Torpedo Entenhausen 3 - SG Sundern 1

Torpedo Entenhausen collected six points in four days to move firmly into the top half of division 2 in Bochum's spare time league. A 2-1 win with 10 players on Friday was followed by a today's win, where we faced only 10 opposing players.

In both games I landed quite hard with my right knee on the cinder pitch. The cut from Friday had just about scabbed over, but today I managed to land on exactly the same spot just below the knee and reopen the wound. The grazes over the upper shin are still scabbed, but have new cuts mixed in with them.

At least I am better off than teammate Stefan, who had blood running down from both his knees, as though he had been subject to a double kneecapping. After he showered, blood was splattered down the tiles of the shower room. Bernd, a veteran of 20 years playing in the Freizeitliga, said that his elbows and knees are covered in tiny scars.

It wasn't by any means a dirty game, even though the opposition had one player sent off. It just lies in the nature of cinder pitches and human flesh. Somethings gotta give, and it usually isn't the pitch.

Taxi Zentrale 1 - Torpedo Entenhausen 2

With three games of the season remaining, Torpedo Entenhausen have accumulated the same number of points as in the whole of last season, and look good for a top-half finish. I dashed back from Erlangen for the fixture, but was a bit tired and hungover. This got me thinking about home advantage in the league, as obviously travelling five hours to a game isn't great preparation.

Now that football has turned into a billion business, this question must be worth millions of said units, and whoever solves it could become rich. It has become an accepted fact that the home team has an advantage, and this is reflected in results in all leagues all over the world.

One reason for home team advantage are the crowds, which can boost players and intimidate the referee, but the Spare Time League in Bochum doesn't have any crowds. It is therefore interesting to see that there is still a distinct home advantage. The two divisions in the league had the total results at the end of the season 2008.

Home Wins Draws Away Wins Home Goals Away Goals
Div 2 91 (50%) 18 (10%) 73 (40%) 515 449
Div 1 84 (46%) 22 (12%) 76 (42%) 531 465

Now that seems that there is definitely a home advantage. This could come from the difficulties in travelling across Bochum to get to an away match, funny kick-off times for away matches (some teams play on a Friday), or the strange surroundings and change to routine of an away fixture.

If one of the world's richest football clubs wanted to, they could conduct experiments with local leagues, all without any crowds. In one league all pitches and changing rooms would be the same, like in roman military camps, but players would have to sort out their travelling arrangements. In another league the pitches would vary, but all teams would be bussed together to the away ground. In a third league the teams would be bussed together and play on identical grounds, but be taken ten times around the ringroad before the match. Surely the costs would be small in comparison to hiring a 30 Million Euros player, and the results potentially of great importance.

Cheers Timo

I am in Erlangen for a quick visit. My PhD Supervisor is going into retirement and holding a goodbye lecture. I just turned up at my old shared flat (the Henke WG) and invited myself in. I keep meaning to give people a bit more notice, but didn't get round to it this time.

I was greeted by a cup of tea, and my ex-flatmate Timo said I could have his room. It has a bed, a computer with internet access and three bottle of beer. The perfect bachelor pad.