Kevin Davies first raised the issue – and a few eyebrows in the process – when he expressed personal sadness that the only time fans applaud opposition players these days is when they are being carried off on a stretcher.

Gone were the days, he suggested, when a talented touch, a skilful run or a thundering shot into the top corner would be appreciated and acknowledged by both sets of supporters.

Wanderers’ club captain had been prompted by the harrowing events at White Hart Lane on March 17 where an entire crowd – realising the gravity of what they were witnessing on the field – spontaneously struck up chants in support of the stricken Fabrice Muamba.

The same chant echoed round the Reebok on Saturday afternoon – Blackburn supporters just as enthusiastic as their Wanderers’ counterparts – as it had at so many grounds throughout the previous seven days.

The dramatic events – Muamba’s callapse, the remarkable aid he received as he fought for his life and his subsequent “miraculous” recovery – captured the imagination on a global scale.

The slogan “Pray for Muamba” was everywhere, going viral on social networking sites, while the volume of goodwill messages that poured in from around the world has overwhelmed those nearest to the player, and the lad himself.

Now, with improvement in his condition being reported on an almost daily basis, there is time to reflect on the drama, and, with reflection, thoughts turn to whether the story can, indeed, be a force for good.

Such is the nature of the beast there will be huge numbers of football followers who will remain a blight on society.

Yesterday we saw the student – 21-year-old Liam Stacey – who mocked Muamba on Twitter, jailed for inciting racial hatred, District Judge John Charles describing his comments as “vile and abhorrent”.

And I’m sure I wasn’t alone in being deeply disturbed to see the front cover of this week’s Red Issue – the Manchester United fanzine which crossed the line of decency with a graphic portayal of Muamba’s plight. They say they were not having a go at the player, but attacking the “grief junkies” who created a “circus” on social networking sites in the wake of his collapse. But it was so unnecessary, clearly in bad taste, and the timing stank – offending United fans as well as those of other persuasions.

Yet, even accepting there will always be unsavoury elements, if 36,000 people at White Hart Lane, 26,000 at the Reebok and hundreds of thousands of supporters at various other grounds not directly linked to Muamba could unite in the way they did, then there is good reason to at least hope we may see a turn in the tide of behaviour that has caused so much concern to Kevin Davies.

Owen Coyle, who has quite rightly earned widespread praise for the dignified and inspirational way he has handled the situation, certainly believes this could bring a change for the better.

“For me there are positives to come out of such a difficult event,” he told me this week.

“We’ve all got our jobs to do and sometimes people want to look at the negative side of football. But football’s the best game in the world. There are positive stories and this past week has brought home how much good there is in the game as well.

“You go to games and you get abuse and everything else, but good natured banter is great. Sometimes I think it can be vitriolic but I’ve not found that anywhere in the last week.

“What I have found is a sense of unity and togetherness – and long may it continue.

“It shows the game in a far better light.”

I’m not naïve enough to think one player’s plight – as tragic and touching as it has been – can change the world. I have no wish to see rivalry stifled any more than I would do away with promotion and relegation, and I certainly wouldn’t want a return to the days when men in flat caps and gabardine raincoats crammed into inadequate, unsafe terracing, shouting “Up the Trotters!”.

But it would be uplifting to think those who saw fit to chant Fabrice Muamba’s name to the echo will at least show their appreciation of a talented opposition player – and not just when he’s being lifted onto a stretcher.

Mancini has a mind to throw away the title

THERE has been a lot of daft talk in recent days about the Premier League title going to the winner of the Manchester Mind Games.

If that’s the case, United already have the championship in the bag – not because Sir Alex Ferguson is regarded as the master of the “dark art” but because Roberto Mancini is repeatedly scoring own goals.

A couple of weeks ago he reckoned City lost at Swansea because they were tired; last weekend his excuse for dropping two more points at the Britannia Stadium was that his players had been roughed up by Stoke.

He even refused to shake hands with Potters boss Tony Pulis. The Italian was enraged that Dean Whitehead hadn’t been disciplined for an elbow on David Silva, although he conveniently ignored the fact that Stoke had a good penalty shout turned down when Gareth Barry got away with a challenge on Glenn Whelan, who was lucky not to suffer serious ankle damage.

Fergie doesn’t need to say a word when his rival is acting so hysterically.

If we are in for a mind games contest, it looks like being the most one-sided there’s ever been.

Crouch strike answers critics

THE next time supporters are tempted to yell “freak!” to wind up Peter Crouch, they might just recall the remarkable piece of skill he showed in scoring that candidate for goal of the season against Manchester City at the weekend.

The 6ft 7ins striker has heard the jibes throughout his career, despite the fact he is as skilful as he is lanky, and is a devastating striker for club and country. Just ask any top-flight centre-back.

It’s tempting to look at him and see nothing more than a target for set-pieces, but he’s always been much more than that, with two good feet and a footballing brain.

He’s always been a good goalscorer, now we can see he is also a scorer of good goals – great goals.

When will Joey say something clever?

I’M relieved Joey Barton is only taking a sabbatical from Twitter and not quitting the site for good.

As an avid follower of Joey I’d be sorry to see him finish for good because it would spoil the fun of trying to find something in his ramblings that is actually worth reading.

Since joining the Twitter family – I’m still just a follower rather than a tweeter – I’ve done my best to find something @Joey7 Barton has posted that either amuses or entertains. And I have to admit I’ve become obsessed.

Barton has been flagged up as one of the more intelligent of Premier League footballers, but I’ve yet to see any evidence to support the claim.

There must be some, because the QPR captain has 1,360,174 followers – unless they are all like me; curious to see what all the fuss is about.