Are the home support causing our late reversals?

[The Prophet]

So, that is five good well earned points on the road now, three clean sheets and three decent performances. So why can't this form  be repeated at home, is the pressure from the fans restricting the players? We have conceded three late goals this season against Man City, Wigan and Stoke, it's also worth noting we so very nearly fucked up against West Brom also at home.

 

Imagine, your playing in the black and white five minutes into the second half of a game the team are leading 2-0. With the team talk ringing in their ears the opposition apply a bit of pressure, the home supposort begin to become a little restless. Five-ten minutes later the away side are still dominating, by now the fans are nearly silenced and all can be heard is the voice of the travelling supporters and the odd disgruntled home fan. Knowing they've silenced the home fans the opposition go on to score. All of a sudden the atmosphere changes, every mistake that is made is greeted with a negative reaction, all of a sudden you are aware that there are 52,000 eyes on you expecting you to make something happen, you don't want the ball so you drop back and hope you receive it as little as possible. Other players are beginning to do the same until the team are so deep they can barely get possession in the oppositions half. Eventually the defence cracks and the equaliser comes much to the dismay of you, your team and the home support.

 

Now this is hypothetical but it is possible for this mentality to creep in whether it is unprofessional or not. So my question is, due to their expectations and reactions are the fans making the players feel pressurised and nervous and therefore contributing or even causing these late home reversals?

[Yorkie]

The reason why we didn't beat Stoke was Joe Kinnear, little else.

[Syrette]

Maybe. It shouldn't affect them that much though.

[Liam Liam Liam O]

HTT will be all over this.  You can't criticise the supporters

[toptoon]

The reason why we didn't beat Stoke was Joe Kinnear, little else.

 

Agreed. Hopefully he's learn't now.

[Guest optimistic nit]

we haven't conceded now in 3 1/2 games with the back 4 that started today. imo it is little else than the fact that we changed shit around against stoke.

[Kaizero]

So, that is five good well earned points on the road now, three clean sheets and three decent performances. So why can't this form  be repeated at home, is the pressure from the fans restricting the players? We have conceded three late goals this season against Man City, Wigan and Stoke, it's also worth noting we so very nearly fucked up against West Brom also at home.

 

Imagine, your playing in the black and white five minutes into the second half of a game the team are leading 2-0. With the team talk ringing in their ears the opposition apply a bit of pressure, the home supposort begin to become a little restless. Five-ten minutes later the away side are still dominating, by now the fans are nearly silenced and all can be heard is the voice of the travelling supporters and the odd disgruntled home fan. Knowing they've silenced the home fans the opposition go on to score. All of a sudden the atmosphere changes, every mistake that is made is greeted with a negative reaction, all of a sudden you are aware that there are 52,000 eyes on you expecting you to make something happen, you don't want the ball so you drop back and hope you receive it as little as possible. Other players are beginning to do the same until the team are so deep they can barely get possession in the oppositions half. Eventually the defence cracks and the equaliser comes much to the dismay of you, your team and the home support.

 

Now this is hypothetical but it is possible for this mentality to creep in whether it is unprofessional or not. So my question is, due to their expectations and reactions are the fans making the players feel pressurised and nervous and therefore contributing or even causing these late home reversals?

 

You forget the very inflated egos of a footballer, they might be effected, but not nearly enough to not even want the ball in fear of doing a mistake like you suggest.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

FEAR & DECISION MAKING

 

Away from home coming away with a point would be considered a good result regardless of the performance. When you are playing to win fear plays a big part as does indecision which when coupled together can result in a mess. When you are set out to come away with a point you don't have to chase a game, you don't have to overextend yourself and have to worry about this or that permutation. Likewise you don't have to make so many critical decisions... for example if the game is 0-0 with 10 minutes to go the decision is simple - just keep playing. At home it is totally different, especially for our club at home in front of us lot who like to see our team trying to win which is perfectly reasonable and I think right. At 0-0 with 10 minutes to go at home, fear comes into play. What if we pour forward and go for a late winner and open the door to the opposition at the back and they score? Also with 10 minutes to go at 0-0 critical decisions are called upon, do you stick with what you have, do you go for it, how do you go for it, whom with and what if it doesn't work? The same can be applied if we are 1-0 up or even 2-0 up. What next? What if? What can I do to maintain that, protect that or build on it? Away from home at 1-0 up there is no what next, same at 0-0 or 1-1 - just keep going.

