Asia Cup 2007

[PeteC]

....as for players going down feigning injury, the refs should just play on. the offending player will soon get up when he realises the game won't be stopped.

There was quite a bit of that also last night from the Oman side. The ref did ignore them, to the point the announcer said they "were shooting themselves in the foot..." as when there is a true foul, the ref is already uninterested perhaps.

Regardless of sport, it evolves and so do the players. Look at swimming and track, world records are now broken every year. When basketball started in the USA in the 1800's, I think the peach baskets were nailed to trees at the 8' level, now it's evolved to 10' and read they are talking about 10'6" due to the ever increasing height and skill of the players. That's why the long range 3 point shot came about, to add more challenge to the game.

In baseball ( and perhaps cricket also) scores get higher each year as power hitters hit homeruns on a steady basis. Hard to enlarge a ballpark stadium, but new stadiums being built have larger fields, moving the homerun threshold back.

The NFL is the NFL and not much can be done there, except to perhaps decrease the width of the goal posts to stop 50 + yard kicked field goals.

However, perhaps Union rugby evolved from League as it made the game more challenging, tough, and required bigger men to accomplish the same thing, trys?

When I first started to watch football in the late 70' with the Germans and Brazil, I don't remember the type of long range and power shots we see today. What I see now is actually stunning from some of these players. 30-40 yards out and if you blink you miss it going into the net. I also don't remember seeing the massive curl some of these guys can put on a ball with free kicks these days.

I think in any sport, the rules/game has to evolve to match the skill of the players, regardless of old traditions. At the same time concerning football, spectators and supporters need to be considered and perhaps some changes like goal width and o/t vs penalty shots is something to think about. Pete

[redzonerocker]

i've been involved in numerous pen shootouts at amateur level & its a nervy experience. that walk from the centre cirlce to the penalty spot is a long & lonely walk especially when the fate of your team is on your shoulders.
god knows what the pressure is like when its in front of millions of people worldwide. its not really football & far to much of a lottery.
if you play 30 mins of extra time & its still level, just keep playing & reduce the team by 2 men every 5 mins & the better, fitter team wins no doubt. it will also test the tactical nous of the manager by his decisions of who to take off.
i'm a traditionalist too baa baa & wouldnt like to see to many changes but in my opinion pens are not a fair way of settling a football match,after all, its a team game.even the golden goal rule was a slight improvement.
your lot may have a title chance this season, but then again, i have been saying that for the past five years

[BaaBaa.]

your lot may have a title chance this season, but then again, i have been saying that for the past five years

As have I.

[Roel]

There already exist a rule (disallowing unsporting conduct) to prevent this corner flag thing in the dying minutes from happening but unfortunately it is never enforced. Another bad aspect is that the corner flag play is not only a matter of securing the result but it is often merely used to humiliate the opponents.

Regarding changing the rules UEFA/FIFA policy is clear (in theory): change the rules as little as possible. I agree with that (also in theory).
I was quite happy when they decided to abolish the most stupid rule ever introduced in football: the golden goal or sudden death or whatever. On most occasions the extra time gives us another 30 minutes of dull play with both teams not wanting to take any risks. And this gets even worse with a rule like that. And IF - by some lucky chance - a goal was scored the exciting action could begin because now the trailing team had to go for it. But oh no, do not let that happen: golden goal......let's call it a day.

[redzonerocker]

fair enough roel, but what about teams that actually play for a penalty shootout?
i would prefer football to be played to the bitter end & by reducing the sides down in set timescales, to 10 , 9 , 8 or even 7 a side then the team will win or lose together. its pretty traumatic for the player that misses the penalty that condemns his team to defeat.
i agree that we shouldnt change the beautiful game to much!

[Roel]

Reducing the number of players would not only be a major change of the rules but it would have a huge impact on the character and the essence of football.
But if you are into rigorous changes then what about this idea (unpractical I know but it would be fun):
After 90 minutes there is a penalty shoot out. AFTER that 30 minutes of extra time is played. If the extra time results in a draw (and only then) the result of the penalty shoot out is taken into account.
This will guarantee 30 extra minutes of attractive attacking football since one team is virtually trailing due to the shoot out result, but on the other hand nothing is decided yet.
Takes the pressure of the penalty takers a bit too, because they know they will have another 30 minutes to repair the damage if necessary.

[PeteC]

Scores updated in Post #1. Australia is in trouble.

Thailand vs Australia Monday at 1930 hours, that 7:30 PM LOMU this time. Pete

[Jaime]

However, perhaps Union rugby evolved from League as it made the game more challenging, tough, and required bigger men to accomplish the same thing, trys?

Pete, in fact it was rugby league that evolved or indeed devolved, depending on your point of view, from rugby union.

[PeteC]

However, perhaps Union rugby evolved from League as it made the game more challenging, tough, and required bigger men to accomplish the same thing, trys?

Pete, in fact it was rugby league that evolved or indeed devolved, depending on your point of view, from rugby union.

Why in the world did that happen? To many getting hurt? I thought my guess was sound!....LOL. Pete

[PeteC]

Scores updated in Post #1.

Malaysia is finished more or less. I watched some of the Indonesia/Saudi game but only while it was 1-1. I don't know what happened in the end. Saudi is indeed a big and organized team and looked quite professional. If it gets to that point, Thailand may have problems with them.

Tonight is China/Iran which should be a good match. 1820 hours. Pete

[PeteC]

Some surprises last night. China/Iran 2-2, Bahrain/S. Korea 2-1. Don't forget Thailand/Australia tonight. Pete

[PeteC]

Big day unfolding as follows:

Japan/Vietnam 2-1 at halftime.

Qatar/UAE 1-0 at halftime.

It's pissing rain here in Bangkok and Thailand/Australia and Oman/Iraq due to start in 1 hour. They're going to be wet matches. Pete

[PeteC]

Japan/Vietnam (4-1)

Vietnam is saved by a single hair on their arses as UAE upset Qatar 2-1 and Vietnam is through to the quarter finals. Pete

[PeteC]

Turn out the lights...the party's over....

10 minutes to go and it's Australia 2 Thailand 0. Thailand has to draw to go through to the quarter finals. Pete

PS: They fell apart in the last 10 minutes. Final 4-0 Australia.

[BaaBaa.]

The big fat lump (AKA Mark Viduka) up front who scored 2 goals is a Newcastle player Pete.