| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? 18:12 - Oct 15 with 4352 views | Hadders |
One thing that mildly irritates me is how people talk about playing away as if it was a different game in which you were automatically at some massive disadvantage. Is that really true? If I were a manager, I might ban the word "away". There are only matches, with the same rules, and I suspect the difference in home/away results is mostly due to the self-fulfilling "play for a point" mentality of away teams and the way managers often set their teams out differently.
If I were a player, I suspect I might prefer playing away, feeling less pressure, enjoying quietening the home crowd and getting them on the home team's backs. Long coach journeys might not be perfect preparation for a match, but that must be a minor thing with all the modern comforts, and you could twist it to make players feel, " We've come all this flipping way, we need to win!" I suppose officials might be unconsciously biased a bit to give decisions to the home team, though the abuse we generally give them at Loftus Road would suggest that many feel otherwise. I wonder if there have been any studies of this, and of teams who have played as well (or better) away as at home? [Post edited 18 Oct 2017 21:59]
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| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 18:15 - Oct 15 with 3309 views | Northernr |
Agree to a certain extent. It's obviously different and more difficult but as I said in my match preview QPR's mentality and attitude to away games bar when Warnock was here has been absolutely appalling for years now. A point was a poor result yesterday, and at Barnsley. |  | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 18:52 - Oct 15 with 3262 views | Hadders |
After yesterday's game, Olly said: "For the away team, we played really well". For the away team? This is what I mean.
Just found this, a bit out of date (Warning: There are Joey Barton and Chelsea references) but a good read (there's a second part as well). Given that playing away does seem to be some inevitable, minor disadvantage, surely it's still best not to think of it as such?
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/feb/03/features.sportmonthly16 [Post edited 15 Oct 2017 20:33]
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| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 12:44 - Oct 17 with 3029 views | timcocking |
It clearly does make a vast difference though. No doubt all to do with players feeling more confident and within their comfort zone at home. Hard to comprehend how the importance can be as drastic as it is, but nonetheless you only need to have a basic grasp of statistics to realise it's pretty much the strongest correlation you'll find.
It's all about the confidence.
Which is why it seriously p!sses me off when the home crowd gets on at our own players. |  | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 12:58 - Oct 17 with 3019 views | LythamR |
Technically there must be a significant advantage in playing at home.
You are familiar with the proportions of the pitch
You are familiar with the speed of the surface
You should have much much better spatial awareness and recognisable spotting points around the ground
This must surely provide a significant advantage over an opposition especially in the opening periods of a match. The fact the LR is such a tight ground in terms of the closeness of the crowd to the pitch would make this an even bigger factor for QPR than for some other teams |  | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 13:45 - Oct 17 with 2951 views | thame_hoops |
I thought this was going to be a thread about marital affairs.  |  | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 15:43 - Oct 17 with 2880 views | robith |
I think a lot of it is to do with psychology but also the mental markers you have from familiarity - hence why teams might struggle when they play at home but not at their ground, like Spurs at Wembley.
An example from rugby - Ronan O'Gara said it took him ages to get used to playing at Croke Park because the old Landsdowne Road had a specific wind pattern that he could read so he knew exactly how to hit the ball to the desired effect anywhere on the pitch. Moving to croker he lost all his mental marking point. It's a concept that's used a lot for kickers in rugby - Wilkinson used to imagine an old women doing knitting in a specific seat behind the goal and would try to "land" the ball in her lap |  | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 17:09 - Oct 17 with 2814 views | Benny_the_Ball |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 15:43 - Oct 17 by robith |
I think a lot of it is to do with psychology but also the mental markers you have from familiarity - hence why teams might struggle when they play at home but not at their ground, like Spurs at Wembley.
An example from rugby - Ronan O'Gara said it took him ages to get used to playing at Croke Park because the old Landsdowne Road had a specific wind pattern that he could read so he knew exactly how to hit the ball to the desired effect anywhere on the pitch. Moving to croker he lost all his mental marking point. It's a concept that's used a lot for kickers in rugby - Wilkinson used to imagine an old women doing knitting in a specific seat behind the goal and would try to "land" the ball in her lap |
Wilkinson was imagining a woman called Doris, who sits in a particular seat in the stand behind the goal, holding a can of Coke. He would visualise the flight of the ball ending up in her lap, knocking the drink out of her hands.
