[Albion] An epidemic of "cramp" in SE7

[PILTDOWN MAN]

I think the problem is everyone is scared these days of getting it wrong for fear of reprisals and that's not just on the pitch. It doesn't matter what it is but all we hear is the over the top rubbish about well-being, mental health etc. It puts the likes of refs under pressure when in game time they have to assess the extent of an injury.

What pisses me off more than anything is us giving the ball back to them from a throw in.

One way of stopping it would be if a player goes down and the ref believes it is only time wasting he gets taken off the pitch for 5 minutes only allowed back on by the 4th official on the halfway line, and a freekick is awarded. . Head injuries an automatic 10 minute sub for assessment.

 

[SeagullsoverLondon]

I think the problem is everyone is scared these days of getting it wrong for fear of reprisals and that's not just on the pitch. It doesn't matter what it is but all we hear is the over the top rubbish about well-being, mental health etc. It puts the likes of refs under pressure when in game time they have to assess the extent of an injury.

What pisses me off more than anything is us giving the ball back to them from a throw in.

One way of stopping it would be if a player goes down and the ref believes it is only time wasting he gets taken off the pitch for 5 minutes only allowed back on by the 4th official on the halfway line, and a freekick is awarded. . Head injuries an automatic 10 minute sub for assessment.

I agree about the whole giving the ball back thing. At one point, we had played on when one of their players was down in our half. It ended up with their keeper who then kicked it out of play. The physio came on to give the necessary life saving treatment. He was back on his feet immediately, the game restarted, and we gave the ball back to them. We should have called them out in it and thrown to ourselves and played on.

 

[GT49er]

It’s easy to sort this out. 30mins of live ball in play each half - stops all time wasting dead

Yep, big clock which everyone - players and fans - can see, seperate timekeeper, clock stops the second play is stopped or the ball goes out of play and only starts again when play restarts.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Yep, big clock which everyone - players and fans - can see, seperate timekeeper, clock stops the second play is stopped or the ball goes out of play and only starts again when play restarts.

I have to go back to what HWT said. This will deal with (just about) enough football being played but, arguably, so does the new interpretation of time added on seen at the World Cup.

What it doesn't deal with is teams deliberately breaking up play or stopping second phase ball after a corner is cleared pretending to have cramp or a head injury. It also means that you never really know when a game will finish when many away fans will have specific trains home to catch or, like last night, have to be at London Bridge by 11.15 or miss the last direct train home that night. Just because a team aren't good enough to win without cheating.

 

[Jesus Gul]

Stop the game and give them 10 seconds to rolly-polly to the touchline for treatment or they are forcibly subbed. Job done

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

I have to go back to what HWT said. This will deal with (just about) enough football being played but, arguably, so does the new interpretation of time added on seen at the World Cup.

What it doesn't deal with is teams deliberately breaking up play or stopping second phase ball after a corner is cleared pretending to have cramp or a head injury. It also means that you never really know when a game will finish when many away fans will have specific trains home to catch or, like last night, have to be at London Bridge by 11.15 or miss the last direct train home that night. Just because a team aren't good enough to win without cheating.

No we weren't

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Stop the game and give them 10 seconds to rolly-polly to the touchline for treatment or they are forcibly subbed. Job done

I agree and once you have left the pitch by the nearest place you can only come on via the 4th official at the halfway line.

 

[happypig]

If the ref stops play in the penalty box, the attacking team is allowed to contest the drop ball.

 

[Comrade Sam]

They have been playing gritty lower league scraps for survival twice a week, whilst we were swanning about in Arabia! Might explain the fact they were prone to cramp and general falling apart. It was annoying though.

 

[gripper stebson]

Yep, big clock which everyone - players and fans - can see, seperate timekeeper, clock stops the second play is stopped or the ball goes out of play and only starts again when play restarts.

Could also be massively exciting. Imagine, 0-0 v Palace and we get a free kick just outside the box with 4 seconds left. It'd make for some brilliant drama.

 

[Wardy's twin]

One episode the players Brighton player kicked the ball out for them - Why, play to the whistle if the ref thinks its a problem he will intervene.

 

[SeagullsoverLondon]

I have to go back to what HWT said. This will deal with (just about) enough football being played but, arguably, so does the new interpretation of time added on seen at the World Cup.

