Radical suggestions for changes to football

[Joe Jones]

Already we know that several changes in football are being discussed by the game's lawmakers in this country, such as a free kick taker being able to take more than one touch from any given set piece, and stopping the clock rugby-style when the ball goes out of play, then ending the game at 90 minutes.

But here's a gem I've found on Twitter (courtesy of @dwafc_). Almost as radical as "added time multi-ball" (if anyone remembers that old American p**s-water advert from 10-odd years ago).

Feel free to pass judgement on this, as well as mention your own ideas (as farfetched as you like!)...

[Chris]

Quit stealing ideas from American sports, they bend the rules to suite and have adapted games that they're piss poor at - yet this suggestion is awful.

Really we need to quit messing with what isn't broken.

If something doesn't work, fix it but leave what works well and don't force changes just for the sake of it.

[samwatto2008]

The more rules and changes we add to the game, the more it starts becoming a different sport. Unless of course it is something to help the aid of officials for example: Vanishing Spray and Video Pitch Side. Anything that actually alters the game and the way it is meant to be played just frustrates me like this new ABBA penalty system. Completely takes the element of a penalty shootout away in my opinion and has now changed the old fashioned way. Some things just do not need to be changed.

[DangerousSausage]

Calm down, it's a tweet from a random bloke. Who probably shouldn't be watching football anyway.

As for peanlty shoot-outs, they are themselves a relatively new innovation (and still a deeply unfair way of deciding a match). Tweaking them to make them a bit fairer is hardly changing the fabric of our sport.

Football does evolve. If you watch footage from the 80s you'll notice how often defenders passed the ball back to the keeper, who then sloooowly picked up the ball and rolled it back to the defender, who would repeat the process. It was a stultifyingly dull timewasting tactic and I'm sure no-one here would like to see it return. The backpass rule improved the game and helped it flow more, and that's what future rule changes should aim to do. Gimmicks just turn people off.

[Chris]

1 hour ago, DangerousSausage said:

Football does evolve. If you watch footage from the 80s you'll notice how often defenders passed the ball back to the keeper, who then sloooowly picked up the ball and rolled it back to the defender, who would repeat the process. It was a stultifyingly dull timewasting tactic and I'm sure no-one here would like to see it return. The backpass rule improved the game and helped it flow more, and that's what future rule changes should aim to do. Gimmicks just turn people off.

Indeed, yet there's also a period whereby the rules doesn't require any refining at all.

We see goals disallowed that have crossed the line, with others counting and never being anywhere near! We have seen officials who absolutely useless gain big games which baffles the supporters, along with corruption at the highest level of football - yet nobody is quick to tackles these things. How long did it take for the English FA to consider goal line technology? There's thing which require attention, and usually these are ignored.

Most of the most recent changes are simply nothing more than poor decision making/ideas, or taken from other sports.

[TheSkipper]

Football is quickly losing itself within a series of needless changes, I find it quite worrying myself.