Do the team find it easier playing at an empty Villa Park?

[PaulC]

Hard to say really. If we had started the way we did against Liverpool the ground would have been rocking so suspect that match made little difference from our perspective. Maybe the opposition prefer to play at a full Villa Park with fans . Its a great old ground and and the clubs like Man U and Liverpool loved playing there. 

Edited October 6, 2020 by PaulC

[sharkyvilla]

5 hours ago, slowandlow said:

Too many variables to be drawing conclusions for me. 

Think we got 17 points from 14 home games with fans and 7 points from 5 home games without fans last season so not a great difference, especially considering we played teams completely and utterly on the beach in the post covid period. We werent great after lockdown in all truth we just werent as abysmal a Watford and Bournemouth. Both are hardly clubs renowned for crazy passionate supportive fan bases.

This season the team is fundamentally different so wouldn't want to compare vs the with fans scenario from last year.

Genuinely don't think villa fans are more difficult to play in front of than most other clubs despite what cretins like Martin keown claim. Just an easy/tired stick to beat us with. Not saying were constantly marvellous by any means, just that we are no different to vast majority of fan bases

It's not just Keown though, I've heard it from all sorts of players of other teams over the years.  I feel the same but I'm not someone who lives close enough to Brum to get a season ticket and spend a fortune to watch us play badly.  I can understand a lot of frustration eminating from what everyone has had to put up with, hopefully when we get a crowd back we are still flying so it's a non-issue anyway.

[slowandlow]

40 minutes ago, sharkyvilla said:

I've heard it from all sorts of players of other teams over the years.  

Hence why it's an easy and tired stick to beat us with.

Majority of what comes out of footballers mouths is pointless platitudes and cliches in my view.

I'd wager you could go on most teams forums and there would be topics on how poor the atmosphere is how fans don't get behind the team how fans are impatient etc. Dont think were a special or extreme case. Not saying that makes it alright, I just think we are constantly used as an example for an issue that is not unique to us

[blandy]

6 hours ago, slowandlow said:

Too many variables to be drawing conclusions for me. 

Think we got 17 points from 14 home games with fans and 7 points from 5 home games without fans last season so not a great difference, especially considering we played teams completely and utterly on the beach in the post covid period. We werent great after lockdown in all truth we just werent as abysmal a Watford and Bournemouth. Both are hardly clubs renowned for crazy passionate supportive fan bases.

This season the team is fundamentally different so wouldn't want to compare vs the with fans scenario from last year.

Genuinely don't think villa fans are more difficult to play in front of than most other clubs despite what cretins like Martin keown claim. Just an easy/tired stick to beat us with. Not saying were constantly marvellous by any means, just that we are no different to vast majority of fan bases

Pretty much this, with one slight difference. I think that VP possibly can or at least has veered further in each direction in recent times than some other clubs fans. I mean that when we're pleased and happy the atmosphere is one of the absolute best, and when we're really unhappy, it can be more apparent than at some other grounds.

But that's basically because we had a really poor side that struggled and then went down, and then under Deano we've had an upturn and the atmosphere since he's been in charge has generally been really good.

So maybe the extremes are more, but the "moods" are the same - all clubs have phases where they have poor teams that eventually get to the fans and turn in gloomy and negative at times, and at other periods will have better sides that the fans can and do get behind and make a great atmosphere.

[ciggiesnbeer]

I do love the excuse going round in the media that Liverpool somehow played worse because the away ground was...... empty??? What kind of utter nonsense logic is that?

[TRO]

9 hours ago, bannedfromHandV said:

I think it’s evident that they are performing better without the pressure of the fans being present, sadly.

What I’ve been trying to work out is whether that’s just a natural thing or whether we, as a fan base need to look at ourselves more closely.

You hear ex players talk a lot about how great VP is when the teams doing well but equally how difficult it is when we’re not doing so well, I’m sure it’s said about other grounds and fans too but it comes up a lot with us it seems.

I remember when I first started going football, it wasn’t so ‘life or death’, it wasn’t all about the result but we’ve allowed it to become as such these days, I don’t know what the solution is and of course the result/performance will have a bearing but perhaps when we do return to the stadiums we can try to be less negative!

If we had more success than not....i.e winning more games than not, it would be different....frustration has got the better of us in the past.

We have a great crowd.....they have just had too many false dawns.....i feel we are turning a corner.

We all know a team like this would Rock villa park.

