Don't let these people ruin the game

[archie]

I hope you will be able to read this article from the New York Times about Gerald Pique and his plans for football. Horrible!

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/05/sports/soccer/gerard-pique-barcelona-kings-league.html?unlocked_article_code=se0_-Q7PVXrEjF_o4x4sMS80_DBI_tsoYri7rFEKq0O6ffUIcu_dWLX DbdgVJzoFDheVA0Om6RcO-HLYivCjFZPbCyu81r7L-oVnMBhDbNUmvNB9D5oksHvP9SHEd_0tSBplFqRwK_wEnw2dUga 7gIVnJsE2yKKlPpCrTfXORycxXDN7hVEUg7g-kQ5TmCowyCgJ56qdAuTYRenB8sLYe6zyR07wEnGJf5szQRGEyO vsBE6IOjqBn6ElJffz2mJRkmmRJKLTsasHrwzf9iQ8YrII3kK1 AHW1ytZ2NO4Xga-c8G4rbDjfwSufWr8M34y3rhhqKDZvC4Gxe5drjf_R3HCY0OTLU QtPhl8CcqDG9JWfwVsf&smid=url-share

[wookie70]

He has got some things right. Football is becoming more boring as the pauses are becoming longer and longer. I'd like to see time limits for throw ins and goal kicks etc. Countdowns on the big screens etc. I also want to have a ball in play clock rather than 90 minutes. Stop as many forms of cheating as possible by lengthy bans. I'd also have a time limit for VAR. A minute from the footage arriving is more than enough. Most of the things brought into football have made it worse and good ideas like 6 seconds ball in hand for the keeper are ignored.

[PHeffernan]

I hope you will be able to read this article from the New York Times about Gerald Pique and his plans for football. Horrible!

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/05/sports/soccer/gerard-pique-barcelona-kings-league.html?unlocked_article_code=se0_-Q7PVXrEjF_o4x4sMS80_DBI_tsoYri7rFEKq0O6ffUIcu_dWLX DbdgVJzoFDheVA0Om6RcO-HLYivCjFZPbCyu81r7L-oVnMBhDbNUmvNB9D5oksHvP9SHEd_0tSBplFqRwK_wEnw2dUga 7gIVnJsE2yKKlPpCrTfXORycxXDN7hVEUg7g-kQ5TmCowyCgJ56qdAuTYRenB8sLYe6zyR07wEnGJf5szQRGEyO vsBE6IOjqBn6ElJffz2mJRkmmRJKLTsasHrwzf9iQ8YrII3kK1 AHW1ytZ2NO4Xga-c8G4rbDjfwSufWr8M34y3rhhqKDZvC4Gxe5drjf_R3HCY0OTLU QtPhl8CcqDG9JWfwVsf&smid=url-share

Just another rich man playing with things to get richer.

[Pretty Boy]

He has got some things right. Football is becoming more boring as the pauses are becoming longer and longer. I'd like to see time limits for throw ins and goal kicks etc. Countdowns on the big screens etc. I also want to have a ball in play clock rather than 90 minutes. Stop as many forms of cheating as possible by lengthy bans. I'd also have a time limit for VAR. A minute from the footage arriving is more than enough. Most of the things brought into football have made it worse and good ideas like 6 seconds ball in hand for teh keeper are ignored.

I agree with the ball in play clock.

Most people wouldn't notice a huge difference as if you set the game time to 50 or 60 minutes we would still be in the ground for 90+ minutes anyway.

Much of the rest of Pique's ideas seem like a sideshow tbh. A bit like YouTubers pretending to be boxers. It will have it's fans initially and people predicting it as 'the end of the sport as we know it' but when the initial curiosity wears off or a new fad appears the ticket sales will start to drop. A celebrity and former player 7 a side league will sell tickets as a one off but it's not going to replace football for those who attend Easter Road, Tynecastle or Pittodrie every other week.

[Brightside]

Countdown clock is a yes please from me. 60 min and only runs when the ball is in play. Would be the greatest change in football since the offside rule.

[archie]

On the theme of press coverage, a surprisingly robust defence of the EPL from UEFA https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/apr/05/uefa-aleksander-ceferin-premier-league-european-super-league-juventus-real-madrid-barcelona

[DH1875]

They've brought in a timed countdown for pitchers in the MLB and I got to say its worked a treat and I like it.

[ErinGoBraghHFC]

They've brought in a timed countdown for pitchers in the MLB and I got to say its worked a treat and I like it.

I like it too, managers seem to like it as well.


