I have a gut feeling that new ball technology is dramatically altering the way soccer is being played. I don't see any real reason to try to get the ball into the penalty area, since most players can take dangerous shots from up to 30 yards away from goal. This impacts almost every aspect of soccer. Watching Chelsea yesterday, some of their best scoring chances came from Makelele playing one pass to Essien or Lampard, who would then shoot from said "30 yards out". Villa had a lot of bodies back so, there were quite a few corners generated and some near misses. Scholes' first goal for Man U. and the following goal by Newcastle were very similar. Still, I'm old enough to know that anecdotal observation rarely equates to statistically provable changes. So, my question: Is anyone tracking shot location for goals in the EPL? Has the average distance of a goal scoring shot changed in the last few years? The spinoff questions are endless, so that's the only topic I would like to see addressed. Is there already a thread on this subject?
I honestly don't know if there is any groundbreaking technology going into that Nike Total 90 ball they are using in the Prem. I can, however, comment on my HATRED of the Adidas +Teamgeist balls. As a keeper they give me fits, it's like trying to save one of those red rubber dodgeballs. Brutal.
[the101er, please excuse the detour bits. I hope you don't consider this a thread-hijacking] I did read over at http://www.gizmag.com a long explanation of the adidas Germany WC '06 ball, the teamgeist. The article said the new ball weighed-in up towards the upper limit of the FIFA-permissable weight range for soccer balls. THEN, yes, I was confused that all the comment from the players was that it seemed a bit light. I don't play anymore so I can't comment on the feel or flight of any particular ball --- I did hear from a former NASL player that MLS's Puma ball [the one with the spirally swirls --- prior to '06] had a real nice positive feel that gave you confidence... ... At least a year back it was: Marcelo Balboa TV-commented, during a dull, mid-week Rapids home match, that defenders facing a corner kick or a cross coming in had a harder time predicting the flight of the ball due to the weird pattern on that Puma ball, especially with the thin air-altitude above sea level effects also coming into play. [somebody please corroborate that he said that: at least a few others were surely watching?] ... I go so far as to ARGUE that: Any ball that has an asymetrical pattern is a handicap to the sport of soccer. ...Nike 90? looks wobbly half the time. ...That ball in iirc Hannover [Bundesliga, somewhere, anyway] that is half white, half red: rolls like a pathetically flat tire... included in here for criticism also: Any ball with just a few, largish decor features such as the Japan/Korea WC '02 ball: All these balls make it harder for a player to find and contact the exact - AND I MEAN DOWN TO THE NANOMETER exact - center of the ball. I am maintaining here that players are playing excellent soccer IN SPITE OF these darn optical illusion soccer balls. Fortunately the players are able to ignore the flurry of misinformation spewing from the goofy patterns and find the center of the ball by dialing in from the circumference [the circumference which, PRAISE THE LORD! the gimmick merchants cannot fool with] topic #B: In the context of a soccer match: SHOULD THE BALL BE NEUTRAL? or is it OK for the ball to appear to be a HOMER? I say the ball, like the refs and the pitch, should be neutral. Unfortunately I can think of two matches where the ball was a homer: When Pachuca (Mex) played host to Paranaense (Bra) the Nike ball's decor really looked like a stylized version of Pachuca's vertical blue bar-on-white jersey. IIRC iirc one time Arsenal (Eng) played at home in their road yellow iirc IIRC and the yellow-background Nike-90 was featured. [ok maybe it was an Arsenal road match] BUT ANYWAY! A casual TV-viewer might have assumed "The yellow team provided the ball" On the other hand, if the ball is yellow and the referees are wearing yellow, then you're back to a situation that is subliminally more fair. I maintain... ...or at least gives a better appearance of giving both teams an equal chance. Topic Heading: letter 3: I predict: The ball will itself be a WIRELESS MICROPHONE. The battery part of the ball/microphone will be like another layer under the "leather" made from a future version of Dr. Sadoway's flexible SlimCell concept. [you can drive a nail through the SlimCell and it still works] The current version of this battery[ iirc it's lithium] is like a two-layer potato chip bag in flexibility and thickness. It probably would need some tweaking to be part of a soccer ball with excellent playing character. The sound-sensing part will be two layers of voltage-creating mesh that are pressed [creating a signal] into each other whenever the ball is deformed by a foot, or the pitch. Or the crossbar. Or the tips of Chris Sutton's fingers. The wireless-transmitter part will be provided by the CIA, and, for best weight balance, be located antipodally [exactly opposite] from the valve where you stick the pump needle in. The wireless-transmitter need only broadcast as far as the sideline, so with a few receivers located just out of touch --- the ball only needs the ability to send a signal like 65 yards. [if early iterations can only send a signal 30 yds., then receivers could be embedded underground] The soccer ball-microphone will put those guys with the clear parabola dishes or shotgun mics out of work: I PREDICT that subsequent soccer ball-microphone generations will not only bring the gut-thump of a power kick into living rooms in Chatham, Ontario, but also pick up players talking to each other, such as Wayne Rooney-isms, and even the whisper of FieldTurf 's faux blades of grass against the holy sphere. the quietness of grass-on-ball contrasted with a heavy kick by Kenny Cooper, Jr., might present the sound-engineers a challenge. But they'll work it out. I predict. wupppps: back to the Nike-90 ball: the previous one, the one with the bold, parallel "Lines of Latitude" look? When that one just so happened to be flying or rolling at you with bold stripes perfectly vertical? It looked like it wasn't spinning at all. sneaky fwiw I'm in Texas but dig Canada and Ronnie O'. P.S. wuppps #2: Back to the microphone bit: The INTIMACY of the soundscape will astonish! WC 2010 South Africa? To the drawing boards you geniuses! P.P.S. wupps #3 the CIA may also provide its tiniest unmanned aerial vehicle to carry a camera as an improvement over that two cable set-up in the NFL.