2019-20 Laws of the Game

I remember the discussion. But I thought it was in cases of "clear possission" like HS. Not "whoever touched it last gets it. Every time."
And the 4 meter zone of perdition, did they test this out in some scrimmages or something? Cuz this sounds like some crazy shit, gonna happen.

 

And it's all going to happen in our games, not the international games where DBs are so rare.

 

I agree- closing in on four yds, especially if you have a running start, is a blink of an eye.

I must say that even though I overall don’t like the cards for coaches thing, I do like the fact that a coach gets one when you cannot ID who did misconduct- that didn’t have a remedy before.

 

Can’t identify or forget who did it. Hopefully only the former, not the latter. To me that would be a bad escape route to give referees.

 

It gets better, that link is broken...

 

Except that they've given the attackers an automatic 'out' on this by saying:

I would say this will lead to a situation where attackers will remain inside the penalty area and start trying to intercept the ball and/or challenge for it as soon as it has been kicked. Yes, referees are supposed to make them stay outside the penalty area but they're also supposed to make sure opponents stay ten yards away from every free kick and we all know how often that is enforced. Other than those situations where the referee goes the whole hog on making it ceremonial (basically, only near the opponent's penalty area) the ten yards is almost never respected.

So I'd expect that as soon as they realise what this change means, forwards are going to start camping out in the opponent's penalty area at goal kicks, in the same way that they always stand on top of free kick takers.

 

This might be a problem in younger age groups where the players have a hard time kicking the ball very far out of the penalty area, but I don't see this being an issue in any competitive older aged games. There's a point where goalkeepers can start kicking the ball accurately 40+ yards every goal kick and having an attacking player stay in the other penalty area means one less defender on your side of the field when the goal kick gets taken.

 

So the team taking the GK just waits till they leave. Only an issue late in games when used as a stalling tactic.

 

Ahh, but can't wait to watch the slow, pretend retreat from the PA in hopes the defending team takes a quick kick in their direction...

Much like the BOL defenders... True, that is 9 year-olds, but you'd be amazed how many sneaky 9 year-olds there are...

 

If a 9 year-old can figure out the tactic, surely the U19 DA players will. It isn't a problem to manage goal kicks, I just would rather that I didn't have to.

 

Hey, my son resembled that remark!

 

This, to me, is a change of direction.

"The option to use an additional substitute in extra time has benefited football at all levels as the extra ‘fresh’ player can both save another player from the possibility of exhaustion/injury and increase the chances of the game being decided in extra time."

I know that U.S. sports in particular favor the continual use of substitutions and re-entry etc, but in soccer, traditionally at least, substitutes were there in case of injury. Very minimal and once deployed, no turning back. This is because soccer was also a game of stamina. Being fitter than the other team was always part of the game. Now however, I see this, along with more FAs adopting the IFABs OK with return substitutes, as a change in philosophy, as in, it is more about the show (entertainment) and not the players. Once upon a time we were always taught that soccer is a game for the players.

 

Except, of course, for the traditional American pastime ....

 

I don’t think it’s a chance so much as a slow progression. Initially, there were no subs. If a player was injured, then the team just played short. I believe then it became one sub, envisioned to be for an injury. And the number slowly grew, making them more tactical—though one often saved in case of injury. If a team gets three subs in 90 minutes, one more for an extra 30 is hardly out of whack—it’s exactly proportional. (Whether that extra sub makes it more likely for a game to be decided during extra time is a whole separate issue about which I’m dubious as many goals come from lapses, and tired players make lapses....)

 

I've often thought that a better method here would be to have mandatory subs when you go to extra time. If the first team can't settle it, then let's see what the 2nd string can do!

 

I don't agree. I think we let fatigue take it's toll. Like a 5 set tennis match at Wimbledon.

 

With the fifth set having the potential to last for 138 games.

 

Point taken...

 

If you haven't seen it, IFAB have released a LOTG app for iOS and Android. It is pretty damn slick for v1.0. Lets you download for offline reading, bookmark sections, etc. Hopefully they add more features as time passes on.

 

Thanks! I just put it on my iPhone.