And, you specifically said :”Nikou will do whatever the Melbourne clubs ask him to do.”

If you understand this issue you will know that no matter what the Melb Clubs tell Nikou to do, and no matter what Nikou does, it means FA because this issue will be decided by

+ 9 State Federations (55 votes)
+ 3 Women’s council members linked to State Federations (3 votes)
+ 1 Women’s Council member who is independent (1 vote)

That’s it. No one else gets a vote.
So, no doubt you will have new conspiracies every day.

Your most recent conspiracy was:

“Nikou will not allow ALeague expansion in 2018/19”.

Jose Mourinho seems to attract inordinate amount of petty barbs. I’ve never understood why. Even when he coached Chelsea, I thoroughly enjoyed Mourinho’s personality.

Maybe, it’s because Mourinho has always had zero regard for courting the media, that has now morphed into utter contempt for those who make a living from writing about the Game.

I like him. I like his personality. I like his trophy winning mentality.

Above all, I liked watching him host Special1 TV.

For sure his negativity has me frustrated at times, but United were not negative against Spurs. They played with a freedom & fluidity that I’d be happy to watch every week. They lost 0-3 because Spurs were clinical in 3 moments but, over a 38 match season, if United play that style of football the true Man United fans won’t be upset.

True Man United fans followed the club Before Ferguson. If you followed Man United Before Fergie, then you know how to appreciate football even without trophies.

Are you being serious, or tongue-in-cheek?

The match kicked off at 7:30 p.m. so, if you say it takes 2 hours to travel there by car, how would adults who are employed get there in time if the match kicked off earlier?

Would you have preferred a 6:30 p.m. kick off? Earlier?

There were 2 obvious differences I noticed when comparing the use of VAR at WC2018 and HAL2018/19.

1) It was obvious the refs were in charge. There were many instances when the video suggested to fans & commentator that a review might be necessary & the VAR either had a look and ignored, or had a look told the ref it might be worth reviewing, but the ref said “play on”.

That’s the way it should be.

In HAL, my impression often was the VAR was becoming a 2nd referee. That’s not the VAR’s job. The VAR is there to identify obvious errors only.

2) The video production team and commentators did not dwell on incidents. If there was a contentious incident, we’d get 1 or 2 slow motion replays if the game stopped. If the decision was not reviewed, we’d move on.

By contrast, when a contentious incident happens in HAL and it is ignored (especially if it involves SydFC as the victim), Simon Hill/Andy Harper & FoxSports broadcasting team will replay the incident again and again at every stoppage. They’ll keep taking about the incident well after the incident passes. It becomes a major focus for the game.

We need to stop this. Replay the incident a maximum 2 times. Then move on. No more discussion It’s over.

VAR is simply a tool to give refs the benefit of seeing vision that fans can see but human eyes will miss standing at ground level with a dozen bodies in the way.

I still think the VAR at the World Cup can be improved, or the VAR protocol must change.

The VAR protocol clearly states it is there to correct “obvious errors”. By the basic definition of the word “obvious”, if a referee has to view the incident more than once on replay, the error is clearly not obvious.

You mean the guys who played last few seasons like

Theoharous
Pasquali
De Silva
Italiano
Arzani
Champness
McGree
Atkinson
Caletti

etc etc?

Every year high quality young players are moving through the ALeague, but those who don’t watch ALeague wouldn’t know.

Add to that about 50 players, including most of the National Team, who all started their professional journey in ALeague.

With 9 Aussie ALeague clubs, if we can have 6-12 high quality young players introduced each year, that’s good enough for me.

Let’s be clear, the same restrictive, closed-competition model that FFA has adopted for ALeague is hugely successful for: NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and in Australia for: NRL, AFL, BBL.

Having said that, I agree that the FFA must open the ALeague competition if they want grassroots to open their hearts & minds to ALeague.

That’s probably because every part of the Game is chugging along nicely, apart from the ALeague & probably the WLeague.

Every other aspect of football: Miniroos, Grassroots, NPL, National Teams football is doing very nicely. Of course, we want to be better.

As a sport, football is thriving. As a business it needs to improve.

Your response clearly indicates you don’t have the aptitude to understand this Green Paper.

The use of hands by goal keeper was curtailed by a major law change in 1992.

There was no change in goal size.
No change in markings on the pitch.
No change in off-side.

Just a law that redefined when a GK could handle the ball.

