So you like the idea of WC games ending with penalty kicks?
I think this would not work for the reason mentioned in your post itself. “The game is so much faster”.
Footballers already have to cover insane amount of distance every game and every 6 months you hear a story where some footballer has collapsed due to heart failure. Remeber the deaths of Puerta, Foe and recently Muamba collapsing on the pitch?
If we reduce the number of players they have to cover more distance which will make the game more physical instead of skillfull taking away the art aspect of it. Besides there is more than enough space seeing how Neymar takes the absolute piss out of some defenders. Outrageous.
Yes, why not?
I think they should freeze the surface and make players skate instead of run. Then give them sticks to shoot with instead of kicking (being hard to do wearing skates and all). Allow more hitting and fights.
Other than that, you can pretty much keep the game the same. Oh, let’s rename it though. Something catchy with a hint of Canadian in there…how about Hockey?
Higg, with all due respect, you ever been in a high stakes penalty shootout?
No, and neither have you. The tons of studies done on football penalty kicks however, indicate that the 2 main determinants of success are 1) getting it on net (happens more than 90% of the time), and 2) the goalkeeper guessing wrong. As such, there really isn’t much difference between the PK shootout and the pre-1970’s solution of flipping a coin. I’m not alone in this though, even Sepp Blatter is on record as not wanting penalty shootouts in the WC finals anymore.
^
That’s like saying all you have to do it basketball is put the ball in the basket
I love soccer for the most part, but if I had a couple of suggestions:
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Get a video replay system (every other sport has embraced this technology while soccer has been very slow to adopt). I would use it for penalty kicks especially when the referee has to make a split second call.
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Stop the diving. There should be heavy fines for violators.
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No matches decided by penalty kicks. Golden goal wins.
Soccer is a great game. Much better to watch than most of the american made for TV garbage.
Well, this settles it then.
Yeah ,Uruguay Ghana last world cup.
90 min, Extra time over 1-1. One minute to go before Penalties. The stadium is filled with African fans, The neutrals want the Ghanians to win. Media world over backs the Ghanians saying the Africans deserve it, The first African team to reach a world cup semifinal nada nada
One minute to go, The Ghanians get an easy chance, The balls about to go in, The crowd roars in anticipation, A Uruguayan player jumps out of nowhere and blatantly handles the ball palming it away. He gets a red card, The Ghanians get a penalty with the last kick of the game. The Player steps up, Hits it perfectly except for the height he gave, Ball hits the crossbar and goes up and high and referee blows for the whistle. Game over, we’re going to penalties. The Uruguayan player is screaming with happiness on the touchline.
The penalties start, The same player steps up and converts this time. Redemption for him, But somethings changed, The tides turned and the energy in the stadium is nervous now. The Ghanians are psychologically shot and scuff their shots making errors, The Uruguayans keep their head and cool when it matters and do the right things, They gain an advantage in the shootout and don’t mess up from there. The whole world just walked out of the stadium and switched of their T.V, emotionally drained wondering what the fk just happened. From elation to despair in a matter of minutes.
3 million Uruguayans just snatched victory from certain defeat with the world rooting against them in the most heartwrenching of shootouts. They have a saying for that, Garra Charrua motherfuckers. Please football, Never change.
It’s not really a rule, but something I’d like to see enforced more often is carding a player who commits a foul that benefits the defending team. I hate it when I see a defensive player foul when the offense is in a promising situation. The defender commits the foul, looks at the ref, bitches at the guy on the ground, stand in front of the ball so it can’t be played forward directly… and meanwhile the defensive player’s teammates get back in position so that they can all defend properly. Meanwhile, no card is given, so all the offensive team gets is a free kick that might be at midfield.
It might be interesting if players fouled out after three or four fouls, sort of like in basketball, and the referee would have discretion to use a red card if necessary.
BTW, I was watching highlights of the Portugal-Holland game from 2006 the other day. What a fascinating farce that was.
One change I’d like to see is two refs on the field. One guy running around with elite athletes is an impossible job, especially when we see quick transitions. Of course, another ref with video replay is also ideal.
Area of a soccer goal - 192 square feet. Area of a basketball hoop - 1.8 square feet. Yeah, that’s exactly the same thing.
Tell you what though, I’ll challenge you to a little competition. You shoot 100 baskets from 12 yards (about 1/2 way between the 3-point arc and mid-court) and I’ll give you $10,000 for every basket you make. I’ll shoot 100 PK’s from 12 yards and you give me $10,000 for every goal I score.
He runs your beloved sport. His far more informed opinion than yours is meaningless?
The obstacle in implementing video replay or other technological aids in soccer football is that FIFA operates in many countries with poor resources. If FIFA were to mandate high resolution video replay, goal sensors, or other electronics - tools which are common in the NFL or in some international sports like tennis - it would be difficult to hold qualifying games in say… Uganda - a country whose local sports authorities cannot afford the latest technology. This is one example of an improvement that is infeasible due to the nature of the international football organization.
I would argue that cultural issues, particularly closed mindedness to change, also prevent football from improving. Having more referees, particularly those that watch the goal or cover different areas of the field, would be an obvious improvement, since referee error is an area of frequent criticism in football. However, for some reason, FIFA is unwilling to make these changes.
Only somebody clueless about the game would call Sepp Blatter’s opinion “informed”.
Look buddy, If you feel the need to break down every aspect of sport scientifically then i don’t understand how you are going to enjoy the damn thing.
I already gave you an example on the sheer range of emotion we got from a penalty shootout when the Ghanians and Uruguayans met. You want to take that away using some stats and metrics as your base? No thanks pal.
Also for pure entertainment purposes, what you posted isn’t an accurate comparison because penalty shootouts involve goalkeepers who are bigger than your average players and have extraordinary reach. They would have studied the penalty takers of the other team, They will know which player favors which foot, which player shoots in which direction, whether said player goes high or low, left or right etc. It has a huge element of psychology behind it among many others.
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Forget it, Higgmond has an agenda against the game.
Apparently unless we are Sepp Blatter or played at the highest level (his opinion would be the WC tournament), our opinions don’t matter. (But his does)
Also not sure where the idea of football being closed to change comes across but given it’s Ohai i’m not surprised. There is constructive debate going on throughout the world for video replays to be introduced without stopping the flow of the game.
Goal line tech is going to be used uniformly across the world very soon. It’s the bizzare suggestions like changing the nature of the clock and giving more points to cater to people with shortened attention spans that are met with derision because they will change the whole essence of what make the game great.
I’m not surprised that the suggestions are coming from people exposed to North American sports given their texture and how they change their sports to get more customers. I remember watching the Bulls back in the day with Jordan, Pippen and Rodman. Now if i tune in, every two win i have to watch a beef jerky ad. Fk that shit.