If you gave Paul Lambert one wish, it is likely that he would ask for Aston Villa’s home form to be as good as the club’s away form. Villa’s poor success rate at home flies in the face of the proven sporting phenomenon known as the “home advantage.” The fact that the same players win twice as many games away from home in spite of the away disadvantage is incomprehensible.

The home advantage impact is considerable. In general, it equates to half a goal per game in every season.

Looking specifically at the current Premier league, the top six teams have very strong home win percentages, with the exception of Tottenham Hotspur.

But what if you are one of the few teams like Villa who rarely win at home and have more success away?

Teams that are racking up more home losses it is a different story. The belief in the home advantage disappears completely and is replaced with the home jinx and dread particularly where the team have experienced the wrath of the supporters. Could this be what is now happening at Villa Park?

Villa’s home record is the same as bottom-of-the-table Sunderland, but their away record is the same as 3rd in the table: Manchester City. No other premier club team have such a huge disparity. The closest comparison: Spurs with their home form ranking 10th, and their away form 2nd.

So, not only are Villa winning against the odds, they are losing against the odds as well – a situation that appears doubly confusing and nonsensical.

There is a serious byproduct of this paradox too as it is not just the loss of points that hurts. The patience of Villa supporters is rapidly diminishing as evidenced by the recent scenes at Villa Park where players have been booed off with fans symbolically tearing up their tickets.

There have also been complaints about the current season’s style and individual performances. We know that good players don’t become bad players overnight. If they were able to perform last season – and they are fit – then shouldn’t they reproduce those performances this season?

There are many factors which can cause a team to lose its confidence, from losing a key player through injury, to going on a run of bad results, or adverse crowd and press reactions. Given that Villa are a young and fairly inexperienced team, they are more prone to being shaken by setbacks.

Briefly, the reasons for the home advantage are:

• Referees generally favour the home team due to crowd pressure
• There is an increase in testosterone in home players – The territorial factor
• The loud home crowd intimidates the away team
• A psychological belief in the home advantage / away disadvantage
• The lower expectation for away games
• The effect of the crowd on the players – psychologically and performance
• Practical matters such as the effects of travel, familiarity, and sleep

The reason why Aston Villa should have a much poorer record at home is not puzzling in light of these home advantage facts. If the same players can gain success away when the odds are stacked against them, then there can only be one reason why their performance is inferior at home: their mental approach and attitude.

The home crowd’s positive effect may not be as significant as formerly thought with research producing contradictory conclusions. What is clear though is that the crowd factor can be double edged: It can uplift and motivate but it can also cause extreme anxiety. Also, with the perceived home advantage comes the expectation of a win from the coaches and most importantly, supporters. This can translate into pressure on the home team to win.

Research shows that a supportive audience can also have a negative effect. The desire of the team to please the supporters and the responsibility they feel, can be as stressful as the random abusive chants from the opposition supporters encounter when playing away. This additional responsibility and increased expectation can translate into pressure for the less mentally robust players.

When players lack confidence they will play it safe, become more defensive, risk averse and hide and withdraw from the game. How often do we see players passing back or to the side rather than commit to a more risky but productive pass? Players don’t look for the space on throw-ins, make too hasty a pass back because they just don’t want the ball. When strikers are lacking confidence we see them pass the ball rather than take the responsibility of shooting.

Aston Villa players have been criticised heavily this season for not getting the basics right and for their defensive style of play at Villa Park in particular. Is it possible that the players are not playing to their best capabilities because they are “over thinking” and not trusting their natural ability? When players get into a negative state their attention shifts and they become overly self- monitoring to the detriment of natural ability.

The supporters who regularly attend Villa Park would be justified in questioning the capability of the current team. The shame of losing to Sheffield United has pushed many supporters to a new low. If the away form was similar to the home form then it would be easy to conclude that this team really isn’t good enough.

But that is only half the story. Aston Villa’s away form is as good as Manchester City’s and ranks 6th in the table. It is the same players who are getting results that are failing at home. We have heard Paul Lambert expressing complete frustration at this disparity. It makes no sense particularly given the huge improvement made by the team in the latter part of last season.

In order for Aston Villa to improve their home form they need to work on the players’ mental side of the game. Focus should be directed foremost to removing the negative beliefs attached to playing at home. There are techniques to produce the best mental state to perform and to handle performance nerves. In addition, replicating pressure situations in training and mental rehearsal will help to prepare the players and increase confidence.

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