can we make soccer better

filbert the fox

It is the referee's fault.

Everything can be blamed on the ref.


Ssoooooo GET RID OF THE REF.

we never had a ref on the road or in the park. Did matches go on for hours with an understanding that there had to be fair play......you bet ya.! Otherwise whoever's ball it was would just leave.....OK it happened but overall the idea that you had to compromise was accepted, otherwise no street football would ever be played anywhere.

An alternative.
Consider what makes up the average game....the number of goals scored by one over another.
Eliminate the sole power of the referee and rely on statistics(which lets face it are part of the modern game).

For example, what if after a drawn game the outcome was decided on an unknown but predetermined set of parameters. Like disciplinary record or shots on target or possession or number of corners.........anything.
If rules like this were introduced over time players would not play for time, feign injury, foul "professionally" .
The beauty of the Unknown aspect of the parameters would be that in e.g. Barcelona's case possession might not be a factor in that particular tie. in that case it could be shots on target.

What I'm saying is that the ref can't see everything including goals scored (hence goal line technology) so how can he be the sole arbiter? The cheating by players leaves a sour taste in the mouth of decent people and it's getting to a stage where the game is in peril if something is not done.

Why Did a certain frenchman come into my head there?

eyescreamcone

jaykay74 wrote: »

No one in the large parallelogram when the ball is being crossed in. Maybe a parade before the game with flags and stuff?

I think you'll find that restarts when the ball goes wide in Gaelic football are from the ground.

But if you like parades ...knock yourself out!

Ardillaun

Cutting the risk of head injury should be a priority in every sport. It's not as bad in soccer as rugby etc. but players do sustain a fair few knocks esp. from head clashes when competing for the ball. How to reduce them? No head motion towards the ball or arms up for headers outside the penalty area? Inside, only allow the attacking players to 'actively' head the ball?

double GG

Ardillaun wrote: »

Cutting the risk of head injury should be a priority in every sport. It's not as bad in soccer as rugby etc. but players do sustain a fair few knocks esp. from head clashes when competing for the ball. How to reduce them? No head motion towards the ball or arms up for headers outside the penalty area? Inside, only allow the attacking players to 'actively' head the ball?

Can't we just get rid of heading the ball altogether?

EDIT: I'm unsure if you're implying that you don't want players attacking the ball and only want the ball to hit off their head's...

Ardillaun

double GG wrote: »

Can't we just get rid of heading the ball altogether?

EDIT: I'm unsure if you're implying that you don't want players attacking the ball and only want the ball to hit off their head's...

I'm not sure what I want either. I'm just spouting off trying to see if there's any way soccer could be made safer and still be soccer.

Yes, I'm saying they can only jump vertically, Masai-like, with no motion towards the ball or each other. Sounds a tad ridiculous I'll admit.

The raised arm business would be easier to enforce.

I also wonder about phasing out the header altogether.

DerekDGoldfish

Would players have to jump/duck out of the way if the ball was coming towards their head?

While I think there needs to be better protocols in place to deal with head injuries I think eliminating headers is going overboard.

double GG

Ardillaun wrote: »

I'm not sure what I want either. I'm just spouting off trying to see if there's any way soccer could be made safer and still be soccer.

Yes, I'm saying they can only jump vertically, Masai-like, with no motion towards the ball or each other. Sounds a tad ridiculous I'll admit.

The raised arm business would be easier to enforce.

I also wonder about phasing out the header altogether.

Okay, now you're making me think you're being serious about this.

Laois_Man

Throw in replaced by a kick in......removes the easy option for defenders of whacking it into row Z and makes them try to play football alot more

A simple change but one that would provide a huge impact on the flow of the game imo.

Penalty goals as opposed to penalty kicks to be used in the rare occurrences such as the Suarez incident against Ghana 4 years ago

Retrospective zero tollerence on diving

A transfer spend limit

Unlimited rolling substitutions across an entire 22 man matchday squad. Keeps the pace fast and energy levels high. Not sure about this one. It has plenty of downsides. Just throwing it out there.