UTV

[TRO]

31 minutes ago, ciggiesnbeer said:

I do love the excuse going round in the media that Liverpool somehow played worse because the away ground was...... empty??? What kind of utter nonsense logic is that?

There has been a plethora of reasons why they lost......maybe the better team just won......how about that for a creative response.

 

[ciggiesnbeer]

Just now, TRO said:

There has been a plethora of reasons why they lost......maybe the better team just won......how about that for a creative response.

 

Spot on. The creative contortions going on out there is absurd. Not I have so say from Liverpool's players, manager or even fans. They have been perfectly reasonable, I have received a few "hey good game and grats, get you next time" posts from Liverpool supporting friends.  Its the pundists and fans of other clubs who are bringing their own baggage to it.

[leemond2008]

7 minutes ago, TRO said:

There has been a plethora of reasons why they lost......maybe the better team just won......how about that for a creative response.

 

thanks, that means a lot

[Adam2003]

2 hours ago, slowandlow said:

Hence why it's an easy and tired stick to beat us with.

Majority of what comes out of footballers mouths is pointless platitudes and cliches in my view.

I'd wager you could go on most teams forums and there would be topics on how poor the atmosphere is how fans don't get behind the team how fans are impatient etc. Dont think were a special or extreme case. Not saying that makes it alright, I just think we are constantly used as an example for an issue that is not unique to us

As noted earlier I have literally had opposition players say “our gameplan when we go to Villa Park - nowhere else - is to get the fans to turn on the team, and it is why it’s toxic there.” I’m not saying you are wrong - maybe that’s supporting your point we are used as an example unfairly - but it’s a genuine thing players go into games against Villa saying. 

[Adam2003]

42 minutes ago, TRO said:

There has been a plethora of reasons why they lost......maybe the better team just won......how about that for a creative response.

 

That’s my take... or they all have covid and just haven’t been diagnosed yet...

[TRO]

Hey......they will be back, i have no doubt about that.

[TRO]

1 minute ago, TRO said:

Hey......they will be back, i have no doubt about that.

They are the European champions and that deserves respect.

They came up against a rampant Villa and they need to respect that too.

Dean was magnanimous in his victory, that was sheer class.

 

[QldVilla]

I believe cov-19 has made a difference in how teams normally prepare for a game and the psychology of crowds is having an impact on the excitement levels of players that their adrenaline isn’t as high as normal. Not a full preseason and in Liverpool’s case they had two tough games against Arsenal last week, so physically and psychologically down and all adds together into Liverpool being off by 5%. 
 

I don’t think Villa are a better team without a crowd, we are just a better team than what we were before lockdown. The club and coaching staff is really handling our preparation for games well in the current environment and you see that on the field. We would have beaten any team on the weekend, we were in that zone and hopefully we will see more of it over the season.

[villa_shere]

Whilst we do have a set of fans which do put the pressure on our players and manager far too quick. I’d argue that the players have risen to this in the past. You only need to look at getting to the 2018 playoff final and also our 2019 ten win run and playoff win. Both times under huge pressure. 
 

I think the players miss the atmosphere more than they miss the pressure 

Edited October 6, 2020 by villa_shere

[VillaChris]

1 hour ago, Adam2003 said:

As noted earlier I have literally had opposition players say “our gameplan when we go to Villa Park - nowhere else - is to get the fans to turn on the team, and it is why it’s toxic there.” I’m not saying you are wrong - maybe that’s supporting your point we are used as an example unfairly - but it’s a genuine thing players go into games against Villa saying. 

Who did these players play for, other local clubs or top 6 teams (as I presume it would be more of a tactic in MON era when many teams came and parked the bus compared to our terrible teams from post 2011 onwards). I assume they had the same tactics going to Emirates and Old Trafford.

Worth noting there was a bit of frustration during our seasons finishing 6th, O'Neill remarked on it a few times and I can remember team getting booed off after a 0-0 v Wigan in which it seemed we hit the woodwork 200 times so even better teams/seasons aren't exempt.

[KevinRichardsonsMoustache]

I’ve been mulling over the question over the stadium for a while. There are a lot of factors in play here: for those dramatic last gasp winners etc, the crowd must have some impact in pushing a team on. But discontent from home fans must have some impact too.

 

I’d be interested in seeing an analysis of refereeing performances in lockdown. With no home fans baying for blood, do referees make better calls regarding the away team? For example, have less players playing away from home been sent off with straight reds since the restart?