World Football Thread IX - Weltmeisterschaft Ausgabe

[Locutus]

Originally posted by DanS
it's best to just accept that fact.

Agree on the rest but no, there are plenty of good ideas to improve on it but the FIFA are a bunch of conservative bureaucratic morons...

[Kropotkin]

In fact, they are ****ing around with the offside rule a lot nowadays to appease the uneducated masses and give them more goals. I don't like it one bit. I'd like to to quote a old swedish coach: "If you want to see goals, go and watch hockey instead!".

[OzzyKP]

Fast breaks

[Locutus]

The rule shouldn't be changed to allow for more goals, but to be more objective and less impossible to referee.

[alva]

Originally posted by Kropotkin
In fact, they are ****ing around with the offside rule a lot nowadays to appease the uneducated masses and give them more goals. I don't like it one bit. I'd like to to quote a old swedish coach: "If you want to see goals, go and watch hockey instead!".

The rule shouldn't be changed to allow for more goals, but to be more objective and less impossible to referee.

Absolutely!!

A 0-0 is usually a far more better game to watch than a 5 - 0 is. A nill- nill is of course crap for highlight programs, ergo...

Goals are not what football is about.

[Dauphin]

Offside is only an foul if it happens at the moment the ball is passed in the direction of the player in question (or a different player that plays an active part in the game -- it can get quite complicated).

If you are not 'interfering' with play, what the hell are you doing on the pitch?

The very presence of a player on the pitch in an otherwise offside position means that defences have to be aware and ready to react to them. The current rule is ridiculous in my opinion.

[alva]

* nods *

[duke o' york]

Originally posted by OzzyKP
Fast breaks

Watch Brazil play tomorrow.
The way the offside trap is at the moment, then you need fast players to make fast breaks. As it should be.
Sure, without offside then you could just leave an attacker on the edge of the opposition box, but wouldn't the defending team then just leave a defender there too? That's four players out of the game already (assuming they do it at your end), and the tactics suddenly involve winning the ball and thrashing it up the field to your goalhogger. Where's the skill? What are the midfielders supposed to do? Take up smoking? Debate philosophy in the centre circle?

[Dauphin]

Hey, duke, have you had any exams this or last week?

[duke o' york]

Originally posted by Dauphin

If you are not 'interfering' with play, what the hell are you doing on the pitch?

The very presence of a player on the pitch in an otherwise offside position means that defences have to be aware and ready to react to them. The current rule is ridiculous in my opinion.

No, I think that (as in basketball) if the player in question raises his arms above his head and walks back onside, thus making it clear he's not interfering with play after not being quick enough to run back onside after an attack breaks down (or whatever), then that's all right. If they have hared past the defence as part of an attack, on the other hand, then they should be given offside if even one defender follows them. Unfortunately, this does make it very subjective for the refs, but they do a good job on the whole. The only time people get excited about this is when a goal is scored with another player offside, and that doesn't happen very often at all.

[duke o' york]

Originally posted by Dauphin
Hey, duke, have you had any exams this or last week?

Er, pretty sure I've cocked up the first two, and am fairly confident of cocking up tomorrow's too. Damn the World Cup and its football brilliance!

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by alva
Goals are not what football is about.

Yeah, touchdowns are much more exciting.

[Dauphin]

I just had one, and wrote 21 pages in 3 hrs. I just hope it wasn't all drivel.

Best o' luck tomorrow.

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by alva
* nods *

*also nods*, theres a famous Bill Shankly quote on the subject which sums it up....

[duke o' york]

Originally posted by Dauphin
I just had one, and wrote 21 pages in 3 hrs. I just hope it wasn't all drivel.

Best o' luck tomorrow.

Thanks - I can't write that quick, so generally average 10 at most (that's including calculations).
Plus, I've got a sore hand at the moment, so I don't know how much I'll write tomorrow.
But I know it'll be more than this gobby girl I was sat near last week who announced to her friend that she'd managed a question and a half and then just gave up and sat quietly (thank god) for 2 hours. Although it'd be nice if loads of people did that and they "adjusted" the pass mark so that not everyone failed.

Er, yes. Football eh? Game of two halves, isn't it, eh?
I hope Toni lives up to my billing of top scorer by making hay this evening.