{"id":292034,"date":"2023-10-26T01:29:41","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T01:29:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/?p=292034"},"modified":"2023-10-26T01:29:41","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T01:29:41","slug":"esme-morgan-its-difficult-to-meet-every-supporter-after-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/soccer\/esme-morgan-its-difficult-to-meet-every-supporter-after-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Esme Morgan: it&apos;s &apos;difficult&apos; to meet every supporter after games"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>KATHRYN BATTE: England star Esme Morgan &#8216;loves&#8217; interacting with fans but insists growing crowds have made it &#8216;difficult&#8217;&#8230; amid &#8216;hurtful&#8217; criticism from supporters who feel ignored<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Esme Morgan says growing crowds made made it unrealistic to greet every fan<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Mary Earps found it &#8216;hurtful&#8217; when one fan accused her of being too &#8216;important&#8217;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport&#8217;s podcast &#8216;It&#8217;s All Kicking Off!&#8217;\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Esme Morgan remembers being the \u2018kid in the crowd\u2019 hoping to get a glimpse of her heroes.<\/p>\n<p>The 23-year-old is now on the other side as an England international and a regular for Manchester City.<\/p>\n<p>The difference, though, is that the crowds Morgan once stood in have multiplied to tens of thousands.<\/p>\n<p>When England were playing in front of 5,000 people in Wycombe, there was a realistic chance for supporters to meet players after games. But the Lionesses attract a far greater audience these days, with Friday\u2019s Nations League match against Belgium set to be played at a sold-out Kingpower Stadium in Leicester &#8211; which holds over 32,000.<\/p>\n<p>The issue is that, for many, expectations have not changed. After England\u2019s victory over Scotland in Sunderland last month, a video emerged of supporters chanting for players to \u2018get off the bus\u2019.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/25\/16\/76991551-12671723-image-a-34_1698248734475.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Esme Morgan says it is hard for players to meet every fan due to growing crowds &#8211; but that they still &#8216;love&#8217; meeting supporters\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/25\/16\/76991613-12671723-image-a-35_1698248831294.jpg\" height=\"462\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Mary Earps was accused by one parent of being &#8216;too busy and important&#8217; to meet their daughter and said the remark was &#8216;hurtful&#8217; as she devotes time to fans<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, England goalkeeper Mary Earps responded to a comment on Instagram from a parent who accused her of being \u2018too busy and important\u2019 to meet their daughter after Manchester United\u2019s victory over Everton. Earps described the remark as \u2018hurtful\u2019 and insisted she had spent lots of time meeting fans after the game.<\/p>\n<p>England\u2019s players care deeply about interacting with supporters but, as Morgan explains, it is not as easy as it once was.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We love being able to go over and make someone\u2019s day and see how excited people get but with the growth of the game now it\u2019s just not really realistic and feasible for us to get round and see everyone,\u2019 Morgan says.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s difficult when sometimes maybe some fans feel like the expectation is that they\u2019re going to get to meet you and in years gone by that might have been an option, not as many fans were coming to the games so you might be able to get round everyone.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018But it\u2019s obviously become a lot more difficult now with the growth of the game, so you try and connect in different ways &#8211; doing social media things and interacting with people on there and replying to comments and stuff is another way of doing it, but in person after games is definitely becoming a lot more difficult.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s something that we know fans really enjoy and we absolutely want to keep it in the game, we want to keep meeting people but it\u2019s obviously not a pleasant experience if someone like Mary for example, who spends a hell of a lot of time meeting fans, she\u2019s so patient, and then she gets home and she\u2019s missed one person and then has to deal with a torrent of abuse about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I think that\u2019s a big shame and would put you off wanting to do it.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Morgan acknowledges that some fans, like those in Sunderland, may be left disappointed but hopes there is an understanding that players are not able to stay out all night &#8211; even if they wanted to.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s hard when there\u2019s so many people, you\u2019re going along the line signing things and meeting people and then get called away by security.