5 Ways to Make Football Better

Football- the perfect game. But are there things you would change, if we could start again from scratch? There probably are. Most are unfeasible or impractical. However, maybe, just maybe, we could change the game for the better.

 

Here are 5 things we could change in the footballing world.

 

 

1.More Safe-Standing Areas

 

Ok, we’ll start with a sensible but sensitive one. Standing at football matches was banned in 1990, after the government decided the hooligan problems and Hillsborough disaster were too much to deal with. This was the same Thatcher lead party that supported a ban on British clubs competing in Europe for five years. A true enemy of British football if ever there was one.

 

Safe-standing areas are coming back, but incredibly slowly. Whether or not you like standing, it undoubtedly improves the atmosphere. When people are excited, they naturally want to stand up. You can see it when there’s a shot at goal or crunching tackle. Having at least one standing section will benefit the match-day experience for fans and maybe even players and people at home will enjoy it more.

 

 

2.No More Penalties

 

Penalties have never really seemed fair. A foul to any opposing player in any position inside an 18 metre square allows you to put your best striker 12 yards from the goal with only a goalkeeper to beat. Yes, the team fouled should get an advantage, but it is too much of an advantage?

 

Instead why not restart from the same position as the foul with the same players inside the penalty box (might need renaming),  at the time of the foul, minus the player that committed the offense. Much fairer, and it will make goal scoring tables a more accurate reflection of ability.

 

 

3.Kick-ons Not Throw-ins

 

Cesc Fabregas mentioned this in an Arseblog interview, and it’s worth exploring. What does throwing the ball have to do with football? He’s got a point. At first, this one sounds like an anti-football mangers dream. You can imagine teams playing for kick-ons and punting the ball at goal from anywhere inside the opposition half.

 

But it doesn’t have to be like that. If there were no run ups, and the player must stand still, only allowed to lift their leg back. Imagine a golfers swing but with a leg and a football. From this position, how far could they kick it? Further than a Rory Delap throw, I don’t think so.

 

 

4.Roll-on Subs

 

Nobody wants to start the game as a substitute, and nobody wants to be subbed off. Most amateurs have had the feeling they need to come off because they are completely knackered but stayed on because it’s better than being subbed. The fear is because of the permanent nature of coming off. If players thought they could get a quick ten-minute rest and come back on, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

 

Now, I don’t think professional players have this problem. Footballers are extremely fit, but they suffer injuries. More serious ones could be helped by roll-on subs. Concussions could be given a more thorough investigation. Substitutions would no longer have the power to disrupt the flow of the game, and the whole Xhaka saga would have been avoided.

 

 

5.Remove the Referee

 

No, I’m not suggesting a blood bath. The rules still count, but let’s get the man in black out of the way. How many of your favourite football memories involve a referee? None. There are loads of camera angles provided by TV footage, aided with the ability to zoom in, speed up and slow things down. Surely, an official watching the game can make a more informed decision than one on the pitch.

 

On a match day, the ref can be influenced by a poor view, crowd noise, players and managers, we’ve seen it happen. Sounds like VAR? Well, it is. Only better, it's just VR. It’s a mystery why VAR has been so disappointing. There’s no excuse for some poor decisions we’ve witness, but the concept is sound just needs a bit of tweaking.

 

 

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Note: Decided kick-ons was a better term than kick-ins.

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