What is the home ground advantage?

[ozleicester]

Why does a team (in most cases) have a better record at home as opposed to away.

 

Is it just the crowd? In days gone by, pitches could be very different and players got used to their home ground, but these days players may only stay a club for a couple of years and most pitches are basically the same. 

 

The managers setup differently at home vs away... why?

 

Is it simply just the support?

[Nick]

18 minutes ago, ozleicester said:

Why does a team (in most cases) have a better record at home as opposed to away.

 

Is it just the crowd? In days gone by, pitches could be very different and players got used to their home ground, but these days players may only stay a club for a couple of years and most pitches are basically the same. 

 

The managers setup differently at home vs away... why?

 

Is it simply just the support?

Easier access to performance enhancing substances in ones home ground?

[AKCJ]

Home support, knowing the pitch inside out (morethe size of it that actual playing surface), being able to stick to pre-match superstitions/routines easily, waking up in your own bed and the continuity that that brings.

 

Plenty of reasons.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

Comfort zone. 

[Captain...]

1 hour ago, AKCJ said:

Home support, knowing the pitch inside out (morethe size of it that actual playing surface), being able to stick to pre-match superstitions/routines easily, waking up in your own bed and the continuity that that brings.

 

Plenty of reasons.

I don't think it is the pitch, it is mainly the psychological reasons, you have your routine and familiarity of surroundings at home. When you are traveling away, you get nerves and anxiety, you don't know what the crowd will be like, the schedule, the facilities, whether you will be able to get your port and skittles. Sometimes nerves  and  anxiety are good things, especially when it is a trip into the unknown, but you then start to get bad memories of previous defeats and bad experiences at some grounds. The boys will not be looking forward to a trip to Anfield or Old Trafford any time soon.

 

It happens at the lowest  levels, I've turned up at some muddy pitch on a slope and remembered it was these guys that tonked us last time, they scored from the kick off and bullied us off the pitch, that gets in your head.

 

West Ham is a perfect example of how psychological factors affect you, they have had a bad start at the new ground and now it is an albatross and all the fan unrest and controversy around it is building on the pressure. The only change has been the stadium so they start to fear it. So much sport is psychological. The pitch size will be largely irrelevant, both teams have to play on the same pitch and the margins permitted are pretty small.

[Richard]

 

1 hour ago, Captain... said:

I don't think it is the pitch, it is mainly the psychological reasons, you have your routine and familiarity of surroundings at home. When you are traveling away, you get nerves and anxiety, you don't know what the crowd will be like, the schedule, the facilities, whether you will be able to get your port and skittles. Sometimes nerves  and  anxiety are good things, especially when it is a trip into the unknown, but you then start to get bad memories of previous defeats and bad experiences at some grounds. The boys will not be looking forward to a trip to Anfield or Old Trafford any time soon.

 

It happens at the lowest  levels, I've turned up at some muddy pitch on a slope and remembered it was these guys that tonked us last time, they scored from the kick off and bullied us off the pitch, that gets in your head.

 

West Ham is a perfect example of how psychological factors affect you, they have had a bad start at the new ground and now it is an albatross and all the fan unrest and controversy around it is building on the pressure. The only change has been the stadium so they start to fear it. So much sport is psychological. The pitch size will be largely irrelevant, both teams have to play on the same pitch and the margins permitted are pretty small.

Yep and I'm surprised no clubs made more of an effort to overcome these barriers through psychoanalysis etc. I know England employed a psychologist not long ago and most clubs do have one but for a sport that is so science-oriented and keeps banging on about 'marginal gains' and the like. If somehow you could combat/overcome the test of playing away from home, you'd probably increase your points tally by 50%

[fuchsntf]

38 minutes ago, Richard said:

 

Yep and I'm surprised no clubs made more of an effort to overcome these barriers through psychoanalysis etc. I know England employed a psychologist not long ago and most clubs do have one but for a sport that is so science-oriented and keeps banging on about 'marginal gains' and the like. If somehow you could combat/overcome the test of playing away from home, you'd probably increase your points tally by 50%

Obviously there is something in it having ground advantage.....but.

Top teams dont seem to suffer too much from it, its more a bottom half of below avg 'teams' that are disadvantaged.Plus more a matchday mental thoughts. For various reasons...

I believe its not the standard or level one is playing at, you find up and down the leagues.

Poor teams hard to beat at home.Top teams having 1-2 bogey teams ever  so often.

Teams lose at home, then win away to the same opponent.

Years gone by or in the past the profi teams suffered from such runs, for the good reasons "Captain"  posted.

I had the Good fortune Of playing rugby and football for either top teams or well above avg teams at junior club, or occasionally higher.Especially at Rugby, own experience was home advantage gave you sometimes the "Fortress" Mental c advantage, but even then there were

some teams and often different teams that for one reason or tother would give you a bloody nose. Plus we had a poor 1st half of the season, during that bad run, we actually beat 2 teams away from who hadnt lost for 2 seasons.

 

If some of you were or now are like I used to be...I was a fanatic wanting to read the Leicester Buff. With friends and aquaintances one got interested in teams sports at all levels.

