By Bulldog Drummond
Arsenal are 12th in the league in terms of home performances, while Wolverhampton are 14th in the league in terms of away performances. And in fact the performances of the two clubs home and away are identical – two wins and two defeats for Arsenal at home, the same for Wolverhampton away.
There have been 93 matches played in the Premier League this season as of the morning of 29 November, Of these games 35 have been home wins, 18 have been draws and and 40 away wins.
In short the reversal of the home and away structure that has been traditional in football for years, with the home sides winning far more than the away sides is still overthrown. At present the ratio is that 38% are home wins, 43% are away wins and 19% are draws.
There’s not been much on the media about this, because explaining it is highly embarrassing to them, given their ceaseless support of PGMO – the group that runs the highly dubious refereeing system in the Premier League.
We have spent a lot of time on examining this and there is no doubt whatsoever that the reason for the difference is the effect of the home crowd on the referees. The evidence for this is overwhelming both in the research carried out by the London School of Economics team, and in the figures. Referees are influenced by the crowd. That is simply how it is. (They might be bent too, we really have no proof, although their refusal to give interviews, and their refusal to engage a similar number of referees to those in other leagues, and their refusal to restrict the number of times the same referee can oversee certain teams, all speak of either corruption or a completely arrogant couldn’t-care-less attitude. The refusal of the media to take this up either speaks of corruptions or arrant laziness).
But the gap between the home and away teams is declining, probably because home teams are getting more used to playing in a silent stadium, while away teams have found it a relief not to have quite so biased a referee. But everyone is getting used to the situation, and what is happening is what one would expect. The home/away difference is gradually getting less.
The difference between these two teams at the moment is that Wolverhampton are playing to expectations while Arsenal are playing below expectations. Wolverhampton have their severe financial worries and so are just trying to hold on; Arsenal have spent a fortune in the last two summers, and taken dramatic steps by leaving two players out of their “25” totally and so expect to be much higher up the league.
Our results in the last six are not too bad…
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 29 Oct 2020 | Arsenal v Dundalk | W | 3-0 | Europa League |
| 01 Nov 2020 | Manchester United v Arsenal | W | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 05 Nov 2020 | Arsenal v Molde | W | 4-1 | Europa League |
| 08 Nov 2020 | Arsenal v Aston Villa | L | 0-3 | Premier League |
| 22 Nov 2020 | Leeds United v Arsenal | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
| 26 Nov 2020 | Molde v Arsenal | W | 0-3 | Europa League |
Four wins, a defeat and a draw. The problem is that three of the wins were in the Europa against modest opposition.
Wolverhampton’s bad run came earlier in the season with a League Cup defeat to Stoke, and League defeats to Manchester City and West Ham. But they don’t have trips around Europe to bother with.
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 04 Oct 2020 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Fulham | W | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 19 Oct 2020 | Leeds United v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 25 Oct 2020 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Newcastle United | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 30 Oct 2020 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Crystal Palace | W | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 08 Nov 2020 | Leicester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers | L | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 23 Nov 2020 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Southampton | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
Three wins, two draws and one defeat, but in each one of those games only zero or one goal – except for the match against struggling Palace. But then we’ve only scored one goal in our last five league games! That would seem to indicate a goalless draw.
And yes it is hard to believe but that is the case. One Arsenal goal in five league games.
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 17 Oct 2020 | Manchester City v Arsenal | L | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 25 Oct 2020 | Arsenal v Leicester City | L | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 01 Nov 2020 | Manchester United v Arsenal | W | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 08 Nov 2020 | Arsenal v Aston Villa | L | 0-3 | Premier League |
| 22 Nov 2020 | Leeds United v Arsenal | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
Something really does have to change – and quickly.
- Arsenal’s absentee details, our unfortunate league position and hope of a rise
- Arsenal v Wolverhampton: the tactics and why Arsenal are still getting injuries
- Arsenal reduced to the level of wolves
Give the refs ear plugs , that’ll sort it out.
They need plugs for certain! Not sure if is the ears though. Up the Arsenal!