, he has had some negative comments from the fans, but not nearly as many as a striker with his scoring record and limited ability may expect from other fans - certainly, his treatment is nowhere near as bas as what Paynter's was!!
I agree with everything Biffo has said on this post, I think to say that people on here, or generally at Roots Hall do not understand his role in the team is a bit patronising, and I don't think there is any room for football snobbery on here.
I am, as are most, entirely aware of his role in the team. He is a so called 'target man', who is in the side to hold the ball up, bring in other players, help create either space or chances for other's and to SCORE GOALS!!
Be it target man or out and out poacher, he is still a centre forward, and the role of any centre forward is to score goals, no matter what sub title you choose to give him.
To be honest with you, I am not even sure we signed him for the alleged target man role, I think that term is now almost used as an excuse for a striker who cannot find the back of the net. There was no mention by Tilly of signing him as a target man, but as a striker.
I don't hold with this theory that he will get abuse no matter what he does either, players receive vocal criticism for something they are not doing right, and on the whole, this applies to every player. I do not believe that our fan base decided upon some kind of witch hunt to hound Matt Harrold out of the club - that is simply too far fetched. He has been given EVERY chance by the management to prove himself, and as I said before, I genuinely think the fans have been patient with him, but IMO he is still not producing the goods.
From where I am, the disharmony stems purely from a footballing point of view - No one has ever suggested he doesn't care, or that he doesn't show enough effort, and I am sure he is a perfectly decent human being, I just expect to be seeing better players in my team for the money I am paying to watch - simple as that. You could argue that it has nothing to do with Harrold, but it is down to Tilly for playing him, and so perhaps the level of criticism should be aimed at him?
There have been statistics banded around showing that he is our top provider, and no doubt, there will be something saying we score a high ratio of goals when he is in the team - but the old saying lies, damn lies and statistics is a valuid one. There are a lot of factors which statistics do not take into consideration, e.g. level of opposition, current form of the team etc, etc, and so as Biffo said, I will stick to the tried and trusted measure of basing my view on what I see in front of me each week.
Another point someone raised was the level of unhappiness on here when it was announced he would be signing for us. I think everyone on here and at Roots Hall gave him a fair crack of the whip, despite our reservations. The problem was, he was just as limited in footballing ability as a lot of people pointed out he would be before he signed.
The final point I would like to make is about majority opinion not always being right. That is certainly true on occasion, but the majority of Southend United fans do not rate him, and would rather see other players playing in his position - we havent suddenly all got together and thought lets pick on him, it is based on weeks and weeks of witnessing performances, just as the Yeovil fans did. Now football is a game of opinion, but if the majority of the Southend fans don't rate him, AND the majority of the Yeovil fans don't rate him, is it at all possible that perhaps he isn't as effective as the minority think he is?