Mr Weller Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 Liverpool 2 Villa 7 Man Utd 1 Tottenham 6 Man City 2 Leicester 5 Now assuming no one has put Bolivian marching powder on my cornflakes I am looking for an explanation and coincidence simply isn’t plausible. Could it be that teams give up more easily when there are no fans? Is it that the embarrassment factor isn’t there because there are no fans going nuts? Of course, we put 9 past Southampton in front of a normal crowd so these results can happen but three in a week?
Izzy Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 I’m not sure this crazy start to the PL season is down to no fans in stadiums. I think maybe it’s more down to no proper pre season, lots of fixtures, players not fully fit and therefore loads of mistakes happening. Just my take on all the madness.
5waller5 Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 I've just been saying exactly this to my son. For me, It's a combination of throwing in the towel earlier, and there being no pressure on attackers - nobody is on their back if they miss, so they attempt more flamboyant passes / moves / shots etc and don't worry as much about it not coming off
dannythefox Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 I don’t think they give up it’s simply there’s not fans there to support them, they feed off the crowd massively. They’ll be some strange results this season anything could happen.
Pliskin Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 I think there is a clear impact. The games are becoming training sessions, the edge has gone. And I think that last 10% you get from the whole match day experience is gone. You’re going to get some odd results like this. I don’t think it’s a case of giving up, I think it’s a case of taking your eye off the tempo of the game, no fans really takes some tempo out of the experience.... basically it’s a kick about on telly.
StriderHiryu Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 11 minutes ago, Izzy said: I’m not sure this crazy start to the PL season is down to no fans in stadiums. I think maybe it’s more down to no proper pre season, lots of fixtures, players not fully fit and therefore loads of mistakes happening. Just my take on all the madness. That would be my take on it too given that the fixtures at the of last season were nowhere near as crazy. But as we have seen, home advantage is out of the window. Opposition teams have no fear playing away because it's the same experience playing either home or away, as there's no atmosphere or crowd against you. That was shown both last season and this across Europe.
Aus Fox Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 16 minutes ago, Izzy said: I’m not sure this crazy start to the PL season is down to no fans in stadiums. I think maybe it’s more down to no proper pre season, lots of fixtures, players not fully fit and therefore loads of mistakes happening. Just my take on all the madness. This would be my take, which makes the criticism of individual players even harsher.
Izzy Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 6 minutes ago, Pliskin said: I think there is a clear impact. The games are becoming training sessions, the edge has gone. And I think that last 10% you get from the whole match day experience is gone. You’re going to get some odd results like this. I don’t think it’s a case of giving up, I think it’s a case of taking your eye off the tempo of the game, no fans really takes some tempo out of the experience.... basically it’s a kick about on telly. Well these kickabouts on the telly are producing a shed load of goals. If the edge and the tempo returns when fans are back in stadiums, does that mean we'll get 0-0 score lines again?
Pliskin Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 3 minutes ago, Izzy said: Well these kickabouts on the telly are producing a shed load of goals. If the edge and the tempo returns when fans are back in stadiums, does that mean we'll get 0-0 score lines again? Probably, I think fans being present means teams focus that extra bit. You can even see the tension sometimes, the crowds anxieties resonate in the players and it just adds to the occasion. There’s a definite psychological advantage when fans are present. I think think the players take their eye off proceedings more often with no fans, if you say watching Liverpool train, there’s probably a hundred examples over time where the likes of Virgil have shockers. The atmosphere is different, effectively the game has changed.
shailen Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 I think there's an element of that. It's like when a young kid has to clean their room. Don't check on them or watch them from a distance and they won't do it but as soon as they're shouted at, it focuses them and they get the job done. Players sometimes need the fans to voice their opinions as its the only external voice they can really hear apart from the managers at half time. That pressure from the fans really can focus players and inject some real urgency into their play. It's no fluke with some of the results since lockdown. I'd like to see who the best team has been points wise as I think it's tipped the balance a fair bit towards the so called smaller clubs.
Mr Weller Posted 4 October 2020 Author Posted 4 October 2020 There’s definitely something happening here which goes beyond having a short pre-season. It’s like performing a play with no audience; there’s no atmosphere so the danger of making a mistake is reduced. In some ways it makes the game more entertaining though I’m not suggesting it’s better overall. Last season was largely set by lockdown but our collapse was probably exacerbated by a lack of fans. This season there is no form book so results are fluctuating wildly. The team that succeeds will be the team that has the fewest fluctuations and that may favour experience over youth. I might be wrong but this isn’t normal football as we know it and it’s likely to last until the Spring.
foxinyourbox Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 No crowd certainly helps level the playing field. Teams with larger crowds/intimidating atmospheres (Old Trafford, Anfield) can no longer enjoy that advantage.
Sol thewall Bamba Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 It's an interesting theory, I also think with the lack of pressure from home crowds especially players will be expressing themselves more and that could lead to more open games and more goals like we've been seeing recently.
