No more draws in the World Cup
by JoshuaR on Aug 23, 2010 1:14 PM EDT
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This story (seen here) is about a week old but I wanted to get some reaction from the news. FIFA president Sepp Blatter says there is discussion to eliminate ties in the World Cup group stage.
I guess my first reaction is, why? There does not seem to be a problem with the current set up and I do not think many fans are going to flock to soccer just because there are no more draws. The ones that watch just for the World Cup will continue to watch and the ones that do not watch will continue to not watch (as I believe their dislike of soccer goes beyond the fact that there are draws).
My second reaction is that this will be terrible for the World Cup. Take a look at the Fulham- Man U match from this weekend. I think Fulham definitely deserved a point and they got it on the late equalizer. Take that game to extra time and Fulham might come away empty, undeservedly. If you eliminate ties in the group stage, we will see many teams earn an unfair 0 points when they deserve 1 and some teams earn 3 when they deserve only 1. This could cause a huge swing in the outcomes of the group stages.
Third, the extra time played would be brutal later in the World Cup. If these teams are forced to play extra time in the group stage, there is a greater chance these teams could be gassed later on in the tournament, hurting the quality of play when it matters the most.
Finally, I think it would hurt the last day of group play. Currently, a team with 1 or 2 points could still be in contention on the last day, making for more exciting matches. However, if they lose both those games in extra time, they are sitting on zero points, with likley nothing to play for.
Also, why is Blatter concerned about fixing something that is not broken when instant replay is right in front of his face?
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Saw this on Soccernet, I think
With all due respect, Sepp Blatter has lost his mind. He runs a pretty corrupt sports organization, but retains enough power to absolutely crush the slightest criticism. He has no sense of tact or diplomacy, and pushes through whatever tickles his fancy. This is just the latest in a string of ideas that show his lack of understanding of the current game and complete lack of sympathy with the common fan. He’s surrounded himself with sycophants and yes-men, and pushed those who criticize him as far away as possible. I’m sure everyone at the FIFA office is telling him how great this idea is.
"Voetbal is pas totaal als je wint"- Coach Adun
"The greatest sin is to spurn the gift"- Coach Alistair
If they do this, they can just eliminate points altogether, right?
I mean, if there are only 2 outcomes for a team in a given game (W or L) you can just go on W-L record. Or you can award the winner 3 points or 2 points or 1 or 57.98.
I think it would tend to force teams to score more goals, because with fewer potential game-outcomes, the GD and GS tie-breakers would play a bigger role.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
I say go for the the 3-2-1 points. 3 for for the win outright, 2 for the shootout win and 1 for shootout loss. Or play the overtime then shootout. More time on the field and more drama for the viewers. Purists will hate it (see above) but it will be more exciting.
The problem with 3-2-1 in group play, it seems to me
is that it would actually encourage the most negative soccer imaginable: if you’re a not-very-talented team with a good GK, your plan is to park the bus and try to win a couple of shootouts. If you win 3, then you’ve got 6 points, the same as a team that wins 2 games the real way and loses one. If you win 2 and lose 1, you’ve got 5 points, which can still get you out of group play.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
If you're playing 90-minute games with postgame shootouts
then yes, this is a serious problem. I would never support that “option.”
If you’re playing full 120-minute matches in every tied World Cup game, though, then “parking the bus” for that long becomes awfully difficult.
I’d prefer to add golden-goal extra time after every group-stage game, but I mean, if you’re tied after 120 minutes, it’s a freakin’ tie.
Either way, FIFA is looking at the wrong issue. The problem with the WC is lack of scoring, not ties. USA-Slovenia was far more entertaining than Spain-Paraguay, even though it lacked a winner. Put in a hockey-style offside rule to replace the current rule (or at the very least, for pity’s sake, make it so that a pass which already begins within the other team’s penalty area cannot be “offside”) and enlarge the goal a bit.
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
Or just get the refs to enforce the rules more strictly
It’s a little like the NBA playoffs, in which everyone seems to have agreed since the Pistons’ “Bad Boys” champions in the 80s that players can pretty much maul each other without getting whistled because “that’s how playoff basketball is played.” And it’s a lot less fun to watch.
Call a penalty for mauling guys in the penalty area on set pieces. Hand out more cards for simulations.
Either way, FIFA is looking at the wrong issue. The problem with the WC is lack of scoring, not ties.
I agree with this – and I want to add that higher scoring makes draws much less likely, simply because the more goals teams can score, the less likely it is that they’ll have scored exactly the same number after 90 minutes. So increased scoring would tend to reduce the number of draws, anyway.
The problem with the 30 minute, non-golden-goal extra time in Group is that it would just wear everyone out. So I’d favor Golden Goal at least in Group play.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
"More interesting," Blatter says. And unfair.
It’s a ridiculous idea, really. The group stage right now is great — filled with drama based on the many scenarios that can happen, and change in a flash, on the final day.
To me the only argument there ever was for PKs at any stage is when the alternatives are even more ridiculous — i.e., when you absolutely need a winner declared (so, the knock-out stages), but doing a replay or eternal extra time or coin-flip is obviously unfeasible or absurd. There’s really no reason to mess with the group stage games; not that reason has ever stopped Blatter before.
Lighthouse Hockey: More defensemen than we know how to spell.
They almost did have to go to drawing lots for teams who were tied on points, GD and GS
I think it’s actually a good sign if FIFA is trying to prevent that from ever happening, rather than waiting for it to happen and reacting afterwards.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
I agree
It’s not broke, so he is obviously going to try to fix it when there are other issues he does not want to address.
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