What it doesn't deal with is teams deliberately breaking up play or stopping second phase ball after a corner is cleared pretending to have cramp or a head injury. It also means that you never really know when a game will finish when many away fans will have specific trains home to catch or, like last night, have to be at London Bridge by 11.15 or miss the last direct train home that night. Just because a team aren't good enough to win without cheating.

Nothing is going to stop players staying down, and the problem is refs aren't doctors. Even if they suspect the injury is being feigned, they can't take the risk that a player is actually badly injured. 90% of the time in a normal game the player on either side gets up and plays on. However, yesterday one of their players was actually subbed off and it looked at first he was faking like the others

 

[Swansman]

Could also be massively exciting. Imagine, 0-0 v Palace and we get a free kick just outside the box with 4 seconds left. It'd make for some brilliant drama.

#sollytime

 

[Justice]

Ultimately all of this wouldn’t matter if we could ball in the back of the net.

 

[studio150]

It sounds good in theory, but what if the "injured" player is in the 6 yard box, like that big lunk who went down feigning a head injury to end our attack ? You can hardly have a physio giving a player treatment in the box. And (of course) it would be deemed "too dangerous" to move him out of the way.

This type of gamesmanship is getting more and more prevalent because it IS very effective. And footballers are born cheats, its in their DNA. I don't have the answer.

Smug Eddy tactic in getting defenders to fall to the ground holding head. Given the lump jumped up as clearly not injured should have been red carded,

 

[GT49er]

I have to go back to what HWT said. This will deal with (just about) enough football being played but, arguably, so does the new interpretation of time added on seen at the World Cup.

What it doesn't deal with is teams deliberately breaking up play or stopping second phase ball after a corner is cleared pretending to have cramp or a head injury. It also means that you never really know when a game will finish when many away fans will have specific trains home to catch or, like last night, have to be at London Bridge by 11.15 or miss the last direct train home that night. Just because a team aren't good enough to win without cheating.

Time added on as per the WC, applied meticulously - 20 minutes added time would still presumably cause problems for people with a tight schedule to catch a train.
Earlier kick-offs perhaps? (without f*** ups and faff with the ticketing)

 

[Machiavelli]

Anyone keep count of how many times Charlton went down "injured" last night, only to make miraculous recoveries.

The head injury they faked in their own box was the nadir but every other player seemed to have cramp every time the ball went out and at least two other occasions where we, rightfully, refused to stop play with a player down with a hair sprain.

I know the ref added 7 minutes but the net result was breaking up our play and frustrating players and fans alike, not to mention hundreds of fans who'd spent all night queuing nearly missing the last train back from London Bridge. And - guess what - it was exactly what Villa did.

It's beginning to look a lot like a deliberate tactic.

Can anything be done in addition to the much more rigorous additional time as seen in the World Cup? Any way faking injury can be dealt with by yellow card and / or free kick without encouraging even more play acting or endangering player safety, which still has to be paramount?

I'm struggling with this one.

I'm not sure the WC +al time is the (only) answer. You've alighted on the key reason this is done, because the timewasting ought to be added on, although there is that additional benefit when it's not (as is too often the case). The key reason is disrupting play, stopping the flow of a team that wants to play football. When momentum builds, the likelihood of breaking through increases. Ergo, stop momentum.
It's this that officials and those that change the rules need to focus on. It will require multiple answers, which we could collaboratively develop on here. One that I think is particularly promising is that, whenever a player is not available to take a throw-in (Villa were masters at that), the captain should get a booking.

 

[Machiavelli]

I said the same thing recently on another thread. I certainly think that the 30 minute rule would improve the game.

But, as it was pointed out to me, it won't stop the injury faking because the intention is to stop the opposition 'getting into their flow' (as the ludicrous commentators are now saying). Breaking up the rhythm of play.

Imagine making love to a beautiful woman, and the fire alarm going off every few minutes.

That's a beautiful metaphor there

 

[Uh_huh_him]

Maybe just award a penalty, for a third time wasting offence.

It's the only deterrent

 

[Swansman]

Maybe just award a penalty, for a third time wasting offence.

It's the only deterrent

But what if it is real cramp? Because that certainly happens.