GD or H2H Results for Tiebreaker in a League?

[Eddy_JukeZ]

I was thinking about this a few nights ago and I can't decide what the best tiebreaker would be in a league.

La Liga obviously has H2H results serving as the tiebreaker for teams tied on points. The Premier League goes for GD.

Of the two, which do you think is the better tiebreaker?

Personally I can see arguments for both, but I can't decide at all. Unless I'm missing something completely obvious.

I thought about this last season when City and United were tied on points too, but never made a thread. City obviously had the edge in GD, but we bettered them in H2H results.

What say the cafe?

 

[Stobzilla]

GD. It is the better barometer of performance over the entire season.

 

[paulscholes18]

Head to head, shouldn't matter what you did vs the other teams as their is nothing the other team can do about the result.

 

[No Love]

I personally prefer goal difference, but I wouldn't be against the introduction of the respective club captains settling it over a game of tiddlywinks.

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

head to head is better IMO as it makes the matches between title contenders more important and less likely to go for draws

Who the put most goals past relegation fodder isn't indicative of the better team

 

[Skills]

Goal difference in a league season
Head to Head in group stages

 

[padr81]

Goal difference by a mile. head to head is deciding a season of 38 games based on 2 results. Goal Difference is deciding a season based on a teams performance over a season. Just because two teams are level on points doesn't mean a league position should be decided on 2 games of the 38 they play.

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

Goal difference by a mile. head to head is deciding a season of 38 games based on 2 results. Goal Difference is deciding a season based on a teams performance over a season. Just because two teams are level on points doesn't mean a league position should be decided on 2 games of the 38 they play.

That makes sense in theory but in reality GD will usually boil down to who put the most goals past relegation fodder.

H2H incentives the biggest teams to try to win the biggest matches so its better overall for entertainment.

 

[Frank Grimes]

Much prefer Goal difference.

head to head is better IMO as it makes the matches between title contenders more important and less likely to go for draws

Who the put most goals past relegation fodder isn't indicative of the better team

Either is a 2 game sample size between 2 clubs. Imagine the implication of a bad refereeing decision in one of those games. Goal difference all day.

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

Much prefer Goal difference.

Either is a 2 game sample size between 2 clubs. Imagine the implication of a bad refereeing decision in one of those games. Goal difference all day.

To me, this is an example for video replays rather than against head to head.

I make my decision based on how the incentives work. Head to head has more entertaining incentives than GD.

GD encourages blowouts with relegation fodder whereas head to head encourages the best teams to try to win the biggest games.

 

[Keeps It tidy]

Goal difference is one of the best measure of a team's performance through the season.

 

[Frank Grimes]

To me, this is an example for video replays rather than against head to head.

I make my decision based on how the incentives work. Head to head has more entertaining incentives than GD.

GD encourages blowouts with relegation fodder whereas head to head encourages the best teams to try to win the biggest games.

You make a good case but still goal difference for me. If they bring in video replays I might be more open to H2H.

 

[Camilo]

For me, goal difference, as it can come down to the last game of the season.. Both teams level with a game to play and similar goal differences can lead to great drama! Rare though i suppose..

With head to head, if you win your head to head games by January, then you know you're already ahead in a way.. I don't like that in a league. I always think in a league, all games are equal, and beating Sunderland is just as important as beating Chelsea.

 

[ADJUDICATOR]

Atletico would have still won the league in 13-14 if it came down to head-to-head right? H2H for sure.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

H2H - similar to what you get in a cup tournament.

The better team usually wins over 2 legs and I am not a fan of racking up goals, particularly at the end of the season, just to pad your GD.

Liverpool beat Arsenal convincingly in both games but can potentially be denied CL based on GD.

 

[Cloud7]

I've always thought H2H made far more sense than goal difference. If both teams are tied on points then what should matter most is how they did against each other, not how much goals they put past the lesser teams in the league.

 

[alanjohnson]

Goal difference by a mile. head to head is deciding a season of 38 games based on 2 results. Goal Difference is deciding a season based on a teams performance over a season. Just because two teams are level on points doesn't mean a league position should be decided on 2 games of the 38 they play.

exactly
a team can have major players missing for one of these key matches
a team can also be involved in other competitions and therefore sacrifice performance in 1 match which could happen to be a key match even if they've been scoring goals for fun much of the season.

judging by GD over an entire season is perfectly fair.
Also judging by GD encourages teams to score goals instead of playing for 1-0s all season long.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

H2H makes sure you take the games against other top teams more seriously and not just relying on battering lesser clubs. H2H is over 2 legs which are usually well spaced and thus whatever disadvantages one has should even out.

Also at the end of the season, some teams have nothing to play for hence they can field weaker teams and allow others to rack up goals

Being on the same point proves that both teams are of similar quality and consistency. GD allows a 3rd team to directly influence the outcome while H2H makes those 2 team the primary determinants

 

[Keeps It tidy]

Teams running the score up against hapless teams does not happen as often as people think.

 

[GailSpaceWynand]

GD is more suited to EPL than H2H as the small teams can also win on their day so it isn't about only winning against title contenders. I can understand why one would implement it in Spain though -RM vs Barca is what it comes down to (Atleti once in a while).

 

[Rista]

Isn't the whole league format already based on what you do against all the other teams in the league? Seems a bit silly to me to suggest teams don't take games against bigger sides seriously already. Can you imagine any PL side "relying on battering lesser clubs"? I mean, it can happen but it's not something you choose to do.

 

[ZAGREB RED]

Head to head I would say.

 

[duffer]

It should be decided on alphabetical order (unless Arsenal are involved).

 

[Grylte]

Liverpool beat Arsenal convincingly in both games but can potentially be denied CL based on GD.