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[Hibs4185]

I don’t see how they can’t have physio’s on the pitch attending to players whilst the game continues.

Works in rugby and they are in far greater danger of being smashed by some big 20 stone guys

[plhibs]

They've brought in a timed countdown for pitchers in the MLB and I got to say its worked a treat and I like it.
It's seems to have started well, heaven knows the games could take 3/4 hours to be completed.

[ErinGoBraghHFC]

I don’t see how they can’t have physio’s on the pitch attending to players whilst the game continues.

Works in rugby and they are in far greater danger of being smashed by some big 20 stone guys

Rugby also moves up and down the pitch a lot slower than football does


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[ErinGoBraghHFC]

It's seems to have started well, heaven knows the games could take 3/4 hours to be completed.

Saw a stat the other day that since the clock has been brought in the average time a game takes to complete is over half an hour less, might not be accurate but it feels that way


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[Eyrie]

Rugby also moves up and down the pitch a lot slower than football does


Which makes it easier for the footballer to be attended to whilst play continues elsewhere. And at least the rugby player has actually taken a hard enough hit to need treatment, unlike a footballer who throws himself to the ground in feigned agony most of the time.

[MWHIBBIES]

Which makes it easier for the footballer to be attended to whilst play continues elsewhere. And at least the rugby player has actually taken a hard enough hit to need treatment, unlike a footballer who throws himself to the ground in feigned agony most of the time.

Mind that time a big hard rugby player kept a packet fake of blood in his mouth to get an opponent sent off? Now that was a feigned injury.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Which makes it easier for the footballer to be attended to whilst play continues elsewhere. And at least the rugby player has actually taken a hard enough hit to need treatment, unlike a footballer who throws himself to the ground in feigned agony most of the time.

Surely the fact the ball is far more likely to end up anywhere on the pitch in football a lot quicker than it is in rugby makes it more difficult?

Once the ball is 30 yards away in rugby it’s likely going to take a bit of time to come back 30 yards. In football the ball can end up 130 yards away in a matter of seconds quite easily.

[Irish_Steve]

Mind that time a big hard rugby player kept a packet fake of blood in his mouth to get an opponent sent off? Now that was a feigned injury.

I only watch the Six Nations so not really a rugby fan but that case you talk about I really is an isolated one. When’s the last time you saw a rugby player rolling round the ground trying to get an opposition player sent off or a rugby player giving the ref a mouthful of abuse?

[ErinGoBraghHFC]

I only watch the Six Nations so not really a rugby fan but that case you talk about I really is an isolated one. When’s the last time you saw a rugby player rolling round the ground trying to get an opposition player sent off or a rugby player giving the ref a mouthful of abuse?

“Ooh look at us we’re so well behaved”. Gimps. Bunch of head boys and prefects sniffing each others bums, that’s all rugby is.


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[S4uzee]

All for clamping down on antics like that of Liam Kelly on Saturday

[GreenGray]

Football has already done a pretty good job of ruining itself


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[Irish_Steve]

“Ooh look at us we’re so well behaved”. Gimps. Bunch of head boys and prefects sniffing each others bums, that’s all rugby is.


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So you don’t think it’s a good idea to respect the referee?

[ErinGoBraghHFC]

So you don’t think it’s a good idea to respect the referee?

Respect, yes. Calling him “sir” and not questioning any decisions whatsoever? Give it a rest.


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[jodjam]

I don’t see how they can’t have physio’s on the pitch attending to players whilst the game continues.

Works in rugby and they are in far greater danger of being smashed by some big 20 stone guys

Because the sevco physio would be allowed to tackle the opposition

[Eyrie]

“Ooh look at us we’re so well behaved”. Gimps. Bunch of head boys and prefects sniffing each others bums, that’s all rugby is.


I'm relieved I don't have your level of knowledge of rugby.

For starters, that fake blood case was to make an extra substitution, not get an opponent sent off, and those responsible were dealt with severely. When was the last time you saw a footballer being punished for feigning injury?

[ErinGoBraghHFC]

I'm relieved I don't have your level of knowledge of rugby.

For starters, that fake blood case was to make an extra substitution, not get an opponent sent off, and those responsible were dealt with severely. When was the last time you saw a footballer being punished for feigning injury?

And I’m relieved I don’t have yours, mind numbing stuff imo. Gamesmanship has been part of football for a long time now, we’re one of the few countries that views things like that as cheating. In places like Argentina and Spain, conning the referee is an art.


