I was at a meeting recently talking about ideas to make footy better. Bit of an ideas session, focussed on ways to make the game better without fundamental change. My bright idea, which didnt seem to get much traction, was to remove coaches and subs benches from pitchside to the stand. I hate seeing coaches ranting and raving at refs or each other. It is a terrible look. Most other sports I can think of have them up in the stands (rugby, cricket, tennis). It would also encourage players to make their own decisions more often which is a good thing I think. Like I said, most didnt think it was a goer, so dont expect it to be trialled anytime soon. Another idea I had was to bring futsal rules in for throw ins. Once you have the ball in hand you have 3 seconds to play. Bit more popular. What would you change or trial to improve the game?
Not being funny, but I'd ban people trying to think of ways to improve the game. Aside from the back pass rule change, every bright idea seems to have made the game worse.
Maybe mate, but not so sure. Some changes were good, but badly implemented. The 6 second rule for keepers was great, badly implemented. Kicking the ball away, good idea badly implemented. I think simple tweaks can be really helpful. A blight on the game is time wasting imo, and could be erradicated easily.
I’d bring in retrospective yellow and red cards for the players who try to con refs by feigning injury or pretending to be fouled. Tv picks these up all the time and it’s nothing short of cheating. It would sharp stop when they realise they aren’t allowed to play the following week. I’m not on about the borderline ones either. Just the plain and simple cheating caught on camera. I’d also let the physio on to treat players while the game goes on to stop time wasting
There are very few changes I would make to the laws of the game or that would affect gameplay. What I would do would be: -scrap VAR -find some method of fostering a culture of respect towards the referee, as exists in Rugby Union. There are numerous changes I'd make to the organisation and governance of the game, including but not limited to: -protecting football clubs, in a similar manner to listed buildings, as significant cultural institutions. This would include penalties, including custodial, for irresponsible running of football clubs. -Preclude nation states, or their proxies, from owning football clubs. -reset European competitions. E.g. only the Champions of each country enter the Champions League, and give all European countries equal access. -change the ways in which the Premier League shares money with the rest of the football pyramid. FWIW, I don't think there's any rule that states that Rugby Union coaches have to sit in the stands. Some members of the coaching staff are still pitchside. I think head coaches/DoRs have only tended to sit in the stands since its become easy to communicate with the bench, via earpieces, and because they get a better view from there. Two sports that I watch quite regularly, basketball and ice hockey, have the coaches court/ringside.
Very simple. I'd make it an automatic yellow for any opposition player deliberately touching the ball once a free kick has been awarded against them. I'd also have a yellow for deliberately standing over the ball ... ... and I'd have a five minute delay in a substitute coming on if the departing player goes round shaking hands with his team mates, applauding the supporters and taking an age to remove his 'captain's armband' then running forty yards to give it to someone else. It's taking the piss, the referees need to man up and punish players. If a keeper is timewasting in the 60th minute, book him ... don't wait until the eighth minute of injury time ffs!!!
I quite like your suggestions. I have some radical ideas that would fundamentally change the game, but would (in my opinion) improve the game. I'd mirror Rugby in the way it manages a) time keeping and b) injuries 1. Reduce matches to 30 mins per half, but the clock stops every time the ball is out of play. No more time wasting 2. "Injured" players are treated as the game goes on, including where the team of the injured player is defending a corner/free-kick 3. Ban substitutions in the last 5 mins of a game. Most importantly, if new rules are implemented the match officials absolutely have to stick to them an none of this "let's bring in some new laws for the 1st 6 weeks of the season then revert to type" as we've seen with injury time, players leaving by the nearest exit and 6 second rule for goalkeepers. I would also bring in automatic concussion subs for any player who has (or claims to have) a head injury. Immediate substitution and 10 min assessment period that is left to an independent doctor to determine if the player can play on. This would include goalkeepers
I watch a lot of semi pro football and some of the behaviour of coaches and managers is frankly embarrassing and completely uncalled for. They just moan and complain about everything, rant and rave at everything. It's actually pathetic but cos it's football we accept it. So anything to stop this I'm all for
Thats something we cant change mate, we cant change an individuals behaviour. All we can do is put deterrents in place and punish them to make them think otherwise going forward. Its a behavioural problem nothing to do with football.
I’m not sure how they get around it, but if your player gets cleared out and receives treatment, he has to go off. It’s ridiculous that you get penalised in those circumstances There has to be punishment for those that roll around like girls at a bottomless brunch, though.
What gets my goat is when a manager/coach is telling their players literally where to stand. Let the players play man.
Frustrating part for me is they bring additional rules in each season.....when reality is they cant even apply the rules the have now!!! I say no changes, until the manage to enforce current rules One if the most frustrating one for me, Smug mentions the time wasting subs....new rule off at closest touchline....thought great, dead easy to enforce.....if that cant be enforced just shows how completely incompetent the refs are....whats worse so opposition players try to shove them off at closest touchline which a bit pushing takes place, refs join in to stop, waste bit more time then subbed player walks right across the pitch....soon as they try to walk across pitch, yellow card, easy
One of the stupidest rules in footy is the injury one - Player goes down injured, physio comes on and once treated the player has to go off. Its the wrong way around for me. i'd have it this way - player goes down injured, physio asseses injury and if not broken leg etc get the player straight off to be treated while the game goes on. The interpretation of this rule has always seemed wrong to me.
One completely idealistic and totally unenforceable change (and which is a development from my posts about the composition of our team) I would make would be to make football entirely amateur again. I've recently been reading about the GAA, something that I've been interested in for a while, but it's recently struck a chord with me that, even at the top level, all Gaelic Footballers and Hurlers are completely amateur. On top of this, the GAA is organised on the basis of the traditional parishes and counties of Ireland. You have to play for the team that represents the area in which you reside. I often muse on the futility of being a football supporter. The more I think about it, the more ridiculous I find it to get excited about the achievements of a team that I have not contributed (other than perhaps a comparatively small quantity of money) anything to. Particularly when it's a team made up of people who have no prior connection to the place they are paid ridiculous amounts of money to represent. It strikes me that the way that the GAA is organised keeps it much relevant to the lives of the supporters and that they might derive a greater degree of meaning from their team.
We obviously have the amateur game in this country, but even that is money driven. You can look as far down as Step 5 and see clubs outspending others in a bid for promotion. I can go and watch one of my local non-league clubs and see players from an hour or two away playing. I played non-league back in the day and it really wasnt like that, you played for your local side relevant to the step you played at. Not many exceptions I can think of.
Certainly is money driven. I know of one Step 5 side that did really well last season but they'd chucked a load of money at players who should, at least, really be playing top end Step 4, if not Step 3. Several of those players have jumped ship to another Step 5 side, it doesn't take a lot to work out why. I've even heard rumours of Step 4 sides paying what would be a decent full time wage for an average working person. Not sure I believe that one but there are definitely people making a fair bit from playing at that level. And travelling fair distances to do so.
I would like to see some sort of flag where the ball crossed the line for a throw in as in American football, to stop players dancing and slow walking 15 yards up the pitch. Anyone passing the marker would have the throw overturned.