I was originally on the H2H bandwagon, but after reading this, i can see GD makes more sense!

 

[roonster09]

GD, league is won by the team that performs well against all the teams, not just against their competitor.

 

[2 man midfield]

Goal difference makes the most sense in a league format. It would seem silly to decide a league that is based on how you perform against the other 19 teams in any way other than how you performed against the other 19 teams. Narrowing it down to 2 games against once club is far more open to anomalies.

 

[Manny]

Goal difference. Added incentive to play attacking football throughout the season.

With head to head, there is already incentive to win against direct league opponents in that you are taking points of them.

 

[Revan]

Goal difference in a league season
Head to Head in group stages

Yep, agree with this.

 

[Samid]

Goal difference in a league season
Head to Head in group stages

/thread

Football is entertainment. Entertainment is goals.

 

[rcoobc]

Head to Head is the stupidest system ever created.

Team 1 and Team 2 are joint 4th with 60 points. As it stands, Team 1 has the better H2H results, so they are going through. But then in the last minute, Team 3 also wins their match, so they join Team 1 and Team 2 with 60 points. Because there are now three teams with the same H2H results, it turns out Team 2 are going through instead of Team 1.

 

[Rafateria]

H2H. No contest.

 

[Cal?]

Goal difference. Added incentive to play attacking football throughout the season.

With head to head, there is already incentive to win against direct league opponents in that you are taking points of them.

It goes both ways, H2H prevents the lesser teams to defend for the whole game despite going 2-0 down early on to prevent being trashed.

 

[Heardy]

Goal difference is the better barometer of performance over the course of a season.

As an alternative, go with a Penalty shootout at Wembley - Every player in the 25 man squad to take one, enter the pitch individually WWE style

 

[pacifictheme]

Head to head, shouldn't matter what you did vs the other teams as their is nothing the other team can do about the result.

But its a league not a cup. So performance over 38 games is more important than performance over 2.

 

[King7Eric]

Goal Difference for sure. It encourages teams to try to score more goals every game. If it was head to head managers could just go 1 or 2-0 up and simply sit back rather than going for more goals. And how do you decide via Head to Head if more than 2 teams have the same points, it often happens to teams battling relegation.

GD encourages you to score more, concede less during the entire course of the season, in short encourages you to play at your best in all games, not just 2 games.

 

[pacifictheme]

Goal difference is the better barometer of performance over the course of a season.

As an alternative, go with a Penalty shootout at Wembley - Every player in the 25 man squad to take one, enter the pitch individually WWE style

Or this. Maybe a royal rumble or elimination chamber with coaching staff?

 

[montpelier]

a season's worth of goals scored - goals conceded is OK for me in first instance. It takes a look at the overall performance of your team at both ends of the pitch, everyone gets to play the relegation fodder & all the other teams at some stage.

2 very level games could be settled by a refereeing error or a silly own goal - you've already had the points for this once

 

[x42bn6]

A club should be ranked higher in a league if and only if they have performed better than the other over the course of the entire season. To me, that is basically goal difference, not head-to-head.

Goal difference also makes for a more-exciting league. If Real Madrid lead Barcelona on head-to-head, then if they finish level on points, no matter how many goals Barcelona score, Real Madrid win the league. This could make for a damp squib if both teams play relegated fodder on the final day. On the other hand, if La Liga were decided on goal difference first, then it could potentially go down to the last minute of the last game.

In the Eredivisie 2006-07 season, for example, PSV, AZ and Ajax went into the last matchday with the exact same number of points. The winner of the league changed hands multiple times that day. Minute-by-minute:

Spoiler

• 8: PSV score (PSV 1-0 Vitesse). PSV lead AZ on points (75-73), Ajax are 3rd, behind AZ, due to goal difference (53-47)

• 10: PSV score (PSV 2-0 Vitesse)

• 13: Vitesse score (PSV 2-1 Vitesse)

• 18: Ajax score (Willem II 0-1 Ajax) and AZ suffer a red card. Ajax lead PSV on goal difference (48-47)

• 21: Excelsior score (Excelsior 1-0 AZ)

• 24: AZ score (Excelsior 1-1 AZ)

• 58: PSV score (PSV 3-1 Vitesse). Ajax are now level with PSV on points (75) and goal difference (48) but Ajax lead on goals scored (83-73)

• 59: Excelsior score (Excelsior 2-1 AZ)

• 65: PSV score (PSV 4-1 Vitesse). PSV lead Ajax on goal difference (49-48)

• 69: Ajax score (Willem II 0-2 Ajax). Ajax are again level with PSV on points (75) and goal difference (49) but Ajax lead on goals scored (84-74)

• 70: AZ score (Excelsior 2-2 AZ)

• 75: Excelsior suffer a red card, so it's 10 vs. 10 against AZ

• 77: PSV score (PSV 5-1 Vitesse). PSV lead Ajax on goal difference (50-49)

• 90: Excelsior score (Excelsior 3-2 AZ)

 

[Enigma_87]

GD by a mile. It encourages teams to score more goals, rather than play out games at 1-2 goals advantage.

It's also a league not cup - you win the league against 19 other teams not a two way tie.

 

[D4X73r]

GD is more important if there are more teams in a league that are trying to win the league.

If the league is a 2 Horse race (La Liga as an example here), H2H is better, because (only as an example) Real winning the league by GD only because they played 4 times 9:0 against the last 2 teams (and Barca only winning 6:0 against them), but losing both games 1:0 against Barca is kinda shit.

Due to the GD in the EPL, also the lower teams are trying their best not lose too high which makes also games against lower teams more interesting (not only another 9:0 match which will be considered as greatest performance in the whole season in La Liga)