If It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It
Did I miss the public announcement declaring football was in a state of turmoil? It seems that with each new day someone is trying to implement a new rule change or tweak the structure of our beautiful game. From where I’m standing football is still without doubt the most compelling, exciting and above all entertaining sport on the planet. So why are we continually seeking to improve it?
The latest topic to kick up a storm is the prolonged debate surrounding goal-line technology. Clint Hill’s header clearly crossed the line in QPR’s 2-1 defeat against Bolton prompting manager Mark Hughes and subsequently the FA to voice their view that the technology should be introduced “as soon as possible”.
Frank Lampard’s ‘goal’ against Germany in the 2010 World Cup is still an open wound amongst many England fans, but let us not forget that there are many who believe Geoff Hurst’s strike in the 1966 World Cup Final should not have stood. We’re often witness to the increasingly common cliché that ‘these things even themselves out over the course of the season’. Is this true? Football is one of those games that exists solely in the present in the eyes of the fans, which is why many of you reading this will be disagreeing wholeheartedly.
On Monday night fans swamped Twitter to condemn Michael Oliver’s decision not to award Fulham a penalty in the dying moments of their defeat at Old Trafford. The age old belief that you never get a penalty at Fergie’s house was dug back up and yet just a few months prior in November, Newcastle were gifted an incredibly dubious penalty in their 1-1 draw with the champions. Perhaps there’s a case to suggest that every team suffers an equal form of ‘injustice’ over the course of their campaign.
Football is a game that is built and essentially thrives on emotion, which is why most of the calls for drastic changes emerge from post-match interviews. A manager, coach or player will often mask their own faults by attributing their failure to win the game to something out of their control, i.e. a refereeing decision. However, the idea that these isolated incidents are the sole reason for determining a result is ludicrous as there is no way of predicting how the game would have evolved as a result of a decision going the other way.
Uefa president Michel Platini remains defiant that he will not allow the sport to mutate into what he calls ‘playstation football’ and has instead implemented two further assistants in Champions League games. Perhaps it is too early to accurately gauge the success of the scheme but I am yet to see these extra officials make a significant impact on the referee’s performance or on the game itself. They just seem to get in the way, highlighted in yesterday’s fixture between Benfica and Chelsea whereby the linesman signalled the ball had gone out of play and yet the extra official remained muted despite being right on top of the incident. It all looks a bit ridiculous, with their batons (that would be better used to restore order at corners), and furthermore this puzzling decision appears to have resulted from a reluctance to make a more logical if rather more drastic decision regarding goal-line technology.
Moving away from the technology argument, another key change that is soon to make its way into English football is the Elite Player Performance Plan, which will have a significant and widely detrimental impact on the football league. The idea has been born out of the belief that the country is failing to produce enough ‘stars of the future’ and yet the academies of Southampton and Crystal Palace continue to flourish, having produced a number of young players who have made their mark in the first team in recent years. Why should the ‘minnows’ be punished because the elite teams in this country are apparently struggling to reap any rewards from their ineffective academies? This is an extreme ‘by an means necessary’ measure that the FA have introduced in their blind pursuit for international glory.
In my previous article a point was raised regarding the introduction of sin bins, the idea being that they would reduce the number of futile dismissals and allow situations to be more easily diffused. Aside from the concern that you are effectively sending someone off for a small timeframe, there is a worry that this would instigate the ‘Americanisation’ of the sport, creating a snowball effect that would see football lose its identity. How long before the media-inspired Super Sunday mutates into a garish version of Superbowl with extravagant halftime shows and a bombardment of expensive adverts?
For a few years now, a number of high-profile managers have called for the introduction of a winter break, claiming that the Christmas period is too hectic. However this set of relentless games is one of the reasons the English top-flight is such a wonderful, engaging spectacle and justifies the reasons clubs have such a large squad. Last week Dalglish claimed his players were too tired after a spell of three games in a week, but this was clearly a poor attempt to disguise their own dismal performance and certainly wont serve them well if they are to return to the European competitions next season. Remember if we do have a fortnight breather in January we’re all likely to be dragged down to the sales and that’s a living hell even a footballers wallet shouldn’t have to endure.
One change that I do hold in high regard is the imminent introduction of the Financial Fair Play procedures, whereby teams will effectively be forced to operate within their means. With an alarming number of clubs slipping into administration, the new regulations should inspire those in charge to act responsibly and ensure a brighter future in the game.
Whilst there are plenty of strong arguments for a number of these adjustments in football, I get the feeling that with any new major change you are simply exchanging old problems for a bunch of new ones. This past week we’ve had a 7-3 scoreline, three 90th minute strikes in Premier League alone and an amazing show of support for a player fighting for his life. Football isn’t on the decline, we just need to allow ourselves to enjoy it more.
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Come and find me on Twitter @theunusedsub where I’ve already fled the beer garden to reserve my seat in the pub for the Barca v Milan clash
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