Quote Originally Posted by dml1954 View Post
The crowd can influence a performance in relation to passion, commitment and energy, to keep a team going when its late in the game and the chips are down but to make out, as you did, that they influence tactics during a game is ridiculous. As is quoting a 41 year old legal case about something totally different like hooliganism. What has tactics or the way the team plays got to do with taking a penalty either - you hit the ball and either score or don’t score.
One evening I was chatting with the late Jimmy Andrews when he was City manager . I asked him why were teams' home performances better at home than away as surely professional sportsmen should be able to play to their best in any environment. He said the crowd and their noise/reactions had a big influence on the home side and also the away side however much the players tried to switch off. Makes perfect sense.