Making Soccer better?

[Larry Gude]

I HATE settling a game with penalty kicks. It's like kicking field goals to settle the Super bowl or playing horse for the NBA championship or home run derby for the world series or a putting contest to settle the US Open.

Leave it alone?

Have players go to a penalty box for fouls?

Liberalize off sides? Eliminate it all together?

Call more fouls so there are more PK's in the regular time?

Soccer, in my view, will not suffer if it has more 5-4 games and less 1 nil.

As it is, no replay, iffy calls, calls missed, calls that should not be made, it's not a fair game and fairness is the core of any good contest.

Thoughts?

 

[Tilted]

Shorten the field to 100 yards, narrow it to 50 yards, change the ball so that it's less a perfect sphere shape and more a pointy egg shape, shorten matches to 60 minutes (oh and call them games rather than matches), divide the action up into plays were you reset the players and set the conditions to reflect the respective success that the teams had on the last play, add new scoring options - 6 points for getting in the end zone (oh yeah, get rid of the goals and turn the scoring objective into a field wide 'end zone'); 3 points for a field goal (oh yeah, put up posts on each end of the field through which the ball can be kicked, with the bottom of the posts being a decent distance off the ground; 2 points for getting caught in your own end zone; keep the 1 point option put award it when you successfully kick the ball through the new goal posts immediately after you've gotten in the end zone, encourage the players to run into each other a lot, let them touch the ball with their hands ...

Let me noodle it a bit more and I can probably come up with some more stuff, but those things would be a good start. I'm not sure we can ever make soccer entertaining to watch - I mean, perfume on a pig can only accomplish so much - but we can try to move it in that direction.

 

[desertrat]

I HATE settling a game with penalty kicks. It's like kicking field goals to settle the Super bowl or playing horse for the NBA championship or home run derby for the world series or a putting contest to settle the US Open.

Leave it alone?

Have players go to a penalty box for fouls?

Liberalize off sides? Eliminate it all together?

Call more fouls so there are more PK's in the regular time?

Soccer, in my view, will not suffer if it has more 5-4 games and less 1 nil.

As it is, no replay, iffy calls, calls missed, calls that should not be made, it's not a fair game and fairness is the core of any good contest.

Thoughts?

Could anyone stand an OT to settle a game, or 2?

 

[DoWhat]

Shorten the field to 100 yards, narrow it to 50 yards, change the ball so that it's less a perfect sphere shape and more a pointy egg shape, shorten matches to 60 minutes (oh and call them games rather than matches), divide the action up into plays were you reset the players and set the conditions to reflect the respective success that the teams had on the last play, add new scoring options - 6 points for getting in the end zone (oh yeah, get rid of the goals and turn the scoring objective into a field wide 'end zone'); 3 points for a field goal (oh yeah, put up posts on each end of the field through which the ball can be kicked, with the bottom of the posts being a decent distance off the ground; 2 points for getting caught in your own end zone; keep the 1 point option put award it when you successfully kick the ball through the new goal posts immediately after you've gotten in the end zone, encourage the players to run into each other a lot, let them touch the ball with their hands ...

That sounds like a great sport.

 

[Monello]

The offsides call penalizes a fast team. Talk about not offending anyone. Hey you are too fast and outran us. Now stop that. Removing the offsides would open up the scoring. Lots of people could just hang back and wait for a long pass. East way to get the score of a game to around 5-4 goals per team. I'm sure the goalies won't be happy but it would put fannies in the stadium seats here at home. Maybe give the goalies some more padding if they are going to be taking more shots on goal per game.

Italian soccer always includes things like roman candles and road flares. There is the occasional fist fight which is always good when the game is in a lull. I'm sure we have some sort of fire codes to prevent that from happening.

If all else fails add some streaking Victoria's secret models. That would make any sport better.

 

[Larry Gude]

Shorten the field to 100 yards, narrow it to 50 yards, change the ball so that it's less a perfect sphere shape and more a pointy egg shape, shorten matches to 60 minutes (oh and call them games rather than matches), divide the action up into plays were you reset the players and set the conditions to reflect the respective success that the teams had on the last play, add new scoring options - 6 points for getting in the end zone (oh yeah, get rid of the goals and turn the scoring objective into a field wide 'end zone'); 3 points for a field goal (oh yeah, put up posts on each end of the field through which the ball can be kicked, with the bottom of the posts being a decent distance off the ground; 2 points for getting caught in your own end zone; keep the 1 point option put award it when you successfully kick the ball through the new goal posts immediately after you've gotten in the end zone, encourage the players to run into each other a lot, let them touch the ball with their hands ...

Let me noodle it a bit more and I can probably come up with some more stuff, but those things would be a good start. I'm not sure we can ever make soccer entertaining to watch - I mean, perfume on a pig can only accomplish so much - but we can try to move it in that direction.

Now see, you make a case FOR soccer. I would absolutely prefer my kids play soccer to football. No hesitation.

 

[Tilted]

Now see, you make a case FOR soccer. I would absolutely prefer my kids play soccer to football. No hesitation.

Certainly. Soccer is probably generally better for them when it comes to their health. Soccer is, after all, little more than glorified exercise. Ha! I Keed, I keed.

Anyway... I was referring to it being entertaining to watch not to it being a parent's preference for their child. And when it comes to that, I just can't get there. I've tried, I can't watch soccer for more than a couple minutes. Whatever it is I need to learn in order to appreciate the competition aspects of it doesn't seem worth it to me. Maybe some day I'll run out of new-ish things to learn about and/or get into, but until then soccer for me will likely remain... that silly thing that lame ass Europeans and South Americans are passionate about because they don't have anything more worthy of their passion. Okay, I keed again.