Another technique he employed was imagining a jeering mouth behind the goal and trying to send the ball down its throat.
The difference is Wilkinson's techniques were equally if not more effective away from home as they were designed to cut out barrage of whistles and jeers from opposition fans and channel his concentration. |  | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 17:24 - Oct 17 with 2799 views | hubble |
Surely having your home fans surrounding you (especially if they are really on your side - the proverbial 12th man) makes a big difference? As well as the familiarity of playing at home, not having to travel, and so on. These must all be factors. Yes, on paper, a game is a game, but we're humans, we're influenced by all sorts of things, some very subtle. So that's why I think it's (generally) harder to play away. |  |
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| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 17:25 - Oct 17 with 2795 views | TacticalR |
It's like walking a tightrope. It's exactly the same whether it's a foot off the ground or a hundred feet off the ground. |  |
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| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 17:40 - Oct 17 with 2778 views | Match82 |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 17:25 - Oct 17 by TacticalR |
It's like walking a tightrope. It's exactly the same whether it's a foot off the ground or a hundred feet off the ground. |
That's actually a great analogy.
While the task is identical, the surrounding environment is less predictable and the psychology is somewhat different. |  | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 18:27 - Oct 17 with 2740 views | PinnerPaul |
The stats across all professional levels of football prove it DOES make a difference.
No one answer I guess, | | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 18:38 - Oct 17 with 2731 views | bosh67 |
I can never understand why teams set up differently away from home. If you are an attacking team, attack, in every game. Man Utd used to do it under Ferguson and many other clubs have done it. We seem to sit deep away from home, bar Warnock and we eventually get caught out.
Just go out every week and do what you are good at... and in our case limited to, which is being on the front foot. I'd except us losing away from time to time if we went into away games with the plan to attack as much as possible. |  |
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| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 20:13 - Oct 17 with 2685 views | nix |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 12:58 - Oct 17 by LythamR |
Technically there must be a significant advantage in playing at home.
You are familiar with the proportions of the pitch
You are familiar with the speed of the surface
You should have much much better spatial awareness and recognisable spotting points around the ground
This must surely provide a significant advantage over an opposition especially in the opening periods of a match. The fact the LR is such a tight ground in terms of the closeness of the crowd to the pitch would make this an even bigger factor for QPR than for some other teams |
Re the pitch, Chelsea training ground has pitches the dimensions of each of the major Premiership grounds, so they can practise before key matches under similar conditions. I found that gob smacking (son played match against their U14 ladies' team, for context). |  | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 00:02 - Oct 18 with 2610 views | Hadders |
I don't deny the obvious statistical fact that it does make a difference, but (equally obviously) successful teams win away all the time, and if the disadvantages of playing away are mostly in the head, maybe there are ways of minimising the effect. My main beef is with having different aims or setting teams up differently away, which surely exaggerates the impact. Go out to defend and "steal an away point" and the most likely result is a loss (unless you are managed by Mourinho). [Post edited 18 Oct 2017 0:05]
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| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 00:09 - Oct 18 with 2602 views | BazzaInTheLoft |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 20:13 - Oct 17 by nix |
Re the pitch, Chelsea training ground has pitches the dimensions of each of the major Premiership grounds, so they can practise before key matches under similar conditions. I found that gob smacking (son played match against their U14 ladies' team, for context). |
I don't like giving them credit for any reason, but that is preparedness. |  | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? (n/t) on 00:10 - Oct 18 with 2600 views | BazzaInTheLoft |
[Post edited 18 Oct 2017 0:11]
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| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 00:18 - Oct 18 with 2591 views | Boston |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 00:09 - Oct 18 by BazzaInTheLoft |
I don't like giving them credit for any reason, but that is preparedness. |
I had heard John Terry liked to play away. | |
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| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 01:56 - Oct 18 with 2558 views | timcocking |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 00:02 - Oct 18 by Hadders |
I don't deny the obvious statistical fact that it does make a difference, but (equally obviously) successful teams win away all the time, and if the disadvantages of playing away are mostly in the head, maybe there are ways of minimising the effect. My main beef is with having different aims or setting teams up differently away, which surely exaggerates the impact. Go out to defend and "steal an away point" and the most likely result is a loss (unless you are managed by Mourinho). [Post edited 18 Oct 2017 0:05]
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Agreed it's all mostly in the head, should in theory not effect much, but of course confidence is pretty much the most important aspect in any sport.