At least 2 players must be in opposition half at all times. As above. Also forces a tweaking of the offside rule which should be considered anyway.

jaykay74

Ardillaun wrote: »

I also wonder about phasing out the header altogether.

What kind of stupid is this

Ardillaun

double GG wrote: »

Okay, now you're making me think you're being serious about this.

I am serious about reducing the risk of brain injuries. Some risk is unavoidable but if it could be reduced why not? This is a thread devoted to speculation so let's do precisely that.

Don't get hung up on abolishing the header altogether - that's just one suggestion. Big breaths.

diomed

What is the point of the six yard box? It is a waste of paint. Make goalkeepers kick out from the edge of the pitch.

Ardillaun

Take the white line seriously. The refs are spraying these lines which is great, although some refs aren't fully trained on keeping them straight, but I haven't seen any action taken against players who step over them.

Ardillaun

DerekDGoldfish wrote: »

Would players have to jump/duck out of the way if the ball was coming towards their head?

While I think there needs to be better protocols in place to deal with head injuries I think eliminating headers is going overboard.

Better protocols may limit the damage but a lot of it will be done already.

764dak

mewso wrote: »

Sorry to sully the forum by bringing up Rugby again but I really think a clock system similar to that game should be brought in. Stop the clock for injuries and so on and when it hits 90 minutes thats that.

Studies show the average soccer match only has around 60 minutes worth of action. I think there should be stop clocks just like in beach soccer and basketball etc.

simongurnick

don't stop the game for injuries. just let the physio run on and treat them. Would prevent a lot of faking to waste time and break up play

Turtwig

Goal keepers cannot catch the ball. Only punch.
Electric fence surrounds perimeter of pitch beyond corner flags. Ball cannot go past it so no throw ins. Also serves as a tactical functions players may be temporarily incapacitated and skill full technical players can use fence to open up a whole new realm of dribbling and passing skills. Corner kicks must be taken with a special incendiary ball. Teams have the options of using either partial stun, flashbang or smoke grenade. Free kicks are replaced with penalty kicks that can only happen once all playing time has elapsed. Fouls are noted and reviewed by a jury. Clear and obvious simulation results in two penalties the opposite way and the infringing player tossed into the electric fence. Red card mean all players on the team must be tossed into the fence. For this, each pitch will be fitted with catapults which lucky fans will get to fire. Play will resume minus the dejected player within 30s. That's the maximum shock recovery time allowed for a red card offence.

eyescreamcone

Why is the world cup always played in hot conditions?

I propose playing future world cups in enclosed stadia where the weather conditions inside can be varied.

The weather conditions would be drawn out of a hat 30mins before kick off.

I'd like to see how Cameroon and brazil would fare in arctic conditions with a gale wind blowing.

...and Brazil are making good use of the wind in the first half 

Guy:Incognito

jaykay74 wrote: »

What kind of stupid is this

Can't blame rugby on that one, you can head the balk in rugby. :-)

Guy:Incognito

eyescreamcone wrote: »

Why is the world cup always played in hot conditions?

I propose playing future world cups in enclosed stadia where the weather conditions inside can be varied.

The weather conditions would be drawn out of a hat 30mins before kick off.

I'd like to see how Cameroon and brazil would fare in arctic conditions with a gale wind blowing.

...and Brazil are making good use of the wind in the first half 

We could get a rich nation to host it that's capable of (promising to) building such stadia. I propose a non traditional football country. I'm putting my weight behind Qatar.....

Richard Hillman

eyescreamcone wrote: »

Let goalkeepers take goal kicks from their hands from inside the six yard box. This would speed up this very slow restart process.

I like this idea. It must take about 30 seconds to complete a goal kick from the original shot to kick. This idea would probably take about 10-15 seconds. multiply that by about 20 shots off target and you get about 3-5 minutes of extra play.

I think even the Blatter-ites that are on this thread shooting down any ideas for change can agree that we need to get the ball in play for more time.

I wish the internet was around in the 20s when offside was changed. I wonder if it would've had the same reaction as any suggestion being made now.:rolleyes:

Ardillaun

Another outrageous rugby/ice hockey idea - abject apologies in advance: how about a singer (maybe backed by a small choir even, I'm going for broke here, crazy stuff) leading the singing of the anthem? At the mo, these anthems sound like so much atonal yelling. You can hear the poor players braying away as best they can. Why not spare them humiliation at least until the game starts?