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[DH1875]

Saw a stat the other day that since the clock has been brought in the average time a game takes to complete is over half an hour less, might not be accurate but it feels that way


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Definitely 100%. I love going to the baseball but used to find watching it on TV a bit of a drag. Have watched most of the Yankees games so far this season on TV and it has been a lot better.

[Eyrie]

Surely the fact the ball is far more likely to end up anywhere on the pitch in football a lot quicker than it is in rugby makes it more difficult?

Once the ball is 30 yards away in rugby it’s likely going to take a bit of time to come back 30 yards. In football the ball can end up 130 yards away in a matter of seconds quite easily.

Player safety would mean that the game would need to be stopped if play got too close, which means there's an incentive to keep the ball in play and away from the "injured" player for the other team. A football pitch is a very large area compared to the space taken up by a player complaining to his physio that the referee wasn't deceived by his bad acting.

[ErinGoBraghHFC]

Definitely 100%. I love going to the baseball but used to find watching it on TV a bit of a drag. Have watched most of the Yankees games so far this season on TV and it has been a lot better.

That daft jingle after every strikeout at Yankees games drives me mental, but I agree it’s much more watchable on tv now.


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[ErinGoBraghHFC]

Player safety would mean that the game would need to be stopped if play got too close, which means there's an incentive to keep the ball in play and away from the "injured" player for the other team. A football pitch is a very large area compared to the space taken up by a player complaining to his physio that the referee wasn't deceived by his bad acting.

Yes but football teams take up far more space on the field than a rugby team does, play is more spread out


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[Eyrie]

And I’m relieved I don’t have yours, mind numbing stuff imo. Gamesmanship has been part of football for a long time now, we’re one of the few countries that views things like that as cheating. In places like Argentina and Spain, conning the referee is an art.


There are plenty of Scottish players who feign injury or exaggerate contact as well, including at Hibs, so it's only viewed as "cheating" in Scotland if your opponent does it. We're no different to anywhere else. You may claim that other countries are more obvious but that just means we're sneaky *******s.

[Eyrie]

Yes but football teams take up far more space on the field than a rugby team does, play is more spread out


I enjoy both sports, and I'd disagree.

I'll leave it there since neither of us will change the other's mind.

[DH1875]

That daft jingle after every strikeout at Yankees games drives me mental, but I agree it’s much more watchable on tv now.


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You should get YES TV. You'll love it 😁

[ErinGoBraghHFC]

You should get YES TV. You'll love it [emoji16]

Don’t know if you’ve got MLB TV but the Hall of Fame connections ads every break, “The Great Mascot Race” (which was good for the first like hour or so of the first game), and that “Baseball Zen” ***** is getting on my tits as well. Better than the music from last seasons coverage, though [emoji23]


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[WeeRussell]

I only watch the Six Nations so not really a rugby fan but that case you talk about I really is an isolated one. When’s the last time you saw a rugby player rolling round the ground trying to get an opposition player sent off or a rugby player giving the ref a mouthful of abuse?

As it happens the very last game of rugby I watched was Scotland v Ireland in the six nations a few weeks back. Scotland were ‘marched back’ at least twice in that game for dissent, and one of them was for their captain shouting in the referee’s face.

I do get your general point though.

In terms of ‘play acting’ rugby is different, I can’t think of many instances where rolling around on a rugby pitch is going to sway the referee into handing out a red card. It’s not the same as going in using your feet and catching someone else’s legs at the same time, or going over the top of the ball etc. If you go in and hit someone high in rugby it’ll get looked at and you’ll be punished accordingly. (Although I don’t recall many rugby players bouncing back to their feet and their teammates not appealing when one of them does take an illegal hit).

Football and the rules lends itself more to players taking the p1ss. I don’t think it’s because rugby players are all big honest, hard gentlemen and all football players are cheating softies. I do wish there was a way to cut it out of our game though.

I’m also heavily in support of a clock that stops when the ball is dead, similar to above comments. It seems so, so easy to eliminate almost all time wasting.

[MWHIBBIES]

I only watch the Six Nations so not really a rugby fan but that case you talk about I really is an isolated one. When’s the last time you saw a rugby player rolling round the ground trying to get an opposition player sent off or a rugby player giving the ref a mouthful of abuse?

I haven't because I'd rather watch paint dry than rugby tbh.

[Hibernian Verse]

A few chips on a few shoulders in this thread...

[7Hero]

Can't argue with the figures, clearly its an intriguing proposition with the amount of viewers and especially for the attention deficit generation who struggle to watch a game of football live for 90 or so minutes.