NaijaFox Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 I imputed the same notion elsewhere today. 7 hours ago, NaijaFox said: Dude, we must have been watching different games - or perhaps you had your TV upside down. Most of our possession was succinctly typified by us playing “keep away” in our own half and the middle of the park in the added minute of the first half, passing the ball sideways and backwards with absolutely no sense of urgency (this is where I miss the crowd getting on the players’ backs). Reality is that West Ham comfortably had us passing around in front of their two banks of defensive lines, and comfortably turned us backwards or dispossessed us once we ventured into the final third. Please let’s chalk off this tepid display to experience and regroup, rather than trying to delude ourselves that it did not happen.
The Horse's Mouth Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 I think its more likely the lack of pre sesson tbh
sacreblueits442 Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 1 hour ago, Mr Weller said: Liverpool 2 Villa 7 Man Utd 1 Tottenham 6 Man City 2 Leicester 5 Now assuming no one has put Bolivian marching powder on my cornflakes I am looking for an explanation and coincidence simply isn’t plausible. Could it be that teams give up more easily when there are no fans? Is it that the embarrassment factor isn’t there because there are no fans going nuts? Of course, we put 9 past Southampton in front of a normal crowd so these results can happen but three in a week? ...there is a tendency for freak results to happen at the start of a season!!! Take a look after 10 games when teams start to settle down and it all goes back to normal.
twister Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 I think this season is a completely un normal one no fans no pre season, played 10 games in july and august , players are out of rhythm without a four or five week break. I watched burnley a normally high pressing team, they went pressing for 15 minutes at newcastle and looked cream crackered. it has a giant pre season feel about it, but here we are everyone has to get on with it.
deanolegend1989 Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 1 hour ago, Izzy said: I’m not sure this crazy start to the PL season is down to no fans in stadiums. I think maybe it’s more down to no proper pre season, lots of fixtures, players not fully fit and therefore loads of mistakes happening. Just my take on all the madness. Not a chance blaming no pressure season. That’s a lame cliche that gets rolled out with no evidence. As pep said last week, can’t blame that because they were so good vs Wolves so suddenly it’s no pre season? Liverpool looked fantastic vs Arsenal and suddenly it’s the no pre season why they lose 7-2? Its clearly nothing to do with fitness that the goals and stats are being blown out the water. Its purely a case of teams have less discipline and the ‘training match’ feel will always play on the players, either consciously or subconsciously. From bigger things like confidence and roaring that will get the adrenaline going, to smaller things like being ‘nervous’ when taking an away corner in front of fans spitting at you and shouting all kinds of crap. Footballs are only Humans , they feel the pressure.
Freeman's Wharfer Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 No Leicester fan who experienced our stadium from April 2015 to May 2016 can honestly believe that fans in stadium can’t impact results and performances. There’s obviously a fatigue/fitness impact but I also think that the games are lacking an intensity that makes defenders focus and concentrate as much. I imagine if you put top quality players on a training field for 90 minutes they could find the net pretty regularly and you’d get a high-scoring affair. You only have to see some of the videos our players post on social media of them scoring outrageous goals in training - the likes of which you’d typically see 3 or 4 times in an actual match across a season.
TeamRocket Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 Personally I think fans make a huge huge difference. Wish the covid would just go away now so fan could go back.
Izzy Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 14 minutes ago, deanolegend1989 said: Not a chance blaming no pressure season. That’s a lame cliche that gets rolled out with no evidence. As pep said last week, can’t blame that because they were so good vs Wolves so suddenly it’s no pre season? Liverpool looked fantastic vs Arsenal and suddenly it’s the no pre season why they lose 7-2? Its clearly nothing to do with fitness that the goals and stats are being blown out the water. Its purely a case of teams have less discipline and the ‘training match’ feel will always play on the players, either consciously or subconsciously. From bigger things like confidence and roaring that will get the adrenaline going, to smaller things like being ‘nervous’ when taking an away corner in front of fans spitting at you and shouting all kinds of crap. Footballs are only Humans , they feel the pressure. And you've got 'evidence' for that have you?
lcfcsnow Posted 4 October 2020 Posted 4 October 2020 I’ve thought the same, its definitely became harder to recover from going behind in games, shown by the lack of draws. Maybe certain players are performing better than they would do when in front of an audience too.
Dan Posted 5 October 2020 Posted 5 October 2020 I definitely think heads are dropping in games a lot more. There's some bonkers stuff going on though. Matchday 2 there were 44 goals, which was a record for the league. Matchday 3 there were 39. This weekend there were 41. It's bonkers. When it keeps happening it kind of detracts from the others a bit. This is probably going to be a season like no other. I can see somebody beating our 9-0 to be honest.
RowlattsFox Posted 5 October 2020 Posted 5 October 2020 Lack of crowds definitely affect the response of teams that go behind in my opinion. Lack of anxiety for teams that are winning too. We've got used to the crowd noise a little bit but it's important to remember how flat the atmosphere is in the stadium. Lack of pressure on games this time of the season is playing a huge part as well. The best sides will start to go it together over the coming weeks I feels a lot more but the season is only 4 weeks old. If will be interesting to see how things change when crowds do come back.
Spudulike Posted 5 October 2020 Posted 5 October 2020 I certainly think that West Ham players are feeling less pressure without their toxic fan base being in attendance.
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