The myth of 3g home advantage - disproven!! (or is it??)

[Deleted]

Besides ourselves and Harlow, who in the English Pyramid play on 3G pitches?

[Deleted]

According to an article in the latest WSC, Whyteleafe, Sutton Coldfield, Harlow Town, Maidstone United, and in Wales, Merthyr Town.

I believe some Scottish clubs, and a couple in rugby union and league. There is also a Wikipedia article listing others around the world.

Would be interesting to try and compile a comprehensive list for all sports arenas around the world.

[Deleted]

Merthyr, Whyteleafe and Woking, all at Step 4, and as of next week, according to today's NLP, Stamford, like us at Step 3, in the NLP Prem

[farawaystone]

Woking? I don't think so. Durham City too, I believe.

[Deleted]

I presume pwe meant Worthing? I can see that they got planning permission for 3g last May, but cannot find any evidence that they have installed it yet.

Just reading up on Durham - looks like they've had a nasty experience with 3g (at the hands of the Conference!!) I presume that they haven't ripped it up or anything?

They were Northern League champions in 1994 and again in 2008, gaining entry to the Northern Premier League First Division North. They won that division at the first attempt and were promoted to the Premier Division. However, at the start of the 2009–10 season the club was informed by the Football Conference that they would not be allowed to progress any further up the pyramid with their artificial surface, which led to their main sponsor pulling out a week before the season was due to start. The loss of income meant that almost all the club's players left, and they turned to a local sixth-form centre to fill the team.[1] The scratch side lost their first 28 matches and were deducted 6 points for playing a suspended player under a false name.[2] They finally recorded their first win and points of the season on 13 March 2010 with a 2–1 victory over FC United of Manchester, and followed that with a 4–3 win in their next match at home to Whitby Town, although this was not enough to prevent relegation back to First Division North, finishing the season with 0 points (after the six-point deduction).

[Deleted]

Ok, the real reason I wanted to know, was because I'm absolutely sick and tired of constantly hearing how 3G provides an "unfair home advantage" - so I've looked at the home and away performances of all of the 3G teams so far this season (I'd have loved to have looked at previous seasons, but cannot see anywhere to get the home and away league tables from).

The results?

Harlow and Whytleafe both score more points on their travels than at home. No 3G advantage there.

Merthyr have scored exactly the same number of points on their travels as at home. No 3G advantage there.

Sutton Coldfield and Maidstone score more points at home than on their travels. But the percentage uplift in points is lower than for the teams that play on grass. No 3g advantage there.

Durham City score substantially more points at home than on their travels. This could be a possible 3G advantage at play!! However if you looked at a random grass team, there would be, I presume a 50% chance that they also earn more points at home than average. For 1 team out of 6 to have a better home record than an average grass team does not suggest a 3G home advantage!

Combining all teams for an overall, we can see that grass teams typically score 31% more points at home than away (0.36 points per game). In comparison, 3G teams typically score 8% more points at home than away (0.17 points per game).

Anyone who suggests that 3G gives an unfair home advantage is a prize muppet!

I wanted to look at the other main part that gets chucked in our faces as well - that of "3G causes more injuries". I figured a good (if rather simplistic) way to easily estimate that would be by looking at the number of players a team uses over a season. Typically a team with more injuries would use more players than a team with fewer injuries. Unfortunately, I haven't a clue where I could get the data from for that!

[Deleted]

Nov 16, 2014 14:12:52 GMT @tooloow said:

I presume pwe meant Worthing? I can see that they got planning permission for 3g last May, but cannot find any evidence that they have installed it yet.

Just reading up on Durham - looks like they've had a nasty experience with 3g (at the hands of the Conference!!) I presume that they haven't ripped it up or anything?

They were Northern League champions in 1994 and again in 2008, gaining entry to the Northern Premier League First Division North. They won that division at the first attempt and were promoted to the Premier Division. However, at the start of the 2009–10 season the club was informed by the Football Conference that they would not be allowed to progress any further up the pyramid with their artificial surface, which led to their main sponsor pulling out a week before the season was due to start. The loss of income meant that almost all the club's players left, and they turned to a local sixth-form centre to fill the team.[1] The scratch side lost their first 28 matches and were deducted 6 points for playing a suspended player under a false name.[2] They finally recorded their first win and points of the season on 13 March 2010 with a 2–1 victory over FC United of Manchester, and followed that with a 4–3 win in their next match at home to Whitby Town, although this was not enough to prevent relegation back to First Division North, finishing the season with 0 points (after the six-point deduction).

Yeah, sorry Tooloow, I did mean Worthing

[Deleted]

Nov 16, 2014 14:56:04 GMT pwe said:

Nov 16, 2014 14:12:52 GMT @tooloow said:

I presume pwe meant Worthing? I can see that they got planning permission for 3g last May, but cannot find any evidence that they have installed it yet.

Just reading up on Durham - looks like they've had a nasty experience with 3g (at the hands of the Conference!!) I presume that they haven't ripped it up or anything?

Yeah, sorry Tooloow, I did mean Worthing

No worries - do you know if they've actually got as far as installing it yet?

[Deleted]

Nov 16, 2014 15:10:27 GMT @tooloow said:

Nov 16, 2014 14:56:04 GMT pwe said:

Yeah, sorry Tooloow, I did mean Worthing

No worries - do you know if they've actually got as far as installing it yet?

Not installed yet at Woodside Road,Worthing.Money is a big issue down there so I don't see 3G being implemented for a while.

[moley]

The Ryman League publishes a statistical review each year which lists players and appearances for each club

[Deleted]

Could be wrong, but Worthing aren't having 3g for their main pitch, just putting one in to use next door aka Borehamwood?

[Deleted]

Nov 16, 2014 17:26:00 GMT tim said:

Could be wrong, but Worthing aren't having 3g for their main pitch, just putting one in to use next door aka Borehamwood?

I don't think Worthing F'C's Nimby neighbours will want their Lawns 3 Geed (Woodside surrounded by houses).Lewes are having a 3G pitch next door

[Deleted]

Ah that's it!
All these Sussex clubs are the same to me!
Well, after a gallon of Harveys

[Deleted]

An article from yesterday's Guardian with some quote's from Oliver:

link

I think the biggest bang to drum to bang regarding 3G pitches is Saracens Rugby. This club is at the pinnacle of English club rugby, attracts the biggest crowds and has star players on its books. I would say rugby is a physically more demanding game than football, and if a 3G pitch can stand up to a 2000kg of a combined scrum, it must be more than an adequate for any footballer regardless of physique.

Whose opinion would you value more? England international Chris Ashton who signed for Sarries on a £250K per year contract, of some duffer from Kingstonian on £150 per week who plays on 3G once a year?

[Deleted]

Nov 16, 2014 17:08:38 GMT moley said:

The Ryman League publishes a statistical review each year which lists players and appearances for each club

Great - do you know if its available online?

I've just looked on their website and can see league tables (Home and away) for the last few seasons, so will be able to extend my analysis beyond this season (not tonight).

But I cannot find any player info