I think you were predicting the future as I would agree totally if you were describing last nights game Even the usually impeccable Jill Scott was poor at times Playing that badly and winning 2-0 is quite an achievement but they'll have to improve against the good teams Really good 2nd goal and Ellen White is a demon finisher
Interesting is hardly the word. We should prepare ourselves for constant media comparing of penalties allowed, retaken or missed. While not against tweaking the rules in principle (I was playing when the passback to goalies rule was altered, it was an improvement) the last two changes, handball and penalty stuff, is bonkers. It's reminds me of an out of touch manager in the NHS who was always tweaking the 'dress code' in an attempt to justify his position and make himself feel important. It made him the subject of ridicule, as I fear the natural silhuoette and nailing a goalies feet to the goaline bollocks surely will. There was a case for change maybe but it looks like these ones were drawn up by someone who never played a game of football. On the other hand for the first time in my life I take little pleasure in a Scottish side imploding, well almost none. But at least we know where the pink Pompey shirts ended up.
I find it amusing that some people predicted that VAR would stop arguments whereas I predicted the opposite or at least the same levels of argument with the concomitant drawback of sucking all the excitement from the game. VAR means that laws are applied to the nth degree...VAR decisions may not be wrong but they can lack commonsense….is a mm or two enough for offside...did it affect the game? I predict there will be many more penalties and many more goals disallowed....be prepared to celebrate goals by getting your knitting out and waiting for the verdict. No point in leaping to your feet. The best part of every game will be laughing at the opposition who bothered to celebrate a goal later cancelled out. The use of VAR needs to be limited, but it won't be because of the investment made. The only other option is to loosen up the laws of the game so that VAR will not be so involved and we all know that won't happen.
If I was playing now, I would hit the ball in the air towards a defender every time, if the defender was in the box
Sadly......it really does feel that way. VAR is a stinking pile of crap, and its going to erode everything we like about our game. I reckon we'll have more believers ten games in. Someone should do a VAR thread where we predict how many we'll benefit from, and how many will screw us!
We as in those who support it or we as those who don't? Can't see me ever coming around as it will completely change the sport, be interesting to see how people do chop/change on it though after a few games, as if you didn't go to Leicester or Derby you won't have experienced it watching Saints yet.
You can't see it... yet. A function of technology which will make the game fairer. They will get better at implementing it. And faster. The era of crowding and intimidating the referee is already ending. The era of the homer is ending. The era of glamour clubs getting all the major decisions will end. And you can't see yourself ever accepting it? Implementations of helpful technology, like VAR, might actually make me enthusiastic to watch football again.
People will realise its a good idea, until you try and implement it. Take any goal from the 2015/16, rewind 45 seconds and I bet in 90% of cases you can find a reason to chalk it off. Welcome to 2019/20. Its going to be car crash....but intriguing.
I think they've gone the wrong way with these new rules. The problem with VAR is the rigid interpretation of the rules and how refereeing had been balanced with the knowledge that fouls will be missed but with VAR they are being picked up. Football had evolved to expect the old inconsistencies. To fix this they seem to have created rules that are rigid like the handball rule and the goalkeeper rule to go along along with VAR in an attempt to make it more clear cut. I complained about the handball rules last year but my solution was to reduce the punishment for unintentional handball to reduce the number of penalties, not introduce rules that will increase it further! For me they are just doubling down on the problem, not alleviating it.
No I can't because I honestly don't believe you could be more wrong. No more crowding round refs? No more bias? Jesus Christ...
You have to lack emotion to like VAR. Football is, sitting there with your friends/family, enjoying the moment, being sucked in by the highs and lows of the game. Then picture it. You watched saints grind 90 minutes to a heroic draw (we won't get carried away and say win! ) then, in the last seconds a mistimed tackle leads to a penalty. The groans, the expected pain on the faces. But he only goes and saves it! You jump round like a lunatic looking to your left your mates almost got tears in his eyes he's so happy....... to your right your other mate tells you he knew it would be saved because of his lucky pants. You shout some encouragement to the group of red and white teammates gathered close by all celebrating together with the keeper. But whats this, the ref is making some hand signals, trying to draw a shape.....oh no.....its a retake. Ball on spot, into the corner of the net. Whistle blows. People start leaving. **** that. **** that indeed.
Picture the scene, Saints have been battering a team for 90 minutes but because the strike force consists of a now 25 stone Charlie Austin and Shane Long we have had 35 shots on goal with 1 on target which was saved. You are sat with your mates livid at what a **** transfer window we’ve had once again and how we are doomed. What’s this? Charlie Austin hasn’t just fallen over because of his immense weight, he has been hacked down! Glorious VAR confirms the penalty. Boufal steps up and does 200 stuttering steps before striking the ball only for the keeper to save it. **** this I’m going home your mate says, but the cheating twat of a keeper is only 2 inches off his line when Boufal took the penalty! Re-take, Boufal slots in. Scenes Long live VAR
**** me, what a post that is. I also can't wait for 'that moment the ball hit the net' to become 'that moment when some words popped up on the screen on was starting at for 3 minutes' What a rush!
