soccer soccer soccer

[stitchface]

forgot kick-ins - dislike, though I do agree that throw-ins are too much of a toss-up - at least at lower levels.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

1. 30 min halves? I like the spirit. Personally I think you could do some variant of these(stop the clock on every injury, actually use your cards for time wasting on goal kicks/free kicks, etc), but 30 min with stoppages is at least consistent/simple. Would they eliminate extra time entirely? That feels like it would take the most getting used to.

 

2. Unlimited subs. Bad, throw it in the trash. Should be less than 5.

 

3. Really like the power play on yellow cards. The duration you can play around with but I appreciate the precedent. The thing to be careful with this and orange cards for tactical fouling is as much as those suck, if you punish them too harshly then you just incentivize more boring conservatism tactically.

 

As far as what I'd do, I'd make penalties harder. When the whistle blows the shooter is limited to only 1 consecutive touch like now, but otherwise all 22 players are live. Eliminate the ponderous run ups and nonsensical punishing of goalkeepers by keeping them on their line. Penalties get harder and the incentive to draw them and the consequences of borderline/bad penalty calls goes down.

 

I'd make throw ins similar to what keepers do, you have to keep your feet on/behind the line but otherwise no rules about feet on the ground, hands on the ball, or arm motion. Let people roll in short throw ins or wind up and make them into through balls/de facto corners if they want.

 

I'd also *liberally* use yellows for players kicking/throwing away balls on stoppages to slow teams down or waste time. It boggles my mind that when it comes to plays on the ball we call fouls regardless of intent or how avoidable contact may have been, but we use this absurd veneer of plausible deniability(or just not caring) when teams toss a throw in away or kick a ball 10 yards after a foul call.

[UMFan83]

My first thought was wondering when Manfred took over FIFA. I don't disagree with the logic behind some of these, but it seems very radical...are there actually hardcore soccer fans (outside of the US) that are in favor of some of these?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

amazing content

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[imb]

as the resident daryl dike stan he is right about all his opinions in that video even the ones i disagree with vehemently

[Transmogrified Tiger]

as the resident daryl dike stan he is right about all his opinions in that video even the ones i disagree with vehemently

 

I've never heard of either of the anime shows they mentioned at the beginning, but if listening to those 2 argue about it doesn't put a smile on your face then I submit you do not have a soul

[wolf stansson]

My favorite part is when they acknowledge Gio is the cockiest, horsefeathers talking mf'er on the team. I love this man.

[UMFan83]

WNT losing 3-0 to Sweden is a concerning way to start the Olympics...

[stitchface]

1. 30 min halves? I like the spirit. Personally I think you could do some variant of these(stop the clock on every injury, actually use your cards for time wasting on goal kicks/free kicks, etc), but 30 min with stoppages is at least consistent/simple. Would they eliminate extra time entirely? That feels like it would take the most getting used to.

 

2. Unlimited subs. Bad, throw it in the trash. Should be less than 5.

 

3. Really like the power play on yellow cards. The duration you can play around with but I appreciate the precedent. The thing to be careful with this and orange cards for tactical fouling is as much as those suck, if you punish them too harshly then you just incentivize more boring conservatism tactically.

 

As far as what I'd do, I'd make penalties harder. When the whistle blows the shooter is limited to only 1 consecutive touch like now, but otherwise all 22 players are live. Eliminate the ponderous run ups and nonsensical punishing of goalkeepers by keeping them on their line. Penalties get harder and the incentive to draw them and the consequences of borderline/bad penalty calls goes down.

 

I'd make throw ins similar to what keepers do, you have to keep your feet on/behind the line but otherwise no rules about feet on the ground, hands on the ball, or arm motion. Let people roll in short throw ins or wind up and make them into through balls/de facto corners if they want.

 

I'd also *liberally* use yellows for players kicking/throwing away balls on stoppages to slow teams down or waste time. It boggles my mind that when it comes to plays on the ball we call fouls regardless of intent or how avoidable contact may have been, but we use this absurd veneer of plausible deniability(or just not caring) when teams toss a throw in away or kick a ball 10 yards after a foul call.

 

1. by extra time, you mean added time? I would like to see that eliminated along with the ref being the only person with knowledge of time remaining. Also, the whole arbitrary don't stop while a team is attacking.

 

3. Problem is it isn't a power play - at least not like in hockey. It's just 5 minutes where one team bunkers. I don't follow your penalties scenario but intrigued by the concept.

 

Interesting on throw ins too - I guess I find set plays boring (and they take forever) so not really interested in every ball out of play becoming a set play.

