Away record playing in home kit: P3 W2 D1 Lo Away record in away kit P7 W0 D1 L6 As for pitch, Hull and Luton are obvious examples; but we do have a carpet at VR compared to many. I think the famous slope may actually help drainage (like vineyards in Burgundy)
Yeah, but the point I was making is that all clubs have a better home record than away, at least historically. Not all clubs have carpets for pitches. It's traditionally attributed to home support but I wonder if that really explains everything. As a19 said originally, should that make much difference to elite players?
The weird thing is as I alluded to originally, it was still generally the case for most clubs during Covid, even without crowds. There are probably a few weird human psychology factors at play that we’ll never truly understand.
We probably played the same way v Sunderland and Boro in the first half as at Hull as that seems to be a general pattern except Plymouth away but unlike those games didn’t really impose ourselves on the opposition on Wednesday for whatever reason . There are a number of matches where we have been second best for 45 but got away with it. And not sure we have had a good second half performance since Sheff Wednesday away or Oxford at home .
I think it certainly used to. If you look at home and away league tables from years ago, home form was broadly better and away form worse than it is now. Back then clubs had less money to spend on overnight stays, so undertook long journeys with early starts on the day by coach or train. Road journeys were also longer before motorways. All this must have had an effect on the results of matches.
It's also familliarity. I remember as a player myself I was always comfortable at home I could arrive 45 mins before kick off, whip out the News of the World and be assured of reasonably well maintained facilities both equipped with toilet tissue and with well attached clean seat with a pleasing mechanism. On the road - different story. Where is the stall? Who do I ask? Is it home players only, will it be drafty, needing to carry a squashed loo roll alongside the boots and that trepedation (sometimes unjustified) of slowly swinging open the facility door to reveal my fate. Bearing in mind this was a league where 90% of the players had rolled out of a nightclub 6 hours previously, it played havoc with my mental state pre-match and was deeply detrimental to focusing on the gaffer's game plan.
Just vary the scenarios. Do I get to sit in the corner still, or does the dressing room configuration mean I'm now in the middle as the number 10? Needing to remember to bring your own hair gel/alice bands as your stash won't be there where it always is. The away shirt chaffs me at the collar because it's round not v neck like the home. Got to arrive at ground an extra hour before kick off because nobody knows where they are going and kitmen/physios have huge carry cases to sort out. Meant to whatsapp the family this morning on video but left the phone uncharged when I fell asleep picking my FPL team last night. Hotel shampoo was sh*** and now I have a mildly itchy scalp. Add all those mild factors together and before you know it I've lost my man at a corner after 6 minutes, and that tool of a keeper is giving me the stinkeye even though he is somehow 2 yards behind the goal line when the guy headed it.
I think you may be broadly right. The debilitating effect of travelling must surely be in there somewhere (especially in the old days), but I think there is a big element of psychology applying. I do go on about it, I know, but I think we often forget how young many pro footballers are. They consequently may be less capable of controlling their emotions and their ability to concentrate on the job. This will apply in different amounts to different players, but if just half your team suffer from lack of fortitude or are easily distracted, that's enough to screw up your performance. Just having a large crowd cheering you on seems to be a driving force - getting that extra percent or so from you as a player. It's no good saying this shouldn't be so, we are dealing with young humans here. Of course, playing on an unfamiliar pitch can make a difference: Exaggerated examples would be the artificial turf that QPR and L***ton once had - and their disproportionately good home records.
Oh, God - playing against angry teenage drunks: I don't miss that! You had a gaffer? With a game plan? You must have been higher up the league than me!
I think generally, most teams will be a bit more cautious and sit back, which may actually play into our hands as players like Baah are unlike most wingers at this level as he's not simply nullified by a low block, whereas at home, teams aren’t afraid to attack us and are always good for at least one goal (not that I’d say Hull were particularly attacking, but still!)
Teams , away from home , generally play counter attack football and you are only as good as your counter attacking forwards . Think back to Brighton away when Vydra scored to confirm promotion back to the Premier division . We were under the cosh but our strikers gave the team belief . If Bayo\Jebbison was the striking option that season or any promotion winning season we would not have gained promotion.
Home vs Away. It can’t be down to tactics as managers would simply use their home tactics in away games to negate this. It must be down to familiarity and atmosphere surely. As humans we are all more comfortable and able to excel in familiar environments and with the majority of spectators willing us on ?
Was there a different atmosphere for the Sheff Wednesday atmosphere to the Hull one ? Probably not . We seem particularly poor in mid week games it seems to me tbh .
Familiarity with the surroundings, your seat in the changing room, the route into "work". All these things put a player at ease and give less stress than being away somewhere new, somewhere where theres less certainty. The length of grass situation. Where India setup a cricket pitch to spin, Watford's grass not quite on the same scale will still be familiar to our players, they'll get used to it and indeed the size of the pitch. Playing to a crowd is multifaceted, it could add pressure to our players, but at the same time you know the desired result - always want to win, so generally the last 5 minutes for example, will see the home team looking to win the game with the crowd expecting so. Home teams open out and attack whereas away teams are often happier to sit back and snatch a goal on the break. Away from home the desired outcome may more often be to hold and be in the match, or if it's Watford we're to asking about at Man City, happy to be 3 down at half time. Then you have more home fans. Getting on the refs back, sometimes intimidating the away players (lee cook?) and generally being more pleasant to play around as the home team. It's pretty rare to have a team be better away than at home, but it'll be down to a combination of a poor mentality (fear of failure) in front of your own fans, freedom from that pressure to get a result when away (win is a bonus) and the style of play (effective on the counter for example).
