Entertainment

Whether you are entertained or not is often thought to be undefinable. That it is largely seen through the eye of the beholder. That does not sit well with me. I need to have a practical way of defining whether a game has been entertaining or not. Since the start of the season, I have been experimenting with a way of producing such a definition. I would be interested in the thoughts of BBSers.

At the end of each game, I consult the statistics as published on the BBC web site. I award points for each statistic. For each 10% of possession, I award 1 point. For each corner I award 1 point. For each foul I deduct 1 point. For each booking I deduct 5 points. For a sending off I deduct either 5 points or 10 points depending upon whether it is a straight red card. For each shot at goal, I award 5 points. I award another 5 points if it is on target, and a further 10 points if the shot results in a goal.

Each team attracts a total score for each match, and the higher score relates to the most entertaining team. The winning team is normally the most entertaining team, but on one occasion they were not. The most entertaining game will be the sum of the scores for the two clubs.

Of course, it is easy for me to suggest that the system seems to work based upon my experience from home games only, but it is another thing to have an independent view. I would be grateful therefore if BBSers would reply with their most entertaining games of the season, and their least entertaining games of the season. I will let you know later what my scoring system suggests the best and worst games were.

 

The game I've enjoyed the most this season, was the Forest league game. Oddly, it was one of those games that a neutral would have loved, and not necessarily a supporter of either team.

But with 85 minutes played, and the score still 0-0, I thought overall it'd been a great contest, despite neither team really threatening either keeper. It was end to end, and the referee allowed the game to flow too.

It was made better of course, by us scoring twice late on.

The least enjoyable game in my opinion was the Middlesbrough league game. Whilst I felt we were outclassed in the first half hour, I thought it was a dull affair after that. They (for want of a better term) **** housed their way through the game, and we looked very disjointed. A poor refereeing performance didn't help either, and I felt Struber's tactics showed indications of his imminent departure.

 

Many thanks for your reply.

The scores for the games you mention are as follows:

Notts For (h) - Reds 94 v Forest 50 Total 144
Middlebro (a) - Reds 68 v Boro 76 Total 144

I have not planned that honestly. Those are the genuine scores. My system says both games were equally entertaining. Just to introduce some perspective, the total score for the worst game of the season as per my scoring system is just 9. The score for the best game of the season is 246.

 

I don't think entertainment can be quantified.

 

I've only just found out that Huddersfield are behind only Norwich for possession this season. And they average more possession than anyone, away from home. It seems like you'll get to see your favoured brand of football on Boxing Day, Red Rain.

Then we'll beat them and you'll tell us we weren't entertaining.

 

It can't, and certainly not by Red Rain's point scoring. Because he's removing points for fouls and cards etc, when they often add to the entertainment (or drama) of a match. He isn't counting tackles/interceptions/aerial duels won either.

But possession gets you points.

Each to their own like.

The most entertaining game for me was at Derby County. Where we saw the home side keep the ball in the first two thirds doing very little, only for them to cough up a massive error that we punished before we scored one of the great BFC team goals, from back to front to seal a deserved victory. Using Red Rain's format, I expect it got a poor rating for entertainment. Birmingham away was arguably as good, owing to the drama of winning it from behind late on.

I applaud him for the thread though because it's got us thinking etc. He's a quality contributor and stirs debate.

 

I do not wish to argue with you. It is just that I have said recently that I do not find the 3-4-3 system as played by VI at all entertaining. I have gone on about it at length, but when I look back at the numbers that my system has thrown up, I see something different. I find that the most entertaining games were played under our temporary coach, that VI is second and that GS was the least entertaining by a distance. I realise that I have destroyed any remaining credibility that Minority Report may have had, but an independent eye has called me out, and I wondered whether others were similarly deceived.

 

This.

I love a good dirty tackle. Most recent peach was Ben Williams red card effort away at Wigan. Worth the admission money on its own.

 

I never mind anyone arguing or discussing with me!! I also think that matches are often more entertaining when you're actually there rather than watching on the telly.

 

In fairness, it is very rare for any game to finish better than 70/30 possession, and that gets one team only 4 points more than the other. I actually took your argument into consideration and decided to mark down my own preferences in the scoring system.

The scores in the Derby game are Reds 113 v Derby 46 Total 159

 

It's quite interesting they've come out level by your scoring. I don't feel it's something that necessarily can be quantified. Particularly as a fan of one club, I'm obviously more likely to have a bias towards a game where Barnsley win. It is an interesting way of looking at it though, that's for certain.

 

Whilst I appreciate your posts, I find it difficult to understand and see why you do not find the style of football entertaining. There are very few games that I have seen this season under VI that I have said, “well that was $hite and not entertaining”. It is all about opinions I suppose, but if you are using a system to generate performance scores, then surely it is only as good as the formula you are using to generate those scores. I suppose what I am saying is that I could look at your formula and raise and lower where necessary and get a completely different result.

 

That is undoubtedly true, which is why I wanted to take bias out of the system. Only the method of scoring is mine. The basis for the scores is from the BBC.

 

To be entertained you must open your mind to the possibility.

forgive me if this isn’t so RR but you seem to have decided you won’t ever be entertained whilst Val plays 343.

it’s obvious that just about everyone gets entertained by different things, most games offer something* if you are prepared to look for it.

*unless it’s Millwall away and Scott Wiseman scored an own goal to lose 1 nil !

 

That is absolutely the truth. My system could have introduced my natural biases, and that is why I have told everyone the basis of the scores. I am quite happy to change the scoring system if it should prove to be nonsense. However, I wanted the opinions of others to be untainted by the knowledge of what the system said the best/worst games were. That is the only way that I am likely to arrive at a majority unbiased opinion.

 

The system has actually told me that I am wrong about 3-4-3. It will not stop me from commenting on it, but you can then tell me that it is more entertaining than Struber's system, and be totally justified in your view.

 

1-0 away to Coventry under King Keith. What a game.

 

Am I right in thinking that if we drew a game nil nil with 3 shots wildly off target and had around 60% possession tapping it around out back four making no fouls we would get 21 points but in our infamous game against Liverpool we would get 40 for our goals and 4 for our 40% but lose 40 for our cards leaving us on 4 points before any other shots or fouls were taken into consideration?

 

I realise why you are asking the question, but I do not wish to go back and re-referee long dead games just so you can make a point. The system attempts to define entertainment in the current climate. Play the game. Which are your most and least entertaining games of the season.

 

What do you mean re-referee? Nobody asked you to do that. Was I correct with your unilaterally created football entertainment calculator? Nil nil with 3 shots over the roof of the stand is considered more entertaining than Barnsley v Liverpool? I don't understand how you can genuinely think that is the case