[stitchface]

WNT losing 3-0 to Sweden is a concerning way to start the Olympics...

 

hard to tell if it was really that bad . . . statistically, doesn't look like a 3-0 loss. but, your point is valid.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I don't follow your penalties scenario but intrigued by the concept.

 

Interesting on throw ins too - I guess I find set plays boring (and they take forever) so not really interested in every ball out of play becoming a set play.

 

Basically, you know how at the moment the a PK is kicked, the ball is live and any player can rush in to make a play? Make that the rule for when the ref blows the whistle to take the kick, with a caveat the taker can’t dribble.

 

My hope would be throw ins would be faster and more like open play, you have more of the field accessible to make runs into, and you don’t create a game of head tennis with a short pass. Yes near the corners you’d see more structure, but that happens to a fair extent now.

[stitchface]

WNT losing 3-0 to Sweden is a concerning way to start the Olympics...

 

hard to tell if it was really that bad . . . statistically, doesn't look like a 3-0 loss. but, your point is valid.

 

now that I watched this, it wasn't that bad. Definitely Sweden deserved to win but my biggest takeaway was that Julie Ertz is really really good. The game turned when she came on but Sweden scored their second off the corner and that kind of made things difficult. Still, I thought the team looked like themselves much more in the second half.

[stitchface]

I don't follow your penalties scenario but intrigued by the concept.

 

Interesting on throw ins too - I guess I find set plays boring (and they take forever) so not really interested in every ball out of play becoming a set play.

 

Basically, you know how at the moment the a PK is kicked, the ball is live and any player can rush in to make a play? Make that the rule for when the ref blows the whistle to take the kick, with a caveat the taker can’t dribble.

 

My hope would be throw ins would be faster and more like open play, you have more of the field accessible to make runs into, and you don’t create a game of head tennis with a short pass. Yes near the corners you’d see more structure, but that happens to a fair extent now.

 

So, they can take the kick as fast as they want from where the foul occurred and the defense can be in the box? Like an indirect?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

So, they can take the kick as fast as they want from where the foul occurred and the defense can be in the box? Like an indirect?

 

Imagine a PK as it works now, one guy in the box to strike it, keeper on the line, 20 other players outside the box. When the ref blows the whistle, all 22 players are live and can cut off the shot if the taker is too slow, charge down the shot angle, or be a passing option. I'd keep the rule about the taker not touching the ball consecutively. The net result is that takers are now taking those shots a lot faster to avoid losing angle or getting caught from a field player. That 1) looks more like real soccer than the current format of dancing up to the ball and stutter stepping to try and trick a keeper into committing 2) would lower the success rate, which in turn lowers the incentive to try to get a PK and the consequences of a borderline PK call.

[stitchface]

So, they can take the kick as fast as they want from where the foul occurred and the defense can be in the box? Like an indirect?

 

Imagine a PK as it works now, one guy in the box to strike it, keeper on the line, 20 other players outside the box. When the ref blows the whistle, all 22 players are live and can cut off the shot if the taker is too slow, charge down the shot angle, or be a passing option. I'd keep the rule about the taker not touching the ball consecutively. The net result is that takers are now taking those shots a lot faster to avoid losing angle or getting caught from a field player. That 1) looks more like real soccer than the current format of dancing up to the ball and stutter stepping to try and trick a keeper into committing 2) would lower the success rate, which in turn lowers the incentive to try to get a PK and the consequences of a borderline PK call.

 

ah, now I get it!

[stitchface]

got a tip to watch qatar-El Salvador - what an entertaining game!

[imb]

got a tip to watch qatar-El Salvador - what an entertaining game!

 

Rivas (both El Salvador goals) plays for my local club. So fun watching him out there playing well but im ready to have him back

[wolf stansson]

 

Confident lineup. I like it. Big responsibility for Busio.

[UMFan83]

Looking pretty shaky right now vs. Jamaica

[bukie]

Arriola and Acosta were not good tonight. Back line was solid all night, front line had trouble all night getting much of anything going, still effectively dominated the game outside of a 15-ish minute stretch near the end of the first half.

 

The US midfield has been weak all tournament, which at the same time makes me glad that none of their best 4-5 midfielders are in there, and concerned that the midfield pool is as thin as 4-5 at the top. Busio has shown flashes but wasn't great today either.

[stitchface]

Arriola and Acosta were not good tonight. Back line was solid all night, front line had trouble all night getting much of anything going, still effectively dominated the game outside of a 15-ish minute stretch near the end of the first half.