Now, 1/4 century later, my proposal suggests a further change to when a GK can handle the ball.

There is absolutley no change in goal size.
No change in markings on the pitch.
No change in off-side.

So, if this is what you’ve been suggesting in the past – fair enough. We are on the same page.

Exactly. Wonderful isn’t it?

More goals. We know Goalkeepers today are much taller than previously. Some have suggested making the goals bigger to compensate for this physical evolution. But, here I’ve found a solution that keeps every dimension on the field the same.

The only difference is we don’t allow the GK to handle the ball outside the Goal Area.

Goalkeepers will need to be sweepers and pure Shot Stoppers.

That’s also an option, but would have to read a bit about why those specific measurements were chosen for the Penalty Area, Goal Area, Penalty Spot, etc.

There seems to be a symmetry with the use of a 6 yard base measurement.

Eg. The Goal Area is measured 6 yards from the inside of each goal post then a further 6 yards into the field of play.

The Penalty Area is 18 yards from the inside of each goal post (i.e. 3x 6 yards) and extends 18 yards into the field of play.

So the Goal area “width” is exactly 1/3rd the Penalty Area width.

Then the Penalty Spot itself is exactly 12 yards from the goal line – i.e. exactly half way between the edge of the Penalty box & the edge of the Goal Area.

So, I wouldn’t want to upset the symmetry.. might upset the Masons!

Also, if we reduce the size of the Penalty Area, we reduce the area where defenders can foul an attacker without conceding a Penalty. I don’t want that.

No problem, Middy. Good to have alternative points.

To be honest, I’d be willing to remove the “no go zone” provision. The main Law I want to change is only allowing the GK to handle the ball in the Goal Area, not the full penalty area.

Would you see significant benefit from this?

Remember, the Back Pass Law was significant change & we all agree the Game is much better for it.

Wouldn’t you prefer to have less stoppages from the GK picking up the ball with every over hit forward pass?

Ha! I doubt there would be any issues unless a goal is scored with a player’s toe on the line of the 6 yard box. As I mentioned above, I’m pretty sure they have a similar rule in European Handball. I don’t recall any major video review issues.. and they really push the boundaries when attacking – quite literally.

Does outdoor hockey also have certain “no go zones” when scoring?

To be honest, I’d be willing to remove the “no go zone” provision. The main Law I want to change is only allowing the GK to handle the ball in the Goal Area, not the full penalty area.

It will take a bit of adjustment, but hardly a big deal.

As I said, I played Futsal with the same Law & it wasn’t difficult to adapt.

I also played outdoor when the Back Pass Law was introduced. That was much more difficult for defenders because it meant a readjusting how you played the game & positioned yourself & reacted to turn overs.

PS: Pretty sure European Handball has rules for “no go zone” when scoring goals? It does create acrobatic skills.

It’s good to get the contrary view. I would’ve thought this Law change is hardly radical. It’s merely redefining where the GK can handle the ball.

By contrast, removal of the offside law would be radical.

Maybe “the no go zone” is radical, but I see huge benefits – especially from corners where teams will have to be far more strategic than just lumping the ball into the Goal Area.

Also, I see goal keepers needing to be extremely good with their feet. Also, it will reduce the reliance on balls in the air.

I just watched a bit of the Alan Shearer documentary: “Dementia, Football & Me” and I wouldn’t be surprised to see heading the ball eliminated from our Game for medical reasons in the near future.

This Law will drastically reduce the number of balls in the air.

I was in the thick of my playing career at the time (I was a defender) and it caused huge problems for goalkeepers who were never very good with their feet. In fact, many GKs were so poor with their feet they would have the central defender take every goal kick!

And, I don’t want to minimise the 18 yard box because that area determines whether a foul on an attacker is just a direct free kick or whether it’s a penalty kick.

The big advantage I see will be a larger portion of the playing area will always be “in play”.

I’m sure you’ve seen situations every match where a ball is slightly over hit to the attacker & as soon as the attacker knows the ball will enter the penalty area, he gives up the chase because the GK will just pick it up.

But, if the ball is likely to stay outside the penalty area, the attacker goes 100% at the contest & never gives up.

Sometimes the GK will get there 1st outside the penalty area & boot the ball away.
Sometimes he’ll get there first stuff up the clearance & the ball ends up in the net.
Sometimes the attacker gets his toe to the ball first & dances around the GK.

