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How important is "luck" in football?

Is luck a factor?

  • Yes, it's better to be lucky then good.

    Votes: 7 70.0%
  • No, you make your own luck

    Votes: 3 30.0%
  • I don't believe in luck

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    10

Armstrong_11

Spurs makes me happy, you... not so much :)
Aug 3, 2011
8,572
19,110
performance a side... Does luck play a factor?

Like it or not... Vardy isn't gonna be able to repeat the goal the scored, it was those once in a lifetime where everything just lined up perfectly...

And tonight we just didn't have luck on our side... We had chances, on another day those would turn into goals.

On another day we might get a dodgy penalty or a red card...

We haven't been getting the rub of decisions lately too.

Comparing with a team like Man U that always seems to have all the luck.
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
13,785
I think you make your own luck to be honest. Of course you can't legislate for some crazy thing happening but IMO you shouldn't leave yourself in a position where that matters. If we'd played properly then it wouldn't have mattered that Vardy scored a freak goal because we'd have scored 3, for example. Same goes for if a penalty decision goes against you etc. - you shouldn't leave yourself in a situation where you desperately need a penalty to win the game.

You can never control everything so luck/chance/randomness will always play a part, but it's up to you to make sure that the margins aren't so tight that one piece of bad luck blows everything
 

Armstrong_11

Spurs makes me happy, you... not so much :)
Aug 3, 2011
8,572
19,110
Maybe I am Chinese. My up bringing has a lot of silly superstition and a lot of focus on luck and stuff...

But personally... I don't have much luck. :)
 

brendanb50

Well-Known Member
Jul 21, 2005
4,483
3,890
For anyone that likes their football ideals and misconceptions broken down to them in numerical format, try reading The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Football is Wrong.

It covers luck vs. ability in some detail and essentially draws the conclusion that success in a single game is down to luck as much as skill.

Obviously it covers why some teams are luckier than others - so there is a degree of creating your own luck through good players, strong all round teams etc. but fundamentally luck is very important, which is a hard thing for a football fan to face.
 

coys200

Well-Known Member
May 22, 2017
8,436
17,403
Hugely Imo. Look at United last season with all those home draws last season much like us this season. They had numerous chances in those games but never won.
It’s funny I often rewind goals we concede and think if only he hadn’t made that decision. We seem to have conceded a lot of preventable goals this season,a lot based on a silly error or decision.
When I looked at late goal conceded to Chelsea. And thought if only Lloris had just played it out from back instead of a throw halfway up pitch. When does Lloris every through it out like that rarely.
Even sillier one. The goal against WBA. Tripper takes the throw in to dele,but just before he was gonna throw it to winks.Silly little things like that annoy me lol.You often find in the build up to a goal there’s a large slice of luck just the way the ball runs or bounces when you initially lose it.If a game is even ability wise I think luck is a major factor.
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
13,785
Hugely Imo. Look at United last season with all those home draws last season much like us this season. They had numerous chances in those games but never won.
It’s funny I often rewind goals we concede and think if only he hadn’t made that decision. We seem to have conceded a lot of preventable goals this season,a lot based on a silly error or decision.
When I looked at late goal conceded to Chelsea. And thought if only Lloris had just played it out from back instead of a throw halfway up pitch. When does Lloris every through it out like that rarely.
Even sillier one. The goal against WBA. Tripper takes the throw in to dele,but just before he was gonna throw it to winks.Silly little things like that annoy me lol.You often find in the build up to a goal there’s a large slice of luck just the way the ball runs or bounces when you initially lose it.If a game is even ability wise I think luck is a major factor.

To play devil's advocate a bit, surely the things you've mentioned are all decisions that have been made though, rather than luck? Being able to consistently make the right decision is a skill/attribute more than it is blind luck, It goes back to what I was saying before. I think if you have a team full of people who regularly make bad decisions, which cost you goals, that's not bad luck that's bad squad management/recruitment. And likewise, if you play properly then you wouldn't leave yourself in a position where one bad decision/bad bit of luck means you lose the game. Luck wil always play a role, but it's your own fault if you've left yourself in a position where you are relying on either having good luck or not having bad luck
 

Geyzer Soze

Fearlessly the idiot faced the crowd
Aug 16, 2010
26,056
63,361
Who was it said the more he practiced the luckier he got? Some golfer ..
 

Marty

Audere est farce
Mar 10, 2005
39,885
62,558
Who was it said the more he practiced the luckier he got? Some golfer ..
Sounds like Arnold Palmer.

There's a lot of truth to it, whoever said it. The top teams through their better skill create more situations that force the ref to make a decision or force a mistake from the opposition.
 
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