Not lacking sponsors or indeed retired players who want to be involved, good luck to Pique, clearly not resting on his laurels or indeed his massive bank account from his well huge wages at Barca.

Not sure how "these people" will ruin the beautiful game it's been on a horrific financially doped trajectory for many years, the rich clearly getting richer and the lack of financial fair play and competition clearly evident throughout the game.

[Silky]

Respect, yes. Calling him “sir” and not questioning any decisions whatsoever? Give it a rest.


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There's questioning decisions and then there's blatant cheating imo. Players over screaming at a linesman "questiong" an offside when it clearly isn't, is not "questioning a decision". Neither is surrounding the ref to protest that a dive is a penalty. There is a difference.

[Just_Jimmy]

The game is already ruined.

It's corrupt and full of cheating. It's blood money every where and the top of the game is completely out of touch with anything else at any level.



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[ErinGoBraghHFC]

There's questioning decisions and then there's blatant cheating imo. Players over screaming at a linesman "questiong" an offside when it clearly isn't, is not "questioning a decision". Neither is surrounding the ref to protest that a dive is a penalty. There is a difference.

Wouldn’t call any of that cheating imo, when has it ever actually changed a refs mind?


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[Trinity Hibee]

I only watch the Six Nations so not really a rugby fan but that case you talk about I really is an isolated one. When’s the last time you saw a rugby player rolling round the ground trying to get an opposition player sent off or a rugby player giving the ref a mouthful of abuse?

People always get a bit tetchy when comparisons to rugby are made but I agree with you on this. Football players have come to think they can run the game now. An entire squad hounding referees and diving/exaggerating fouls is rife at every level now. It’s not a new thing but it has increased massively in the last 5-10 years and it is a real turn off watching games.

Football could learn a lot from rugby in these instances and allowing only a captain to communicate with the referee.

[Silky]

Wouldn’t call any of that cheating imo, when has it ever actually changed a refs mind?


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Cheating is maybe a bit strong, but it's disrespectful imo and dishonest. They know they are wrong. Just leave it. There's no need

[JeMeSouviens]

Is Gerard Piqué's thing not just a mix of the Tennent's 6s and that "masters" tournament of oldies that was on a few years back?

Actually taking any of that into real football seems a bit of a stretch?

[wookie70]

They've brought in a timed countdown for pitchers in the MLB and I got to say its worked a treat and I like it. Even Chess does it. Pool has countdowns too and while it is a bit harder to implement for a goal kick or throw in as each one is slightly different it shouldn't be too hard to find a reasonable time to count down from

[archie]

Even Chess does it. Pool has countdowns too and while it is a bit harder to implement for a goal kick or throw in as each one is slightly different it shouldn't be too hard to find a reasonable time to count down from

They have it for tennis for a first serve. But the umpire has discretion a) if they enforce it and b) when they start the clock. This can be for good reasons: if players have just had a 30 shot rally in blazing heat you should give them some leeway. But, as ever how would it be operated and enforced in football? With a goal kick when would you start the clock - and who would? It could be sorted, but as soon as there is flex - well you know the rest.

On time wasting on Saturday, the ref added time, but didn't deal with the issue in game, i.e. by booking the keeper.

[WeeRussell]

They have it for tennis for a first serve. But the umpire has discretion a) if they enforce it and b) when they start the clock. This can be for good reasons: if players have just had a 30 shot rally in blazing heat you should give them some leeway. But, as ever how would it be operated and enforced in football? With a goal kick when would you start the clock - and who would? It could be sorted, but as soon as there is flex - well you know the rest.

On time wasting on Saturday, the ref added time, but didn't deal with the issue in game, i.e. by booking the keeper.

Just have a game clock for when the ball is inplay (in this instance as soon as the keeper kicks the ball) and keep allowing the referee to use his discretion in terms of if the keeper is taking the mick in slowing things down/giving his team too big of a rest, for example.

[wookie70]

Just have a game clock for when the ball is inplay (in this instance as soon as the keeper kicks the ball) and keep allowing the referee to use his discretion in terms of if the keeper is taking the mick in slowing things down/giving his team too big of a rest, for example.