 

We are playing poorly at home essentially because of the fear factor and the critical nature of decision making.

 

When there is fewer decisions to make and the team are focused on ending the game how they started it with a point at least, there is less chance of things going wrong.

[Guest LucaAltieri]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audience_effect

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_Theory_(Social_Psychology)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_facilitation

 

 

 

That wikipedia article is a shocking explanation of Audience Effect but it's more or less there.

 

Add to that:

 

Skill/Confidence + Audience = Better performance.

 

Lack of Skill/Confidence + Audience = Poor performance.

 

It's not rocket science, really.

 

If you've got an audience who already think you're shit then it's obvious which way it's going to go.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

So its the fans' fault? Bull. Of course we can and do play out bit at both ends of the spectrum but in reality its other factors that determine the outcome with us in fine voice or not being pretty low down on that list I'd say.

[thewellander]

Had we not fallen apart against Stoke we wouldn't be having this conversation, and the only reason we fell apart against Stoke was because of poor decision making from Joe Kinnear.

[Liam Liam Liam O]

HTT will be all over this.  You can't criticise the supporters

 

So its the fans' fault? Bull. Of course we can and do play out bit at both ends of the spectrum but in reality its other factors that determine the outcome with us in fine voice or not being pretty low down on that list I'd say.

 

[OzzieMandias]

It'd be surprising if our tendency to wallow in pessimism didn't sometimes communicate itself to the players.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

HTT will be all over this.  You can't criticise the supporters

 

So its the fans' fault? Bull. Of course we can and do play out bit at both ends of the spectrum but in reality its other factors that determine the outcome with us in fine voice or not being pretty low down on that list I'd say.

 

 

I genuinely find it rather sad if I'm being honest when in reality we influence very little really. We pay our money, turn up and support our club to the best we can based on what we're witnessing. You can't blame fans for our poor home form or the mess the club are in. Ironically a good number that share this view don't even go to games.

[Guest LucaAltieri]

Had we not fallen apart against Stoke we wouldn't be having this conversation, and the only reason we fell apart against Stoke was because of poor decision making from Joe Kinnear.

 

Man City and Wigan didn't happen, I suppose?

[Liam Liam Liam O]

HTT will be all over this.  You can't criticise the supporters

 

So its the fans' fault? Bull. Of course we can and do play out bit at both ends of the spectrum but in reality its other factors that determine the outcome with us in fine voice or not being pretty low down on that list I'd say.

 

 

I genuinely find it rather sad if I'm being honest when in reality we influence very little really. We pay our money, turn up and support our club to the best we can based on what we're witnessing. You can't blame fans for our poor home form or the mess the club are in. Ironically a good number that share this view don't even go to games.

 

I agree with you.

 

I do think that on occassions the panic mentality amongst the supporters at home doesn't help though, but at the same time there have been occasions when the fans have undoubtedly helped raised the players' games. 

 

I certainly wouldn't say the fans had anything to do with the last few collapses from winning positions at home.

 

 

[Spider Jerusalem]

Man City, the players were completely f*cked after playing for most of the match with ten men (with excellent support from the crowd) , Everton was away and it was a good team performance to get an unexpected point after a bad run of form and Wigan we played utter garbage until they went down to ten men, which looked like we'd snatched the win.

 

All different scenarios to the Stoke match as well as todays.

[thewellander]

Had we not fallen apart against Stoke we wouldn't be having this conversation, and the only reason we fell apart against Stoke was because of poor decision making from Joe Kinnear.

 

Man City and Wigan didn't happen, I suppose?