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/25\/16\/75755407-12671723-Lionesses_fans_were_left_frustrated_after_the_players_failed_to_-a-36_1698248967082.jpg\" height=\"455\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Lionesses fans were upset when players did not greet them after they beat Scotland in the Nations League in September\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/25\/17\/76992349-12671723-image-a-55_1698249905089.jpg\" height=\"432\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Security, media commitments, and other constraints mean that players don&#8217;t have the time to meet every supporter<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019ve got to get on the bus home at some point cause otherwise we\u2019d be out there all night, at some point you\u2019ve got to go and then people are shouting \u201cI want this, you\u2019ve not seen me yet\u201d and I feel bad because I have gone up to here [in the line] and if you\u2019re the next person, you\u2019re so close and you are missing out and it is really hard because I\u2019m sure at that age I would have been disappointed and so gutted that I was so close to meeting one of my heroes.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There\u2019s just so many more people that come to the games that it\u2019s just not possible for us to get round it all.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We had a situation at City last year. We played Brighton away and Chloe Kelly had been out for ages, as she very often is, signing things and having pictures taken with people, and she got tweeted by a fan that she hadn\u2019t taken the time to meet one of his daughters who\u2019d come to the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Chloe was really upset because she\u2019d spent so much time there and you can\u2019t please everyone and you always remember that one person who wasn\u2019t happy with you as opposed to all the people who you made their day and they were really grateful.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It is difficult because a lot of the time the club\u2019s response would be \u201cdon\u2019t engage\u201d because we\u2019d all want to stand up for Chloe and say \u201chang on, she was the last one in to the changing room after the game, that\u2019s not fair\u201d, but obviously you wouldn\u2019t necessarily want to engage in that negative way.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>There have been a number of issues at both international and domestic games of fans crowding around the side of the pitch before games have finished in order to be better placed to meet players after the game.<\/p>\n<p>Manchester City have looked to tackle this problem by creating an \u2018autograph avenue\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Selected fans, including members of the supporters\u2019 club, competition winners and others chosen on the day, are given wristbands that permit entry to a space where a number of players will pass through and sign autographs and take pictures.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s a lot nicer for us as players actually because it\u2019s a much calmer situation and atmosphere,\u2019 Morgan says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Sometimes when you go around the edge of the crowd, you\u2019re kind of getting screamed at and having things thrust in your face. I find that difficult because I\u2019ve been on the other end of it. When I first started coming to City\u2019s women\u2019s matches I was just a kid in the crowd wanting to meet everyone.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/25\/16\/76991809-12671723-image-a-37_1698249070537.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Chloe Kelly was upset when one fan complained that she hadn&#8217;t met one of her daughters even though she had spent lots of time with fans<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/25\/16\/76992089-12671723-image-a-52_1698249582664.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Manchester City have made an &#8216;autograph avenue&#8217; where players can dedicate time to fans<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I think the way City have set it up, it\u2019s a lot less chaotic and it\u2019s a lot more structured and organised.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a really nice way to meet everyone and you can spend a little bit more time chatting to people because not everyone is sort of screaming or going a bit crazy around you, because sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming when there\u2019s such huge crowds and you feel bad leaving knowing there\u2019s another hundred people down the row that you can\u2019t get to.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;That\u2019s when it comes in that it\u2019s not possible to see everyone but we try our best.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I think if clubs can put something in place, like City have, making it a lot more well managed and a calmer experience then I think it\u2019s much more pleasant for everybody.\u2019<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12671723\/KATHRYN-BATTE-England-star-Esme-Morgan-loves-interacting-fans-insists-growing-crowds-difficult-amid-hurtful-criticism-supporters-feel-ignored.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KATHRYN BATTE: England star Esme Morgan &#8216;loves&#8217; interacting with fans but insists growing crowds have made it &#8216;difficult&#8217;&#8230; amid &#8216;hurtful&#8217;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Esme Morgan: it&amp;apos;s &amp;apos;difficult&amp;apos; to meet every supporter after games - Sports Love Me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/soccer\/esme-morgan-its-difficult-to-meet-every-supporter-after-games\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Esme Morgan: it&amp;apos;s &amp;apos;difficult&amp;apos; 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