Igitur
Joined: June 2014
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Post by Igitur on Apr 26, 2017 10:30:22 GMT
Freddie Flintoff and Robbie (yuch spit) Savage were discussing this issue on Radio 5 last Monday. Freddie came out with the usual familiarity and routine of being at home, but also spoke about the abuse/banter he would get from the crowd on the boundary. I don't think that an away crowd makes a huge difference at our level. One interesting thing discussed by the interviewer was an experiment where refs watched videos of games with the sound on and the sound off and got them to rule on decisions, and it showed that home teams got more favourable decisions than away teams.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Apr 26, 2017 11:57:44 GMT
Freddie Flintoff and Robbie (yuch spit) Savage were discussing this issue on Radio 5 last Monday. Freddie came out with the usual familiarity and routine of being at home, but also spoke about the abuse/banter he would get from the crowd on the boundary. I don't think that an away crowd makes a huge difference at our level. One interesting thing discussed by the interviewer was an experiment where refs watched videos of games with the sound on and the sound off and got them to rule on decisions, and it showed that home teams got more favourable decisions than away teams. In cricket it makes a far more obvious difference because of the importance of the pitch. Home advantage is completely understandable in a sport where every pitch bounces and plays slightly differently which the home side would be expected to use to their advantage when building their side. In football it is less obvious but I can only think that it is the culmination of a lot of minor factors that build up into a distinct advantage in a sport where it doesn't take much to tip the balance. In other words, it's some combination of familiarity, crowd, pitch dimensions, travel distances, influence on officials etc etc. On their own they may not make a massive difference but combined they give the home team a distinct advantage. I also wonder if some of it is just an engrained collective psychology within the game - ie 'we are at home so x applies' and 'we are away so y applies'. Even managers who will discuss playing the same way whatever the circumstances or emphasise playing attacking football away from home will still resort to the rhetoric of 'it was a good point' when getting a draw away or 'it was 2 points dropped' when getting a draw at home, whereas if you truly didn't care then you wouldn't speak in those terms. Don't underestimate the self-reinforcing culture of the game - the 'it matters because people think it matters' factor. This exists in all sports to a degree. In cricket - a game I know much more about in terms of the psychology of playing- people will endlessly discuss how they need to bat at 'number 4/5/6 etc' in order to be successful which is completely illogical really because the context of each game is totally different. You can be batting at 30-3 one week and 150-3 the next and that requires completely different approaches and skillsets - yet people still go 'I am a number 5' and will throw toys out of the pram sometimes if asked to bat at 4 or 6. It's something that matters because people convince themselves it matters.
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kingswood Polak
Without music life would be a mistake
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Post by kingswood Polak on Apr 26, 2017 12:34:17 GMT
There's no doubt our away form has been bad and cost us at least a PO spot, but why can a team whose home form is so good be so poor away? The home record is: W12 D6 L3 F38 A22, while away it is: W5 D6 L11 F24 A40. It's the same squad. This blight is not only true for Rovers, and some teams play better away. I've asked an ex-professional, but he could not provide a reason. Is it too simple to say DC is more defensive away and so the goals do not come? Do players genuinely not travel well, but most teams stay in a hotel for long distance fixtures? Do players feel more comfortable at home and confidence is higher? Do teams raise their game playing us - hardly? Do we try too hard and get nervous? Have managers sussed us? I've looked at it from all directions for some time and am at a loss. In my view it is a mixture of being sussed out & the team never being the same as one that has secured a home win. As much as I love DC's honesty, his set up away from home is not one that is close to difficult to think through. Sit back and draw on the pressure then change a couple of players and try to win on fresh legs. We've been sussed ages ago & as badbloodash says, our away form has been relegation form. It's all well & good to say DC is still learning but you have to strike while the proverbial iron is hot. We may not get another chance of a play off spot for a couple or few seasons. I'm not fully blaming DC but I would have liked to see a few more times where the team that won at home was the same one that lined up in the away fixture. Hoping & praying for some uplifting stadium news just to cover up my disappointment at not making the season a bit longer. For me, there is nothing worse than playing a game that has nothing in it to play for. I would have loved to have at least made a play off spot if only for the experience the players got from it.
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kingswood Polak
Without music life would be a mistake
Joined: May 2014
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Post by kingswood Polak on Apr 26, 2017 12:44:18 GMT
The lads are super sad when they know they can't bang a sporty pizza 40 minutes after a game and it effects their performance. The pizza for a win was a certain Mark McGhee's idea. Just saying like
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kingswood Polak
Without music life would be a mistake
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Post by kingswood Polak on Apr 26, 2017 12:47:48 GMT
Freddie Flintoff and Robbie (yuch spit) Savage were discussing this issue on Radio 5 last Monday. Freddie came out with the usual familiarity and routine of being at home, but also spoke about the abuse/banter he would get from the crowd on the boundary. I don't think that an away crowd makes a huge difference at our level. One interesting thing discussed by the interviewer was an experiment where refs watched videos of games with the sound on and the sound off and got them to rule on decisions, and it showed that home teams got more favourable decisions than away teams. With sound on or off please ?
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2017 12:54:07 GMT
Freddie Flintoff and Robbie (yuch spit) Savage were discussing this issue on Radio 5 last Monday. Freddie came out with the usual familiarity and routine of being at home, but also spoke about the abuse/banter he would get from the crowd on the boundary. I don't think that an away crowd makes a huge difference at our level. One interesting thing discussed by the interviewer was an experiment where refs watched videos of games with the sound on and the sound off and got them to rule on decisions, and it showed that home teams got more favourable decisions than away teams. With sound on or off please ? I'm going to go out on a limb and assume with the sound on
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Igitur
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 2,294
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Post by Igitur on Apr 26, 2017 13:15:27 GMT
Freddie Flintoff and Robbie (yuch spit) Savage were discussing this issue on Radio 5 last Monday. Freddie came out with the usual familiarity and routine of being at home, but also spoke about the abuse/banter he would get from the crowd on the boundary. I don't think that an away crowd makes a huge difference at our level. One interesting thing discussed by the interviewer was an experiment where refs watched videos of games with the sound on and the sound off and got them to rule on decisions, and it showed that home teams got more favourable decisions than away teams. With sound on or off please ? Ah, well spotted - with the sound on home teams got more decisions their way, presumably the refs were being influenced by crowd responses.
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kingswood Polak
Without music life would be a mistake
Joined: May 2014
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Post by kingswood Polak on Apr 26, 2017 13:20:47 GMT
With sound on or off please ? Ah, well spotted - with the sound on home teams got more decisions their way, presumably the refs were being influenced by crowd responses. I know it sounded a daft question but it would have been interesting if it proved the same with sound off. Now we know what to do, our part is to give it to the ref big time next season lol. Thanks for not taking the p155 as you easily could have
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Post by a more piratey game on Apr 26, 2017 13:27:35 GMT
this thread has quite a sensible and interesting debate. Just sayin'
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kingswood Polak
Without music life would be a mistake
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 10,263
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Post by kingswood Polak on Apr 26, 2017 13:45:30 GMT
this thread has quite a sensible and interesting debate. Just sayin' Good innit !
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