Football is one of the few things in life that can change a fan’s mood in an instant. From the euphoria that greets a 93rd minute winning goal and claiming the League title from your rivals,to the tears that inevitably come when you realise that relegation looms and that next season you’ll be travelling to an away game at Preston!PowerTable analysis shows that West Brom fans are the happiest with their team, whilst Chelsea fans are currently the angriest and most unhappy in the League.
To quote Liverpool legend Bill Shankly:
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death.
I assure you, it’s much more serious than that”
What is it?
PowerTable’s Premier League ‘Fan Happiness League Table’ is the first of its kind. Through the unique ‘smilie’ rating system you can see which fans are ecstatic, happy,
annoyed or just plain angry with their favourite football club at the moment!
How was it made?
PowerTable has created the ‘Fan Happiness League Table’ by analysing a vast number of ‘Happiness Metrics’ that affect the mood of fans. For instance; how entertaining are your team? How much does it costs to buy a ticket? Is your team better than your rivals? These metrics have then been combined into the four ‘Happiness Categories’ of:
- On-field performance
- Off-field performance
- Value for money
- Organisation
The final step was to bring together each of the four categories to create the ‘Fan Happiness Rating’ which determines the ‘Fan Happiness League Table’.
The four categories of happiness:
#1 – On-field Performance: Everything that affects fans’ happiness on the pitch; the style of play, goals scored and conceded, number of shots, average possession and more.
#2 – Off-field Performance: Club performance metrics that affect the fan’s happiness off the pitch; current and previous League positions, performance trends, comparison to rivals, performance against expectation and more.
#3 – Value For Money: The cost of supporting a team and whether you get ‘bang for your buck’; cost of season and match day tickets, changes to ticket prices and attendance levels, goals per £, points per £ and more.
#4 – Organisation:Metrics that measure how happy fans are with the management and ownership of the club; Managers’ reputation, Chairmans’ reputation, sponsorship, investment in players and more.
Ecstatic Fans
WEST BROM: Doing much better than expected (despite a recent wobble), Clarke is proving his worth, top team in the Midlands, fans get ‘bang for the buck’ and are happy with everything!
SWANSEA: Laudrup has continued the progress started by Rodgers, exciting football (‘Barca of the EPL!’), Michu can’t stop scoring, very reasonable ticket prices.
MAN UNITED: Winning games and scoring plenty of goals, Van Persie is a huge signing and already a crowd favourite, but issues in defence and the constant murmurs of discontent with the Glaciers.
MAN CITY: Still unbeaten but not performing like last season, lots of money, star studded team, still on a high after beating Man Utd to last season’s Premier League title, but heavy increase in ticket costs and already out of Champions’ League.
Happy Fans
WEST HAM: Allardyce is showing his Premier League experience, Carroll a big coup, attendance levels soaring, but recent bad press from fans’ offensive behaviour.
NORWICH CITY: On a great unbeaten streak, Hughton has picked up where Lambert left off, exciting football but lack of goals means moderate ‘value for money’.
SOUTHAMPTON: Conceding a lot of goals but ‘giving it a go’, happy to be back in the top flight, Ramirez signing is a big statement of intent, home form has improved considerably.
EVERTON: Matching the big teams, out-performing Liverpool, talented squad that hasn’t cost too much, increase in attendance, Moyes is a legend but is always linked to ‘bigger’ jobs.
FULHAM: Poor run of form despite great start, team is scoring but conceding goals, loss of Dempsey and Dembele was a blow but Berbatov signing appeased.
STOKE CITY: Club are now established in the top flight, recent FA Cup Final & Europa League appearances has shown progress made, Britannia Stadium is a fortress, Pullis has done a great job.
Annoyed fans
WIGAN: Struggling to score and win, Martinez is a fans’ favourite (especially after turning down ‘bigger’ clubs!), Kone’s goals may keep them up, fans embraced for another relegation battle!
READING: Promotion has seen crowds increase, but team struggling to win and expectation was that team would do better, although players’ efforts cannot be questioned. Fans have faith!
NEWCASTLE: Been on a poor run of form, over-achievement last year set expectation levels too high for this year, Ba is scoring goals for fun, Pardew has been savvy in transfer market.
LIVERPOOL: Struggling to win, over-reliant on Suarez, unhappy with Board, League Cup win seems a long time ago, Sterling is a ‘shining light’, Rodgers must perform quickly!
Angry Fans
ARSENAL: Trouble brewing at the Emirates’, discontent with Wenger and his ‘philosophy’, inconsistent performances, expensive tickets, loss of star players, but new multi-million £ sponsorship deal could see busy January transfer window.
ASTON VILLA: Promising manager, struggling to score, getting progressively worse each season since O’Neill days, no longer a ‘big club’, issues with record-signing Bent, but Benteke has shown promise and at least the club is better than Birmingham!
SUNDERLAND: Not winning games, struggling to score, over-reliance on Fletcher for goals, rumours of O’Neill wanting to resign, expensive tickets for poor performances and lacklustre results at home.
CHELSEA: Massive fall from grace! Great start to season after Champions League triumph last year, but recent poor form saw fan favourite Di Matteo replaced with ex-Liverpool boss Benitez (unwelcome by many!), off-field controversies have not helped.
Despite the constant highs and lows that fans put up with, one thing is always true – we will always love the beautiful game… Even if it doesn’t always love us back!