After reading a few posts here that would be the easiest to implement solution. I quite like the idea of getting the crowd involved as the countdown nears a close but as ever you have to factor in the bias and ineptitude of Scottish Officials, so keeping it simple and with the minimum amount of discretion would be best. I'd love football to try and get the game to be more exciting on a yearly basis. Rugby constantly legislates against any loopholes the players create. It is ongoing mission to make the game as entertaining as possible and has led to a game that is much faster and penalises any attempts to slow the game down. Football just seems to encourage foul play and time-wasting and it is penalised far less now than it ever was

[archie]

After reading a few posts here that would be the easiest to implement solution. I quite like the idea of getting the crowd involved as the countdown nears a close but as ever you have to factor in the bias and ineptitude of Scottish Officials, so keeping it simple and with the minimum amount of discretion would be best. I'd love football to try and get the game to be more exciting on a yearly basis. Rugby constantly legislates against any loopholes the players create. It is ongoing mission to make the game as entertaining as possible and has led to a game that is much faster and penalises any attempts to slow the game down. Football just seems to encourage foul play and time-wasting and it is penalised far less now than it ever was

I agree partly with you about rugby. Addressing the scrums is a good example. But there is a bigger player safety issue that is being addressed too.

[HibsGW]

After reading a few posts here that would be the easiest to implement solution. I quite like the idea of getting the crowd involved as the countdown nears a close but as ever you have to factor in the bias and ineptitude of Scottish Officials, so keeping it simple and with the minimum amount of discretion would be best. I'd love football to try and get the game to be more exciting on a yearly basis. Rugby constantly legislates against any loopholes the players create. It is ongoing mission to make the game as entertaining as possible and has led to a game that is much faster and penalises any attempts to slow the game down. Football just seems to encourage foul play and time-wasting and it is penalised far less now than it ever was

Totally agree with this, I get fed up watching a lot of games these days with the amount of timewasting and gamesmanship type of stuff, it ends up feeling like you watch more of that than actual football. Constantly goes unpunished too, one example is when someone dives in the box, the ref doesn’t give the penalty as he wants VAR to help out, then because he’s used VAR, he’s not able to book the player for diving. What is the point in that? You have video evidence someone has dived, book them.

People’s attention spans are decreasing and everything becomes faster paced, football will need to do something to keep up and make sure it maintains the same level of popularity with the next generations. Minimising the amount of time spent not playing football would be the first point to look at in my opinion.

[McD]

“Ooh look at us we’re so well behaved”. Gimps. Bunch of head boys and prefects sniffing each others bums, that’s all rugby is.


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sure it is :rolleyes:

[ballengeich]

Just have a game clock for when the ball is inplay (in this instance as soon as the keeper kicks the ball) and keep allowing the referee to use his discretion in terms of if the keeper is taking the mick in slowing things down/giving his team too big of a rest, for example.
Very much an idea that might work to some extent at top level but would give difficulty further down.

Who operates the game clock? The referee or do you hand responsibility over to yet another official at a time when getting match officials in adequate numbers is already a problem.
How does it work at lower level? In amateur games there's often one ball and time is spent retrieving it from beds of nettles piles of dog mess etc. The elapsed time of a game would soar.

Wouldn't it just remove continuity? What's to stop players spending five minutes discussing which particular pre-planned routine they're going to use before taking a corner. If the game clock isn't going they wouldn't be timewasting. The next step would be formal timeouts which for a game in which the continuity of play is a great attraction would be an abomination.

The match clock is a faulty concept only put forward by people with no experience of football away from the top professional level.

[O'Rourke3]

Very much an idea that might work to some extent at top level but would give difficulty further down.

Who operates the game clock? The referee or do you hand responsibility over to yet another official at a time when getting match officials in adequate numbers is already a problem.
How does it work at lower level? In amateur games there's often one ball and time is spent retrieving it from beds of nettles piles of dog mess etc. The elapsed time of a game would soar.

Wouldn't it just remove continuity? What's to stop players spending five minutes discussing which particular pre-planned routine they're going to use before taking a corner. If the game clock isn't going they wouldn't be timewasting. The next step would be formal timeouts which for a game in which the continuity of play is a great attraction would be an abomination.

The match clock is a faulty concept only put forward by people with no experience of football away from the top professional level.Or you cut your cloth accordingly and use different solutions for different levels of the game? At primary I played of "full sized" grass pitches with full sized goals. That doesnt happen any more. Goal line technology has been introduced in the top leagues. No one insists that makes it way to Sunday League. The top games would benefit from strict 60 minute ball in play. It's going to be fun seeing teams hold on the the ball rather than look for free kicks to roll about and get the physios on.

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[Bishop Hibee]

I’m team Shakira.

Seriously, for a ‘failed product’, football’s popularity in its current form is incredible. When I watched Hibs in the 80’s, a crowd of 6,000 v Killie would have been seen as good whereas we got 15,500 or thereabouts last Saturday. Greedy *******s like Pique are more likely to ruin football than 90 minute games.