Through the 60,70s,80s,90s  one could see Home advantage was not the gleaming obvious success. Not even guarranteed through quality of team or group of players.

 

One reason totto or  Football  pools, Competitions, landed up as the winners, not the clients.

I believe the above avg teams in any One given season , have the abundant spread of drive the fight, the higher quality, the right spirit , character, or a mighty higher % of just

1 or 2 Of those traits.  Take into account from the lowest to the highest levels, todays teams have far bigger advantages to the ' yesteryears'   so the predictability might of changed somewhat...not saying myself  if that would be easier or more difficult....I dont get to read the 'Buff'  today..

[purpleronnie]

The home crowd used to be a reason people used that phrase but surely these days in England its not particular relevant given most of the noise at grounds come's from away fans....with the exception of the KP of course.

[Bayfox]

Routine, and surroundings, Although I accept it's not the only reason, I am convinced to this day, that the reason England have been so bad at international finals is in part due to the fact we never quite get it right of the pitch.

 

2 home competitions helped us to our best success, with the exception of 1990 and if you look at that camp, bobby got it spot on, the players loved being in each others company.

 

By this I mean sven got panned for the WAG era, and Capello got panned for locking them away with nothing to do, now I know you can't recreate home life, but if your daily routine involves, going home, picking up your kids, seeing them night in night out and sleeping in the same bed as your wife etc, then being taken away from that, if that's what you live for, can have a negative impact on you.

 

I know people will see the flip side and say, stop pandering and giving excuses, but I can't sleep in any bed other than my own to be honest, I get shit nights sleep in hotels and as a guest at someones house, so if I was a footballer, that would be a bad preparation. 

 

And as much as my kids drive me mad at times, I would hate to be taken away from them for 3 weeks, I accept that using it on the England angle isn't the same as domestically, but it must be a factor, Look at Liverpool, they used the state of the away dressing room at anfield to hinder opponents. These are all little things that get into players minds, yet at home, they soon be come accustomed to the surroundings.

[foxy boxing]

a mixture of things they have a home crowd behind them, they know how the surface area plays at home,the away team having to travel and generally being comfortable with home surroundings amongst other things

[Kitchandro]

Well it's purely psychological when you boil it down. Certain aspects of playing home or away may affect your mentality but if you're strong enough in that department it really shouldn't make any difference at all.

 

Easier said than done I suppose but managers need to instil the belief in their players that it's meaningless. Unless they're playing at home of course

[Winchesterfox]

A couple of other things.

 

As well as lifting players, the crowd can lnfluence weak referees.  I think the crowd influenced Jon Moss when we got a late penalty at home to West Ham last season.  It worked against us the year before against Liverpool, when the ball hit Morgan in the face.  

 

You can also adjust your pitch at home to suit your team, within the constraints of your ground.  A football pitch can be between 100 and 130 yards long and 50 and 100 yards wide.  That's a massive variation.  So a team with wingers might want a wider pitch, and and older team might want a smaller one.  You can also cut and water the grass to suit your team.  

 

Apart from refereeing, I don't think the individual factors are massive, but they add up.  Focusing on marginal gains has made us world beaters in cycling.

[Guest CityFan 06]

Yeah I'd say the crowd are one of the key reasons. Most home grounds in the PL have 30,000+ fans turning up every week, so it's always going to be a boost. 

 

 

[ozleicester]

So in the end... it seems most people put it down to "its all in the head - psychology".

 

If this is the case... then wow, a quality sports psychologist is worth a fortune (and who knows how many points?).

[simFox]

3 hours ago, ozleicester said:

So in the end... it seems most people put it down to "its all in the head - psychology".

 

If this is the case... then wow, a quality sports psychologist is worth a fortune (and who knows how many points?).

What does the psychologist actually do though? Actually interested..

[Arriba Los Zorros]

It's actually tradition - these days with good facilites, transport etc and crowds being less partisan than the past, some even booing their own players - home advantage has died. However, the notion of it persists and encourages managers to see a point away as a good result, thus setting up more defensively and being less likely to win.

[Webbo]

I think the crowd can often influence referees in favour of the home team as well. 

[Donut]

I think there are many aspects of home advantage really.

 

Amongst teams in the same league, familiar surroundings is one thing. As others have said, being at home, less travel to the game, no hotels, coach trips, flights for example.

 

Even something like the design of the ground itself, the changing rooms are probably smaller away, designed in such a way the manager cant speak to everyone at the same time, even all the old wives tales about turning the heating up, turning the hot water off all of that.

 

Youve also got the "fear factor" certain grounds hold. Whether this be historical, an intimidating atmosphere, the size of the ground, or the proximity to the pitch of the crowd, if they are right on top of you for example.

 

With that, comes an extra burst of energy to the players, but a little more pressure on the officials in the decisions they give. The crowd are "expectant" and thus performances are most likely to a higher level to meet the extra scrutiny on the players.

 

Then to broaden it further, some teams/countries get even further advantages from conditions. It might be hotter than the away team is used to, it might be freezing, the pitch might be bobbly or the ball run differently, the game might be at altitude where after 70 mins the away team are really blowing and the ball behaves differently.

 

Many many factors