Home advantage? article from Observer Sport Monthly

[traeth]

Home sweet home?

David Runciman
Sunday February 3, 2008
Observer Sport Monthly

Few ideas in sport are more universally accepted - and less understood - than home advantage. But why does it continue to matter? And do fans play any role at all in their team's success? We discover why everything you thought you knew is wrong

article in two parts here and here


some bits from the article

trends

home advantage in English football has been relatively steady across the four main leagues for the best part of a generation, unaffected by crowd size or levels of fan interest: though it varies a bit season by season, overall the home teams win roughly 60 per cent of all the points on offer

ex ref's view

Winter rightly insists, 'it's all about how you read them'. For example, he says, 'the facts add credence to the view that referees are swayed by the crowd at Old Trafford and some people will say Man United never have penalties given against them at home '. But the true story is that United spend large parts of every game at Old Trafford camped in the opposition's half, which means they are bound to get more penalties from even the most impartial officials. If anything, Winter thinks, an aggressive crowd is more likely to push an experienced official the other way.

no advantage in america?

How then to explain the relative lack of home advantage enjoyed by teams in American football and ice hockey?

is it testosterone?

They found that the players' testosterone levels were at the male average before the training sessions and away matches, but before home matches levels were 40 per cent higher than average and this figure could rise to 67 per cent if the game was against a particularly bitter rival.

Champions League

It is Turkish teams, Greek teams and Scottish teams that are currently showing the biggest discrepancy between their home and away form. Celtic, for example, are almost unbeatable at Celtic Park in the Champions League, yet have not won away from home in the competition in 16 attempts

more Celtic

What Celtic require, it seems, is a familiar wall of sound to make them feel at home.
However, Celtic also possess an enviable habit of scoring late goals in home Champions League games, which is what has kept them in the competition. No doubt the crowd would like to take the credit for this as well. But another side-effect of heightened testosterone levels is that players can keep going for longer without flagging, and that is what Celtic do.

I found it an interesting read

[jasper_77]

I am sure that I read years ago that home advantage counts for little in the lower Scottish divisions because the crowds are so small. Is this still the case?