[Discussion] There is more to Home Advantage than just Fans

[Lakai01]

But UEFA allow such pitches, because not every club/national team can have natural pitch because of severe air conditions or financial reasons.

Some clubs in central europe play on artifical grass, too. Red Bull Salzburg eg. comes to my mind. I know that there were lots of discussions when they started to use artifical grass because foreign teams had a huge disadvantage if those teams weren't used to that sort of pitch. So artifical vs. natural grass is definitely a thing when it comes to "home ground advantages"

[ampere]

I think you are right, for different football clubsides in europe. They have this massive advantage when they are playing at home.
And for some reasons it is because of the field width, the supporters and the confidence to play at home.

If you use Liverpool as a use case, they believe in Anfield because the club supporters makes it a cult during champions league nights.
If you take Manchester United as a use case, they are the only team in the EPL never to lose a home match after scoring 2 goals before half time.

Stats also do help players believe that they are unbeatable on the grounds.

[maydna]

The home advantage for me can give additional support for the team because with the audience watch the match, each player will have more motivated to win, and they will try so hard to win. But besides the advantage, there will be a disadvantage which is each player sued to play maximally. And there are high tension and stress among the player. And if each player doesn't have a strong mind and heart, they will not perform well.

But yes, the advantage will give benefit to the team because they will have more chance to win in front of their supporters. The opponent cannot show their best playing when the supporters are too big, and sometimes the opponent will down for their mental. At this moment, we know that every sport has been postponed or reschedule due to Coronavirus. And we know that some players got infected by the virus, so that does homework for each sports organization to solve and cure the player. Their health is an important and urgent thing.

[Darker45]

The home advantage for me can give additional support for the team because with the audience watch the match, each player will have more motivated to win, and they will try so hard to win. But besides the advantage, there will be a disadvantage which is each player sued to play maximally. And there are high tension and stress among the player. And if each player doesn't have a strong mind and heart, they will not perform well.

I was a little confused. You are saying that playing in front of home fans is advantageous and then turned around saying it is also disadvantageous. I guess the motivation to win in front of your own home fans and not let them down is enough to get rid of all the tension and stress. More than stress and tension, playing at home and in front of your very own top cheerers will probably make you more relaxed and comfortable. You are on your comfort zone, after all.

[plvbob0070]

Of course, there's a home advantage. Aside from fans who can boost the player's energy, I think one advantage is that players feel more comfortable playing because they were used to play in that place. And they don't have to adjust to the environment at all. The time for traveling, they can use it to practice more. But it's not only about home advantage. Even if the players had the advantage, if they don't do well in the game, it's still worthless. The winner will still depend on their performance during the game.

It's more fun to play in your place but players should not just base on that. Because wherever they will be playing, they should condition their bodies and mind. I have also seen a lot of games that visitors still win the game, and it's because of their performance.

[mu_enrico]

About football pitch size, it's not only about the inside but also about the outer part. Let's take a look about this famous Bale's goal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWVrolNQ4RU he ran a few meters outside the line.

Also,

It is a question that men have been asking themselves for years, but does size really matter? the answer is: To some extent.

The importance of the size of a team’s pitch depends on a number of factors but it would be a lie to suggest that it is completely irrelevant. The biggest contributing factor is the style of football that the team likes to play, with the pitch’s dimensions either helping or hindering that fact.

As an example you can look at Tony Pulis. The man who seems to have a baseball cap surgically attached to his head is known for playing a long-ball style of football. During his time as manager of Stoke City Pulis demanded that the pitch meet the minimum possible dimensions. This allowed his long-ball style to be played more effectively and it created an opportunity for the club’s long-throw specialist Rory Delap to more accurately find his targets.

Another famous example of a pitch’s dimensions being used to the home team’s advantage came in 1987 when Graeme Souness was the manager of Rangers. His scouting of the club’s European Cup opponents Dynamo Kiev had revealed that the Ukrainian team played with very dangerous wingers who liked to hug the touchline. On the eve of the game Souness gave his groundskeepers an instruction that they should change the pitch around.

https://www.football-stadiums.co.uk/articles/are-all-football-pitches-the-same-size/

[maydna]

The home advantage for me can give additional support for the team because with the audience watch the match, each player will have more motivated to win, and they will try so hard to win. But besides the advantage, there will be a disadvantage which is each player sued to play maximally. And there are high tension and stress among the player. And if each player doesn't have a strong mind and heart, they will not perform well.

I was a little confused. You are saying that playing in front of home fans is advantageous and then turned around saying it is also disadvantageous. I guess the motivation to win in front of your own home fans and not let them down is enough to get rid of all the tension and stress. More than stress and tension, playing at home and in front of your very own top cheerers will probably make you more relaxed and comfortable. You are on your comfort zone, after all.

They feel that they must perform well in front of home fans which will give more tension. I can say that because I have a friend who is a local player who tells me if he plays in front of the home fans, it is tough for him and his team because if they don't give the best performance and they cannot win the games, many people will say a bad thing. Some of those people cannot accept if they lose, and still judge them that they are not practising with hard. That can make my friend and his team feel down and sad because the people don't know how hard to compete with the opponent.