Why is playing away from home so much harder?

[Mister Chops 7]

Why do some teams find it so hard to play away from home?Look at the table:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/table/default.stmGillingham... what''s going on there?  Or us last season or the season before...I get the atmosphere, the pitch dimensions, the familiarity etc. are all working for the home team, but that can''t be all - what else?

[Mello Yello 2,281]

Because like Tiger....you''ll eventually get caught....

[First Wizard 0]

Travelling and crap hotels.

[gazzathegreat 0]

I don''t know how the players view it, but it seems largely psychological to me. At home they are surrounded by home fans, familiar surroundings and a pitch they are used to playing on and no minuses of travelling a long distance (from our perspective anyway).

Where we are now, in the Third Division our home advantage has to really be that, a big advantage. Massive home support and incentive to win for the supporters.

IF things are going badly for manager or players playing away can become something of a solace and getting away from pressure, but from our current point of view we have to look upon CR as a nailed on three points in our bid to be promoted.

[The Walking Man 13]

On the flip side, look at Reading''s form. All seems largely psychological to me.

[blahblahblah 2]

It''s a territory thing - if you can create a bunker mentality within your camp, you can break it - but you have to make the men feel like marauding invaders.  Or summing.

[Evil Monkey 52]

Is it because one woman is hard enough to please, so two must be impossible??

[Brendo 0]

I think its mostly that they are playing in an unfarmiliar location, where the majority of the crowd are against you. Its hard for confidence I think, plus the pitch has part to do with it, size etc, more used to carrow road.