Fr Tod Umptious

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

We could get a rich nation to host it that's capable of (promising to) building such stadia. I propose a non traditional football country. I'm putting my weight behind Qatar.....

Cheaper alternative would be to play the world cup on Wednesday nights in Stoke between Nov and March.
That will learn them

Agent Coulson

Use of Gum Shields to become mandatory :pac:

Laois_Man

Should be allowed move a free kick Further Away from goal. A team getting a 30 yard free kick has a better chance of scoring than when they win a 20 yard free kick which is ridiculous!!

filbert the fox

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Use of Gum Shields to become mandatory :pac:

And Shoulder Pads!

jmayo

srfc d16 wrote: »

And of course 2 painters behind each goal too.

And they must be mates of the ref who are only paid with free food

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Use of Gum Shields to become mandatory :pac:

No I think this is better idea.
After all one could spit out the gum shield.

iDave

Footballs beauty is its simplicity so don't see a point in tinkering with it too much.
I would support a much tougher approach to diving. It is the real cancer of the game. A greater focus on physicality. Footballers are the laughing stock of the sporting world for its increasing timid nature.

I'd like to see the away goal rule abolished. It worked in the 50s when flying over the iron curtain was a daunting experience but away days in Europe are nothing like they used to be.

Hammer Archer

Lofty123 wrote: »

Why not introduce some other inovations from rugby as well...
eye gouging, biting, stamping etc?
Still, at least they respect the ref!

This post has a whole new level of irony today.

jaykay74

I think a lot of money could be saved by having 1 set of goal posts instead of 2. You have a neutral goalkeeper and while goal hanging is allowed it is generally frowned upon. First to 10 wins unless it gets dark first.

pickarooney

What's the keeper's incentive?

Maximus Alexander

pickarooney wrote: »

What's the keeper's incentive?

If he plays well he might be allowed play outfield next time.

Invertpyramid

Lofty123 wrote: »

Why not introduce some other inovations from rugby as well...
eye gouging, biting, stamping etc?
Still, at least they respect the ref!

Well we have the biting part covered anyway!

Ardillaun

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Use of Gum Shields to become mandatory :pac:

Muzzles?

Richard Hillman

jaykay74 wrote: »

I think a lot of money could be saved by having 1 set of goal posts instead of 2. You have a neutral goalkeeper and while goal hanging is allowed it is generally frowned upon. First to 10 wins unless it gets dark first.

I would love if Sky decided to show something like this during the Summer months. Or even as a replacement to the Community Shield. All 20 teams nominate a player. The winner gets a million quid for the clubs charity.

The Lost Sheep

LiamoSail wrote: »

Rugby's an entirely different game, from the rules to the mind set of fans. For all its faults, the last thing I'd ever want to see is football become more like rugby. This whole "being quiet" thing when the opposition have a free kick is a load of cock, no passion, no culture, no history

Being quiet during opposition kicks is all about culture and history and respect. But while I agree the sports are entirely different games they both can learn quite a bit from each other

enda1 wrote: »

The captain being the only person allowed talk to the ref would be impractical. It works in rugby because everyone's within spitting distance of the ref at all times, but in soccer with maybe a keeper being captain and the incident happening in the opposite box, it's not practical. Maybe instead it's only 1 person allowed speak to the ref at any one time?

I'd most certainly like to bring in automatic offside triggers* (if they could be developed) and retrospective action for diving/simulation. The goal-line technology has already proved marvellous in awarding a very difficult to call incident in the France Honduras match.

*The ref would be informed that someone is offside, but the ref would decide themselves if that player was interfering.

Captain only person speaking to ref would be slightly impractical but you can work around it(Im a ref in rugby). Refs often if teams captains are out in backs and not near forwards and at breakdown where majority of penalties awarded allow teams another representative who can talk to ref querying decisions.
And everyone isn't that close to a referee at all times especially if captain is an outside back.

Retrospective action for diving etc is a must.