 

The US midfield has been weak all tournament, which at the same time makes me glad that none of their best 4-5 midfielders are in there, and concerned that the midfield pool is as thin as 4-5 at the top. Busio has shown flashes but wasn't great today either.

 

I thought Busio was outstanding the last 20 minutes or so - the difference in the game for me. I think it showed his composure.

 

Acosta is terrible. the announcers were talking him up but I was terrified every time he had the ball. Nice for Hoppe - he's a bit out of control but sure plays hard.

[bukie]

Arriola and Acosta were not good tonight. Back line was solid all night, front line had trouble all night getting much of anything going, still effectively dominated the game outside of a 15-ish minute stretch near the end of the first half.

 

The US midfield has been weak all tournament, which at the same time makes me glad that none of their best 4-5 midfielders are in there, and concerned that the midfield pool is as thin as 4-5 at the top. Busio has shown flashes but wasn't great today either.

 

I thought Busio was outstanding the last 20 minutes or so - the difference in the game for me. I think it showed his composure.

 

Acosta is terrible. the announcers were talking him up but I was terrified every time he had the ball. Nice for Hoppe - he's a bit out of control but sure plays hard.

They were better overall after they swapped Acosta and Dike out for Roldan and Zardes, really dominated the ball and the chances from then on, really deserved that goal late.

 

Qatar should be an interesting matchup, especially since they've got their full A team because they aren't doing any world cup qualifying.

[wolf stansson]

Roldan gets a ton of criticism for not being elite but I think this tournament has proven something we all already knew, which is that steady and playing within himself against any opponent is a valuable asset when other players seemingly play up or down to the level of their opponent, or even worse, play well when paired with the elite guys like Adams & mckennie but badly when asked to be the pacemaker in the midfield (Lletget, Acosta, etc).

 

Thought Busio looked good in the second half and definitely think it’s worth pointing out that the dude is only 19. He needs to get used to playing faster, more decisively, and more precisely, and Serie A is a great place to do that.

 

Dike needs good playmakers or his game can look chaotic because, again worth pointing out, he’s been a pro for only exactly a year. I still think he’s the guy to build around, but he was a lot of noise and action without any focus last night.

 

Hoppe is good. He has something, maybe even something special. I also think he is super raw. He needs to smooth his technique and get better at combining. He reminds me a lot of young Charlie Davies in how direct, energetic, and persistent he is. Again, a raw talent that the right club could turn into a star, but he’s got a ways to go.

 

Matt Turner is the best shot stopper we have. Miles Robinson is a really, really nice player. Reminds me a lot of Matt Besler when he broke through under Jurgen. I still like a handful of guys better than him, but I really trust him when I see him in the lineup.

 

This is a really nice domestic talent pool, but Mexico is going to carve us up in the final. Really happy with the entire camp so far tho in terms of depth, talent evaluation, and looking ahead to qualifying.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Roldan's going to be at his best in the international game playing wider and even then he's not going to take on players with abandon, but he's incredibly positionally smart and has very good service. Glad he's finally gotten over the hump of inexplicably playing worse for country than he does for club.

 

Agree that Dike was more the future than the present last night. I saw someone point out that he hasn't really had a break in a year(MLS -> December/January camps -> Barnsley -> MLS -> Nations League/Gold Cup) and is carrying a bit of a knock too, so while my confidence in him for WCQ hasn't wavered, Zardes might be better for Qatar when we're going to need the striker to help break down a team sitting back.

 

other players seemingly play up or down to the level of their opponent, or even worse, play well when paired with the elite guys like Adams & mckennie but badly when asked to be the pacemaker in the midfield (Lletget, Acosta, etc).

 

This is an excellent description, similar to the 'piano carriers v. piano players' analogy I've seen used. It's also a good reminder that we've got our 2nd choice spine(who like you mention are not good being the focal point), and our 3rd/4th options on the flanks, so facing a Jamaica team at near full strength with that roster is not a minnow we can expect to overwhelm.

 

If my napkin math is right, this brings Berhalter up to 14-2 in competitive games with a +35 goal differential. I'm still not sure how the team will handle true road games in qualifying and he's sometimes a bit too slow with subs, but the above really bears out how well he's done when it matters. For comparison, Tata is 14-1-1 with a +28 GD, and 2 of the wins were shootouts.

[bukie]

One other thing I'm noticing during this Gold Cup is that though I'm not sure how many of their best players each team brought (except Qatar, they have the whole gang), but after Mexico in WCQ, the difference between, say, Costa Rica and Panama is almost negligible at this point. Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Canada, El Salvador and Panama are all about the same quality, so it could be interesting to see who qualifies in the octagonal aside from Mexico and assumedly the US.