The mancityfans.net football forum

So no football for yet another International break. Following on from an article on the BBC this week about improving the game, i thought it might make for an interesting thread.

I rather suspect the BBC article was driven by the furore over the dippers disallowed goal, but it did spark the debate

Does football need more change? VAR was the last big change and arguably it hasn't been a huge success as there are increasing calls to remove it.

Should we simply scrap VAR and go back to how it was? Referees and linesman decisions are final. There will be errors of course but the game will flow better.

I'd personally like to amend the way time is officiated. I wouldn't mind the idea of two halves of 30 minutes actual play time. With the clock stopped when the ball is dead, (throw ins, corners, goal kicks, fouls). Players can then take as long as they like then and it won't matter. Relatively straightforward to implement and manage.

I'd also scrap offside completely. Most controversy is about offside and this, though seemingly extreme, would eliminate it. Also, play would be stretched more alleviating congestion in the middle third. And surely it would lead to more goal chances and goals; ie more excitement which is kind of the point of the game.

Any other thoughts good people?

I agree with a lot of what you've said but just want to put my own view on VAR and the offside rule.

VAR would be a lot better if it was used properly, as a support to the on-field referee instead of being some kind of ivory towered arbiter poking its nose in where it's not really needed. I really like the way VAR can flag something the referee may not have seen, though, and invite him to check replays of any contentious shithousery etc.

The offside rule, for me, should be put back to how it used to be where you had to be behind the defender when the ball was played or (dare I say it) even have clear daylight between them. All this measuring and endless replays is tedious and has ruined things for a lot of people who used to enjoy the game. Scrapping the offside rule completely would end up in chaos, with scores of 20-19 perhaps becoming commonplace. Not sure I would want that if I'm honest despite the obvious entertainment value.

I would love to see a clock counting down the time and have it halted whenever the referee stops play. I fail to see why that can't be implemented in the PL and it would solve some - though not all - of the problems we see week in, week out.

Just my tuppence-worth seeing as I don't post very often these days.

nottsblue wrote:I'd personally like to amend the way time is officiated. I wouldn't mind the idea of two halves of 30 minutes actual play time. With the clock stopped when the ball is dead, (throw ins, corners, goal kicks, fouls). Players can then take as long as they like then and it won't matter. Relatively straightforward to implement and manage.

I can see the merits to this, but it would never happen. Lower down the leagues, timekeepers would be too resource-intensive, as you'd need multiple timekeepers for when the ref calls things back, etc., while further up the pyramid it would play merry hell with (the timing of) advertising/TV schedules, so it wouldn't be in organizers' best interests.