Fans make football. It is a simple fact. It is the passion of the fans, the ticket sales and the support that make football both entertaining and lucrative for clubs across the world. There are times when the results are not going in a team’s favour, the players’ heads go down and there seems to be a mountain to climb. It is in these moments that the terraces come alive and the fans lift the team to a win. This season has shown just what fans mean to football, and here we take a look at how football with no fans affects performance and results by looking at the stats and facts from this season. They are the stats that will have won many a bet this season and also the stats that have caught bettors out as the unexpected has occurred.
Goals, goals, goals
When football first returned to our lives after a short pre-season, there were goals galore. You may remember the bets you placed as matches started to register in excess of seven or eight goals on a regular basis. It seemed as if the strikers were back in force. We’re sure it’s true that the firepower was stronger due to the passion of the strikers, but we’re also pretty sure that a short preseason and limited time to train together made defensive partnerships less effective and prepared, too. There was certainly plenty of money to be earned on football accumulators at the start of the season!
Fouls
Watching football matches on TV without the noise of a crowd has highlighted the noise and drama created by players when they are challenged. Anyone who has watched a match will have heard the screams of pain that are more suited to an action movie or a battlefield than they are to a football pitch. Without the noise of the crowd to cover the dramatic cries, the referee, it seems, is more likely to punish offenders and give free kicks to the opposition.
Penalties
There seems to have been a bumper crop of penalties this season – especially before the much needed change to the handball rule following a disastrous decision given against Tottenham’s Eric Dier early on in the season. Although referees will have you think otherwise, their decisions are undoubtedly influenced but the reaction of the crowd when they are looking to award penalties. When placing your bets next season, it will be wise to think about the influence that the crowd has on the referee as well as the support that the goal keeper gets from behind the goal when his opponent steps up to take the shot as these are all things that affect the awarding and conversion of penalties
Home advantage
Research has shown that empty stadiums have negated the home advantage. This seems like an obvious outcome to seasoned bettors as you will often make your acca choices under the influence of the home team advantage. It stands to reason that the team with the most support is the team that performs the best. Well, not only the most support, but also the greatest number of demanding supporters and the biggest feeling of expectation. Whatever the reason, the home advantage has always been relied upon and has always been a factor when it comes to winning a game of football, and we hope to see this back next season in order to ensure that the BPL remains the exciting and competitive league we all know and love.