I reckon it's similar to if i was playing in a team where i was settled and one of the better players and well valued, i'd usually be playing well. The moment i was in a level too high or even with a team who didn't know me as well or appreciate me as much, i'd immediately not feel confident and i wasn't half as good. That's why a player can be good for one team and struggle when they move. If they don't feel the same love from the new fans, they won't be able to play as well typically. Especially the ones who realise they aren't the best.
Simple thing is, when you don't want the ball, you can't play well. You have to want the ball, most important thing in football if you want to play well. It takes a seriously gutsy and quality player to always want the ball away from home. Lots of the players hide. You can't fake confidence.
It's why booing our own players is so fcuking dumb.
And it's why they harp on about needing leaders on the pitch - true warrior types who relish the battle away from home. [Post edited 18 Oct 2017 1:57]
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| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 02:00 - Oct 18 with 2553 views | timcocking |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 17:25 - Oct 17 by TacticalR |
It's like walking a tightrope. It's exactly the same whether it's a foot off the ground or a hundred feet off the ground. |
Well said.
You can't explain really confidence and it's importance to somebody who hasn't played much, but it's more important than anything tangible. | | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 02:03 - Oct 18 with 2552 views | SydneyRs |
Yeah I've always had an issue with this and the mentality that you have to change the way you play because its away and go more defensive etc. Why? Why not just play to your strengths and try to impose your game on them? I've never quite understood it but there must be something to it as even the better teams change their tactics away from home, eg Man Utd parking the bus at Anfield the other day. | | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 04:42 - Oct 18 with 2516 views | zicoshoops |
As Brian Clough once said.......
It's eleven men against eleven men.
So he sent his teams out to play the same way, home or away.
What's going on?
We should be told
Sort it out. | | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 09:56 - Oct 18 with 2402 views | kingsburyR |
I doubt there can be many teams in the country with a worse away record than us.
Throw in worst playing on TV record also!
The Championship winning year was such a novelty! |  |
| Dont know why we bother. .... but we do! |
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| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 10:01 - Oct 18 with 2398 views | ozexile |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 02:03 - Oct 18 by SydneyRs |
Yeah I've always had an issue with this and the mentality that you have to change the way you play because its away and go more defensive etc. Why? Why not just play to your strengths and try to impose your game on them? I've never quite understood it but there must be something to it as even the better teams change their tactics away from home, eg Man Utd parking the bus at Anfield the other day. |
Good post totally agree. | | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 10:51 - Oct 18 with 2364 views | terryb |
What level of football does the "away" factor come into effect?
On the "local parks" the top teams in a league beat the bottom teams home & away with ease. This applies to youth & adult football & the quality of the pitch has no bearing.
By the time you reach the non league pyramid (Combined Counties League etc) playing away starts to have an effect. The reason why is something I've never understood!
IMO mentality is the only possible reason. | | | |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 11:23 - Oct 18 with 2334 views | TacticalR |
| Why is Playing Away Such a Big Deal? on 10:51 - Oct 18 by terryb |
What level of football does the "away" factor come into effect?
On the "local parks" the top teams in a league beat the bottom teams home & away with ease. This applies to youth & adult football & the quality of the pitch has no bearing.
By the time you reach the non league pyramid (Combined Counties League etc) playing away starts to have an effect. The reason why is something I've never understood!
IMO mentality is the only possible reason. |
'Don't you know, little fool, you never can win?
Why not use your mentality - step up, wake up to reality?'
Frank Sinatra, I've Got You Under My Skin | |
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