Impressive stats - I assume our away form was shocking in 75/76!I think then playing at home was more of an advantage. I imagine Anfield has had similar decline in points for Liverpool...i.e it isn't a scary place to go as an opposing player anymore.Nowadays, for Villa, I suppose we respect the better teams too much and therefore don't win (or cock it up) and the crapper teams who come and defend we struggle to break down and therefore don't win (or cock it up).
Quote from: Reuben on August 16, 2011, 03:08:56 PMImpressive stats - I assume our away form was shocking in 75/76!I think then playing at home was more of an advantage. I imagine Anfield has had similar decline in points for Liverpool...i.e it isn't a scary place to go as an opposing player anymore.Nowadays, for Villa, I suppose we respect the better teams too much and therefore don't win (or cock it up) and the crapper teams who come and defend we struggle to break down and therefore don't win (or cock it up).It was, we didn't win away in 75/76.I think your reasons for our poor results at home are right. For example I went to 17 home games under MON's leadership before I saw a win (Bolton 08/09) and most of these were draws against sides who put 10 men behind the ball with the odd defeat thrown in, usually to the bigger clubs.
Every year as soon as I read quotes from one of our players or the manager saying "We want to turn Villa Park into a fortress" I know we're in for another run of poor home form. I guarantee we'll see the same thing appear again over the next few days.
McLeish calls for Fortress Villa Parkhttp://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2422320,00.html
Quote from: 5ft811st2 Durham on August 16, 2011, 05:16:12 PMQuote from: Reuben on August 16, 2011, 03:08:56 PMImpressive stats - I assume our away form was shocking in 75/76!I think then playing at home was more of an advantage. I imagine Anfield has had similar decline in points for Liverpool...i.e it isn't a scary place to go as an opposing player anymore.Nowadays, for Villa, I suppose we respect the better teams too much and therefore don't win (or cock it up) and the crapper teams who come and defend we struggle to break down and therefore don't win (or cock it up).It was, we didn't win away in 75/76.I think your reasons for our poor results at home are right. For example I went to 17 home games under MON's leadership before I saw a win (Bolton 08/09) and most of these were draws against sides who put 10 men behind the ball with the odd defeat thrown in, usually to the bigger clubs. The thing is, it's not just about MON, it's about games at Villa Park. I'm not sure if there's anything behind it but maybe the players feel more stressed playing there. Maybe we're too quick to jump on their backs. Do we expect them to deliver before we give our vocal support? I'd love to hear from ex-players and their experiences of playing for the Villa at home.Just to add, how come over the years when we play the top teams, the players seem to raise their game. Coincidence or is it that as fans we're behind the team from the first minute?
I think, particularly when doing well under MON, that all teams in the league (bar Man Utd, Chelsea & Arsenal), came to Villa Park not wanting to lose, and so tended to play, as good as, 9 defenders who had no ambition of going out to win the game. This was where we tended to get stuck and run out of ideas of how to beat these sorts of teams. Man Utd, Chelsea & Arsenal had/have the players to overcome teams like this.When we play away against the teams who come to defend against us, they have to come out and attack more, which made it easier for us to get a good result.
The thing is, it's not just about MON, it's about games at Villa Park. I'm not sure if there's anything behind it but maybe the players feel more stressed playing there. Maybe we're too quick to jump on their backs. Do we expect them to deliver before we give our vocal support? I'd love to hear from ex-players and their experiences of playing for the Villa at home.Just to add, how come over the years when we play the top teams, the players seem to raise their game. Coincidence or is it that as fans we're behind the team from the first minute?
2007-8 when we did have more wins at home coincided with a run of more than decent crowds, too. We sold out several times that year, including against the likes of Newcastle, and near sell outs with Derby and West Ham.Maybe that was also a reflection of our new-found spending power, though.
You bugger, Kelly. I was going to do an article about our crap home form for the next issue!