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Central Coast Mariners goal keeper Mark Bosnich fails to stop a direct penalty in the second half of the Round 3, A-League match between the Central Coast Mariners and the Queensland Roar at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Aug. 31st, 2008. AAP Image/Dave Hunt
Many articles in recent years have spent time trying to come up with a better way to decide a game than by using penalty shootouts.
Less players on the field and counting corner kicks have all been credible suggestions worthy of discussion over the second or third beer at a pub, but not quite credible enough to be brought up before then.
Personally, I have no problem with the drama of a penalty shootout – as long as my team win’s, it’s a fine system!
That bias may, however, be influenced by the fact we have Mark Schwarzer in goals for the Socceroos at the moment. He seems to relish the chance to win a game as opposed to most goalkeeper’s who become the villains by trying not to “stuff up”.
The timing of this article couldn’t be worse, though, as the A-League has just witnessed two dramatic and satisfying penalty shootouts which led to Newcastle playing Wellington in front of a full house.
But as sure as day becomes night, Italy will win another penalty shootout while they bore the neutrals to death, and the calls for a better system will follow.
My proposal is that the goal-line referee (themselves not quite established in the rules yet) keep track of the number of times the goalkeeper handles the ball. This tally would then be used as a tiebreaker if the match is a draw at the conclusion of full-time or extra-time. The side whose keeper handled the ball the most loses. If the tally is tied then the team whose goalkeeper handled the ball last is the loser. Handling would count as a tip over the bar, punching the ball from a cross or a catch.
A goalkeeper touching the ball in the same way an outfielder can would not attract any tally points. The hope (and without seeing a trial it’s very much just a hope) is that it encourages goalkeepers to play more like outfielders, perhaps to the point where they no longer have to spend most of their training in the corner away from the other players.
Would these scores be public? I would expect the goal-line referee to have a clear way of indicating the touch (wave a flag or such) so that a 4th official or the other goal-line ref can also keep track of the tally (and scoreboard attendant, too).
From a theoretical point of view, here is my list of positives and negatives. Feel free to add your own in the comments section.
Negatives:
– Teams playing for the tally could lead to even more aerial balls, defenders camped on the goal-line and such. A change like this influences how the game is played rather than other suggestions that just decide the outcome and don’t effect the 90 minutes proper.
– Could lead to more injuries, especially amongst goalkeepers. There is a certain balance in the battle between the keepers and strikers in that once the keeper picks up the ball they’re safe. If keepers become reluctant to do that angry strikers could run riot.
– The goalkeeper becomes even more important and, perhaps, disproportionately so.
– Another area for officials to make a dud decision on.
– Penalty shootouts are great theatre, and is this tally method any less arbitrary?
– Involves change. Change for change’s sake is a waste of resources so it would have to be carefully investigated whether this system is clearly better.
– The goal-line ref may spend too much time watching the keeper and not whether the ball goes over the line, which is his primary purpose.
– Would create a difference between the amateur level, who would likely continue to play with penalties due to lack of goal-line officials, and the professional level.
– A dubious red card would put you at a massive disadvantage as having fewer players is even worse under this proposal.
Positives:
– Hopefully rewards the quality of shots on goal as a harmless lob from 40m out wouldn’t need to be handled. If your general play results in more clear cut chances on goal, then you will likely force the other team’s goalkeeper to touch the ball. This is generally considered good play and enjoyed by most spectators, so hopefully rewarding this activity leads to more of it in a game.
– Removes playing for penalties as stacking the box isn’t a great ploy to avoid the use of your goalkeeper.
– Encourages goalkeepers to use more outfield skills and makes it a less distinct position.
– Would remove the “I am not going to pick it up come and get it” routine between goalkeeper and opposing striker that takes up a good deal of time in a match.
– Gives the goal-line referee something to do to justify his existence as there are many matches that are decided without the need to decide whether a ball went over the line or not.
– Helps set a more concrete finish time for an event for broadcasters that absolutely can’t delay the start of Today Tonight at any cost.
– May lead to more goalkeepers like René Higuita.
I don’t know if this proposal solves the problem, or even if penalty shootouts are really a problem (I think they are a dud way to decide the World Cup final, though) but I thought it was an idea worthy of debate.
It would be great if the stats man kept track of it so we could see what percentage of games were won by a team whose goalkeeper handled the ball more than the opposition, or if any teams generated more shots on target but lost the tally count.
The later is certainly important because if there is a correlation between shots on goal and winning, I would be confident in the concept’s success.
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