No matter which scenario plays out, the contest is alive because the GK couldn’t use his hands.

All my Law does is keep the contest alive for every part on the pitch except the 6 yard Goal Area.

Good insights, jb. Thanks for that.

I must be one of the minority that does like the off-side rule. It creates a tactical dimension to the Game that makes players think & time their movement. How boring would it be to have players just standing in front of the opposition GK for most of the match waiting for the long ball forward?

Anyway, I digress.

This possible Law change hit me in recent times when I saw balls being slightly over hit to wide attackers (or even central attacker) and the attacker simply gives up when he knows the ball will roll into the penalty area before he gets there.

The Penalty Area is huge… nearly 1/3rd area of each half. I think it’s ridiculous we allow GKs to touch the ball with their hands in such a big area & kill the attacking move.

As you said: the Back Pass Law increased goals by 30%. I reckon my Law change would have an even bigger impact and it would not at all alter the purity of the actual game. It will still be football as we know it – we just reduce the area where the GK can touch the ball with his hands.

@Buddy you’re right. IFAB works slowly & in mysterious ways.

But, this is a Law change that I think would have massive benefits for the game – for players & spectators. Right now around 30% of the playing area is almost a “dead zone” during significant periods of open play.

By this I mean, if an attacking team plays the ball forward, but the ball is slightly overhit, the attacker gives up the chase when he knows the ball is going to end up in the Penalty Area & the GK will just pick it up with his hands.

However, if the ball is likely to remain outside the box … the fun begins. The GK has to race outside his area & must not use his hands. The ball is still fully in play.

My Law change simply makes the whole playing area – except the 6 yard goal area – fully in play all the time.

I don’t see what the issue would be with outfield players accidentally, or passively, stepping into the box?

If an attacker stepped into the box = goal kick
If defender stepped into the box = corner

When I first played a version of Futsal in the late 1980s, our competition had a similar rule for the goalkeeper area. From memory, the law was even harsher for defenders stepping into the protected area. The attacking team got a penalty.

Nearly 18 months ago, I speculated about potential strategies to raise money from Livestreaming via targeted ads & coupon promotions.

Some of us understand how technology can reshape every business and we see early opportunities.

Some are blind.

Amazon could pull in nearly $US8 billion in ad revenue by 2019..

Instead of digital media spending, it is focused on promotions and couponing, effectively expanding the advertising market significantly

Full story: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/amazons-ad-business-is-red-hot-but-no-threat-to-facebook-and-google-morgan-stanley-2018-1

??

You’ve summed it up beautifully, Chopper. Almost starting to feel sorry for that bloke. Something is not right. In real life, I stay well clear of such personalities. Hope he gets all the help & support from family & professionals that he needs.

@Caltex, I’m sure you’re already aware the NPL clubs have been broadcasting NPL matches LIVE via YouTube & Facebook for some time. Even FFA Cup matches hosted by NPL clubs have been broadcast on YouTube.

The AAFC is currently finalizing its model for the National 2nd Division and, based on what has been reported, the broadcasting will be FREE using a platform like YouTube/Facebook/Twitter with targeted advertising to raise revenue. The targeted advertising is particularly interesting since it’s highly likely the brands & service providers who will be advertising will be suburban SMEs who are the financial lifeblood of grassroots football. Not the big brands & blue chip companies that are being squeezed constantly for sponsorship of sport.

This is something I raised in an article discussion potential ways to raise revenue from Free online streaming.

Looks like the National 2nd Division will implement.

PS: Whilst we try to solve problems on the Football forum, on the AFL forum some clown wrote an article about his love for Star Wars. I sometimes forget the level of “adult” we deal with on this website.

@Caltex, if that’s true about $7M per year bonus for each expansion team, that’s fantastic news; given 10 teams are generating around $56M per year under the current deal. I must find the original Media Release.

12 team ALeague; not 14 team.

16 team 2nd Division could happen within 6 months. At the most basic level – just get 16 of the strongest NPL clubs from around Australia. The only extra expense from playing State NPL will be the cost of interstate travel & some additional wages. It would still be a semi-pro competition.

“The A-League needs a minimum of 16 teams to be taken seriously as a National competition.(All states included)”

In Europe these nations have fewer than 16 teams in their Top Division: Croatia, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Scotland, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania

All these leagues produce top quality players.