 

[Larry Gude]

C I was referring to it being entertaining to watch not to it being a parent's preference for their child. And when it comes to that, I just can't get there. I've tried, I can't watch soccer for more than a couple minutes. .

But, that's my entire point; how to make soccer palatable without turning it into something else.


It is pure nonsense in this day and age to not use replay on major calls like fouls and so forth. Baseball has struck a good balance between the flow of the game, leaving balls and strikes up to the ump while making other big calls reviewable. It has not harmed that pastoral game at all. It has made it better.

Football maybe over uses it but, again, it sure has not harmed the sport. Hockey, tennis, basketball.

Call more fouls in the box. PK's are certainly great drama IN the game but, not as a way to settle a game.

They already have fouls for flopping in soccer. Enforce it. Use replay.

I mean, soccer's idea of progress is shaving cream.

 

[Rommey]

Some relatively simple things I would implement that wouldn't change the spirit of the game (IMO):
1. Keep offsides but make it similar to hockey or water polo, in that there is a line on the field that the offense can't cross over until the ball has crossed.
2. Add a second on-field ref to help see the fouls and plays
3. Any player that goes off for an "injury" must sit out for an amount of time that play was stopped to tend to him plus 2 minutes
4. Allow any type of throw in (one hand, two hands, over head, under arm, side am, etc.) from sideline
5. Don't allow one person to pick up ball to get ready for throw in and then allow someone else to do the actual throw in (its an obvious dealing tactic)

 

[Shutout]

Something similar to what you suggest already exists. Indoor soccer. A very entertaining version of the sport to watch and a lot of fun to play. As far as the traditional outdoor game leave it as it is.

 

[Hank]

Futsal

 

[Shutout]

Futsal

Great game. A wonderful opportunity to give players confidence and comfort with the ball at their feet. Makes them play in tight space with their head up.

 

[Beta]

I HATE settling a game with penalty kicks. It's like kicking field goals to settle the Super bowl or playing horse for the NBA championship or home run derby for the world series or a putting contest to settle the US Open.

Leave it alone?

Have players go to a penalty box for fouls?

Liberalize off sides? Eliminate it all together?

Call more fouls so there are more PK's in the regular time?

Soccer, in my view, will not suffer if it has more 5-4 games and less 1 nil.

As it is, no replay, iffy calls, calls missed, calls that should not be made, it's not a fair game and fairness is the core of any good contest.

Thoughts?

So I guess you dislike hockey as well? They settle the game the same way. When I was younger, one of the ways we did soccer shootouts was the do the same thing as hockey. Start at the midline, dribble it up, and give the goalie a chance to come out and defend. I'm not sure if that would lead to more goals or not, but it would be more entertaining.

Given the low scoring of goals, until the game becomes more open, they have to do the shootout. The one argument I'd make is the 30 minute overtime period should be sudden death. When Belgium score its first goal against the US, the game should have been over. Too bad if you didn't get your chance on the opposite side of the field.

Changing the offsides rules would help to some degree, but soccer isn't a man to man sport, so it wouldn't be too hard to occasionally slip someone in the backfield. That might cause more damage, which may be why the rule is the way it is.

Calling more penalties in order to induce PKs seems a little short sighted. If team A gets 3 PKs in a game and team B gets 2, and team A wins 3-2, you'd be OK with that result because the ref was told "call more penalties!" Everyone hates to see a game decided by the refs in football or any other sport, so why would it suddenly be a good thing for soccer?

The offsides call penalizes a fast team. Talk about not offending anyone. Hey you are too fast and outran us. Now stop that. Removing the offsides would open up the scoring. Lots of people could just hang back and wait for a long pass. East way to get the score of a game to around 5-4 goals per team. I'm sure the goalies won't be happy but it would put fannies in the stadium seats here at home. Maybe give the goalies some more padding if they are going to be taking more shots on goal per game.

Italian soccer always includes things like roman candles and road flares. There is the occasional fist fight which is always good when the game is in a lull. I'm sure we have some sort of fire codes to prevent that from happening.

If all else fails add some streaking Victoria's secret models. That would make any sport better.

Padding??? Pffft. Tim Howard saw as many shots in the Belgium game as a more open soccer game goalie would see.

Changing the offsides rules would overhaul the entire defensive strategy in soccer. Instead of their zone coverages and pushing forward to push the offense back, the defensive players would be forced to play man to man in order to prevent someone from slipping free. Zone wouldn't work, because all they have to do is put extra people in your zone and they could force the defense to play really far back. Sounds like a little kid's soccer game where they didn't know enough about strategy and the defense stayed near the goal. Then it's just running back and forth from goal to goal. Fun

 

[warneckutz]

If all else fails add some streaking Victoria's secret models.

And it begins...

 

[Larry Gude]

So I guess you dislike hockey as well? They settle the game the same way. :

Not in the playoffs they don't. My goal IS to open up the game a bit.

In soccer, a PK is virtually certain to lead to a goal. If they just call more fouls in the box, then, like foul shots in basketball, that can be part of the game instead of THE game. As for it being the deciding factor, if you're down 2 goals, it's not such a daunting challenge anymore and is at least possible. Teams will stay aggressive and, if you're calling flopping fouls strongly, I think it will promote better play. Soccer truly gets thrilling when a striker thinks he has a chance and simply will not go down no matter how hard he is challenged.