 

I wasn't saying that. I think Spider Jerusalem said it better than I could. The fact that we were at home for all three games is probably a coincidence. It's fairly easy to point out what the problems were in each game, and it's doubtful that the support was one of them.

[OzzieMandias]

Home no longer a fortress for Premier League teams

 

Impatient fans and away teams' negative tactics have diluted the influence of playing at home

 

Chelsea are not the only Premier League team to have been stripped of their fear factor on home turf this season. When Liverpool emerged victorious at Stamford Bridge in late October to end the London club's astonishing sequence of 86 league matches without defeat in their back yard, it was merely the most eye-catching illustration of a trend which has helped make this season the most open and exciting in years.

 

The days of the home banker are not entirely over. Manchester United remain intimidating at Old Trafford, but they are the only member of the so-called Big Four not to have dropped fistfuls of points in front of their own supporters. It is startling to note that six of the top nine clubs can boast better records on their travels, and there is not much in it in the case of a seventh — Arsenal have 17 points at Emirates Stadium and 14 away from it.

 

"Teams are doing better away from home," said the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, "because the philosophy of the game in England has changed. This is for two reasons. First, many teams have changed the system and gone to one striker. And two, many have gone to play specially on a less offensive formula when they have the ball and defend deep and get on the break. The philosophy in the Premier League has moved more to counter-attack and set pieces."

 

"It has been an unusual kind of season," said Steve Clarke, the assistant manager at West Ham United. "It does seem that teams are finding it easier to play away from the added pressure of being in front of their own supporters, where a performance is always demanded."

 

Patience is not a quality readily associated with the modern football fan and there have been numerous examples this season of their insecurities and frustrations bubbling over and unsettling their teams. The Arsenal support rounded on the defender Emmanuel Eboué when they were 1-0 up against Wigan Athletic — the visitors fed on the anxiety and almost snatched an equaliser — and Liverpool's Jamie Carragher has had to appeal for calm in the wake of nervy draws at Anfield.

 

"I think that in Italy the crowd are prepared to accept the home team sitting and waiting for the opposition," said David Pleat, the manager-turned-pundit, as he reflected on the statistic showing Serie A clubs with a significantly higher win percentage at home than their Premier League counterparts; the figure is also higher in Spain's La Liga, Germany's Bundesliga and France's Ligue 1. "The onus is always on the home team but especially in this country. If you sit back the crowd will not tolerate it. They do not understand when you are trying to bring opponents on."

 

Pleat argued that, whereas in the 1980s and early 1990s there were teams that played fast and direct, with plenty of long balls, the sophisticated approach of the vast majority of modern Premier League teams, who work the ball more vigorously, has given rise to games of cat and mouse which play into the hands of counter attacking away sides.

 

"I guarantee that the majority of the possession is still with the home team," said Pleat, "but whereas possession used to be nine tenths of the law, a lot of coaches now, because of the swiftness of counterattacking football, prioritise not only how to regain possession but where to regain it.

 

"When you play teams of superior technical ability most coaches would try and disturb the opposition by playing really high tempo, but there is a chance that they will play around you. An alternative is to concede the ball, wait and spring forward, but that policy is not accepted by home supporters."

 

There is little doubt that today's stadiums are not as hostile for visiting players or referees as they once were. "Most of the players in the Premier League are top internationals," added Pleat. "They are used to big surroundings, big theatres. They are not intimidated."

 

Yet there are those who feel that the upturn in away form is temporary. "Home advantage is an advantage," said Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, whose team have bucked the trend by being imperious at Craven Cottage and winless on their travels. "The top teams, though, traditionally get results both home and away, and often they can be even worse to meet when you're playing at home because your crowd are pushing you forward and you're leaving more space for them to attack in, whereas away from home, if you're the team trying to deny the space and work hard to contain them, it's up to them to break you down."

 

"Over the course of the last 50 years, I think the records show that being at home gives you a 1.3-goal advantage," said Tony Adams, the Portsmouth manager. "It will all even out."

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/dec/23/football-premier-league-chelsea-arsenal-home-teams

[Neil]

Interesting article OM, seems to be a good argument as well.