Views from the Sieve

You have the opportunity to make one change to hopefully improve the game for players and or spectators....what would you change or introduce. My suggestion is:

No substitutions allowed in final 15 minutes of normal play - to include cup matches that attract extra time / penalties.

Too often changes are made to deliberately break up play, just to wind the clock down, especially with players feigning injury and thus spoiling the game for us as spectators.

If a side goes down to 9 or 10 men in those last 15 minutes - after using all subs in the previous 75 minutes - surely it'll make the game more interesting and exciting for us watching and end this gamesmanship once and for all.

View From The Stand wrote:Give the fourth official a TV monitor

So they can be involved in specifics i.e offsides, penalties only or all incidents such as off the ball etc?

I can think of a number of off the field changes I'd make in football but on the pitch I like the game exactly how it is

Fair enough, but I'm pissed at players feigning injury, diving to con refs and waving imaginary cards to get opponents cautioned or sent off and blatant cheating.

View From The Stand wrote:Give the fourth official a TV monitor

Agree with that one.

They always used to whine on about the game being the same from top to bottom, but now they have goal line technology that has already changed. Use TV.

I'd offer coaches challenges too on a win it or lose it basis, but only on decisions that have stopped the game anyway (offside goal, disallowed offside goal, red card challenges).

I'd also do away with the spare pricks in European games (the extra official behind the goal). It winds me up something rotten when they are staring right at incidents two yards from their nose and don't get involved.

Thats why I'd like to see cameras in the referees dressing room and see what pre-match guidelines they give to their assistants.

As an ex-referee these can differ widely from one ref to another.

That way at least we'd have some idea of what they're meant to be doing!

Any League team that scores at least five goals one extra point whether it be a win (4 points) or a draw i.e a 5-5 or above both sides get 2 points instead of 1, thus it would help obliterate sides who take a 2 or 3 goal lead 'sitting on the game' as if the games already won especially with stacks of time left, and also be highly entertaining for the fans, whether it would ever come through to Dagenham's advantage I'd leave it to your imagination!

Dagdale wrote:Any League team that scores at least five goals one extra point whether it be a win (4 points) or a draw i.e a 5-5 or above both sides get 2 points instead of 1, thus it would help obliterate sides who take a 2 or 3 goal lead 'sitting on the game' as if the games already won especially with stacks of time left, and also be highly entertaining for the fans, whether it would ever come through to Dagenham's advantage I'd leave it to your imagination!

Reminds me of the Rothmans Isthmian days when clubs got £40 prize money (yes £40) for scoring 4 or more in a game.

I listen to the Football Ramble and one of the things someone jokily suggested once was that any game that ends 0-0 on the final day, both teams get no points. I'd be in favour of that!

What about ALL league matches which end 0-0, nil points awarded to either team - hopefully this would make both sides go for it right up to the 90th minute.

The awarding of an extra league point for scoring 5 or more goals is nothing to do with the laws of the game - it's entriely to do with the league itself. If the league changes its rules and gives bonus points for more goals so be it.

With regards to changing the laws of the game, the one I would change involves the goalkeepers and extra time. What it would be and how it would be implemented are as follows. IF / WHEN the game goes into extra time, the laws change so that the goalkeeper may onlu handle the ball withing the GOAL AREA only. The sanction for handling the ball within the penalty area but outside the goal area would be a penalty kick - but no yellow or red card, just the penalty kick. The GK in the penalty area bringing down a forward or otherwise denying a goal (except for touching the ball with his hands as outlined above) faces the same sanctions as the rest of the game (namely yellow / red cards & a penalty).

Why the change? The goalkeeper effectively can't "come" to narrow the angle and the goal effectively becomes bigger = More goals at both ends

10 minutes in a sin bin for yellow card and advance free kicks 10 yards for dissent

hockley dagger wrote:10 minutes in a sin bin for yellow card and advance free kicks 10 yards for dissent

If I recall many years ago when reffing, the advance 10 yard rule was trialled in the case of dissent - similarly to rugby union. Real pity it wasn't implemented into laws of the game as it proved useful occasionally.

Not during the game itself but afterwards where there have been complaints about "diving" and the like for free-kicks, penalties, getting other people sent off, etc, etc.

Where a complaint is lodged, the ORIGINAL MATCH REFEREE is invited to review any footage and answer the question "Were you deceived by .... <specific dive/ other conning act??" If the ORIGINAL MATCH REFEREE says he was conned and would othewise have not 'geven a penalty, sent off someone, etc, etc, etc.' then the offender gets a "+1" match ban.

What is a "+1" ban????

One more match than the last time cited - someone never before cited and deemed guilty of conning the referee gets 1 match; someone who's been reported and deemed guilty a third time (for example) gets 3 games, somoeone like Ash;ey Young at Man Utd would be facing a 12 match ban.

Sooner or later the managers at all the clubs in the country will be saying to their playing staff : "Stop ******** cheating" no matter what they might say to the press !!!!

Cheating ultimately damages the game and should be weeded out and punished