With all due respect to Ivica’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, the success of Beer Sheva in Europe or even the acquisition of Betar by Ben Khalifa – the story of the year in Israeli football was the loss of the crowd. The lack of presence of fans in the stands, by all accounts, damaged the product, the players, In the quality of the game – in the whole thing, but to what extent did it hurt the teams themselves? In their statistics, in their ability to score goals or absorb less?
To try and answer the interesting question, we went out for a statistical test: we took the team scales in the home games – in the current season (where there is no crowd), and in the previous season (where there was). It is important to note that, of course, there are other factors in the season-to-season changes (coaches who have changed, players who have moved, etc.), and they will of course be taken into account – but such an examination can still show some interesting trends regarding the well-known coaching cliché. The push of the crowd. ” Here are some of the findings:
First, in two groups you saw the sharpest effect – on the good side, it was tax. Ashdod. Last season, in seven home games she had only one win. This season she has four. She scored one more goal (10 vs. 9), and conceded four goals less than last year. In the home games rankings, it has climbed from eighth place to fifth place, and has become the “official refresher” of the league this season, at least for now.
Adversely, there is a decline inHapoel Beer Sheva: The loss of the crowd, and probably also the loss of Turner Stadium (BS hosts its games this season at Teddy Stadium), caused an unequivocal collapse – from five wins last season, the season had only two; and from first place in the home games rankings, it slipped to tenth place this season. Of course, this was not the only factor; Be’er Sheva last season had a much more expensive staff, Barak Bachar was still on the lines and Alona Barkat was (at least officially) still in business. And yet – apparently the effect of leaving home and parting from the crowd had an effect.
For the two championship contenders, by the way, there is not too much of an impact: the balance of Maccabi Haifa Sami Ofer emptied even a little better – five wins this season compared to four, and she also conceded 50% fewer goals (4 this season, 8 last season). Also in Maccabi Tel Aviv There is no gap too big – with or without an audience, she achieved the same amount of victories – three, plus one more loss than she had before (to Guy Luzon’s Maccabi Petah Tikva). What has changed is the amount of absorption – from zero to 19 / 20 for seven goals this season, but that can be attributed more to Ivica than to “Panatikos”.
And what about Betar andThe verb cell? There is much talk about the lack of a stormy and dominant crowd, which manages to “bring the team points”. Well, there has been no significant change at both clubs: last season, Betar finished the first round with two home wins, like this season, and lost a total of one more game without its crowd. Want a knockout of the stereotype? Without the fans, Betar tripled its number of goals – from just 3 goals last season to 9 this season.
And with Hapoel Tel Aviv? Apparently the crowd can not help those who do not help themselves. In both seasons, it holds the same home balance – one win, three draws, three losses. The only difference is that last season she scored five goals, and this season only twice. Apparently the problems there are due to far more reasons than the distance from the general public.
Hapoel B’Shlosha: Steep decline
With an audience – 5 wins, zero draw, two losses, goals 5:12 (first place in the table in the home games)
Without an audience – 2 wins, 3 draws, one loss, goals 9:10 (10th place in the table)
Maccabi Haifa: No effect
With an audience – 4 wins, 2 draws, zero losses, goals 8:16 (second place in the table)
Without an audience – 5 wins, one draw, zero losses, goals 4:13 (first place in the table)
Maccabi Tel Aviv: Insignificant gap
With an audience – 3 wins, 3 draws, zero losses, goals 0: 6 (third place in the table)
Without an audience – 3 wins, 2 draws, one loss, goals 7:11 (sixth place in the table)
Maccabi Netanya: actually on the rise
With an audience – 3 wins, one draw, two losses, goals 9: 9 (fourth place in the table)
Without an audience – 4 wins, one draw, one loss, goals 5:15 (third place in the table)
Hapoel Haifa: It is also on the rise
With an audience – 3 wins, one draw, 3 losses, goals 9:10 (fifth place in the table)
Without an audience – 4 wins, one draw, two losses, goals 6: 8 (fourth place in the table)
Kiryat Shmona: Better without?
With an audience – 3 wins, zero draw, 4 losses, goals 8: 6 (sixth place in the table)
Without an audience – 3 wins, two draws, two losses, goals 6: 6 (seventh place in the table)
Hapoel Hadera: No change
With an audience – 2 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses, goals 7: 8 (seventh place in the table)
Without an audience – 2 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses, goals 8:11 (11th place in the table)
tax. Ashdod: M-H-P-K
With an audience – One win, five draws, one loss, goals 9: 9 (eighth place in the table)
Without an audience – 4 wins, zero draw, two losses, goals 5:10 (fifth place in the table)
Bnei Yehuda: The same trend
With an audience: Two wins, two draws, two losses, goals 5: 5 (10th place in the table)
Without an audience: 3 wins, two draws, two losses, goals 8: 6 (eighth place in the table)
Betar: Occupies more without an audience
With an audience: Two wins, one draw, two losses, goals 6: 3 (11th place in the table)
Without an audience: Two wins, two draws, three losses, goals 7: 9 (12th place in the table)
PS: Better for her without
With an audience: Zero wins, two draws, four losses, goals 7: 1 (last place in the table)
Without an audience: Three wins, one draw, two losses, goals 7: 9 (ninth place in the table)
Hapoel: Same thing
With an audience: One win, three draws, three losses, goals 9: 5 (12th place in the table)
Without an audience: One win, three draws, three losses, goals 10: 2 (13th place in the table)