Post by QPR Report on Dec 24, 2008 8:21:20 GMT
But hopefully Loftus Road will still be our cave, when we reach the Premiership! 
Guardian/David Hytner - 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 counterattacking 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."
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/dec/23/football-premier-league-chelsea-arsenal-home-teams
Guardian/David Hytner - 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 counterattacking 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."
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/dec/23/football-premier-league-chelsea-arsenal-home-teams