Has football lost the plot?

[Rosy]

want to fix most of the ills of the game. simple do away with the interchange bench.

How would that work santa? It would be pretty lopsided if a team gets 4 injuries and has to play a game out with only 14 players. Ridiculous thought.

 

[Hungry]

want to fix most of the ills of the game. simple do away with the interchange bench. i know lots of people who dont watch footy anymore because of what its become. if we keep on going the way we are going then soccer will indeed take over.

Funnily enough, not a bad idea. The use of interchange is an ordinary part of footy and I am tired of watching players spotting up loose men straight off the bench for yet another uncontested possession. An intriguing part of soccer is the use of substitutions - they are limited to three and they are permanent (can't go back on).

I agree with the general sentiment - footy has become so clinical and predictable that many games are dead boring. The loss of man on man play is a shame. The number of loose players is a shame.

The new kick in rule is dreadful - just means more predictability, more uncontested rubbish, more 'European handball' style transfer of play. The rules committee needs to be disbanded.

The umpiring is a disgrace. They no longer pay frees or ball it up, and this is seen as 'good umpiring' by the nuff nuffs in the comentary box. The result? Rugby style mauls that are ugly, terrible for specators and nothing like footy as we know it. In any one of these mauls you could find about three free kicks - pay them and it opens up the play.

That a fourth placed team can beat a ninth placed team by 100+ points makes this competition a yawn.

I have come around to soccer big time - more contests and closer games - and if it were here at the highest level (premier league level) then I'm not sure I'd bother with footy.

 

[Liverpool]

I won't be jumping on the soccer bandwagon Liverpool  :hihi But thanks for the invite all the same.

No worries mate....anytime! 8)

Liverpool, from what I just witnessed at the WC, soccer's got it's own problems believe it or not.
I hardly think anyone will be jumping off the AFL bandwagon just yet for the round ball game.

The biggest problem I see for Footy(insert sport) is that it used to be spontaneous, now it's a science and for most science ain't fun.
Coaches and players will do whatever it takes to win. They'll manipulate the rules, push the boundaries of fair play, heck, cheat if necessary  & unfortunately it's the purity of the game we love that suffers in the process.
It's happening with all sports, not just AFL.
Spontenaity and enjoyment takes a distant back seat to success and the innocence of football as with all sports, has long since disappeared.
Show me the money baby.

Yep, openly agree that feigning for penalties is a blight on soccer.
However, I'm starting to see more and more 'playing' for free-kicks this season in the AFL too.
That's because AFL is more professional than anytime in its history, and as it slowly becomes bigger and bigger, and more pressure mounts on players/coaches/clubs to perform, then the "must win at all costs" mentality will rise also.
'Sport is science'?
Maybe....but I think its more 'sport is a business'...and in business, you don't take risks very often, and we're seeing that in most sports these days, and it'll happen more and more in AFL as well.

Get off it mate.
You had your run during the WORLD DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS now go away and let us discuss the current state of our real game that is free from corruption, has real men tackling real men, and real supporters that love the tough stuff without throwing darts around the crowd or fighting the local cops after vandalising the neighbourhood, and that's what they do when they win.
If you love your soccer so much then put your opinions on a website that embraces the corruption and diving tactics as much as you obviously do.

Rimau,
AFL isn't the 'pure' sport that you believe it is either.
We only saw last week Rodney Eade taking a player off over the boundary-line in the back-pocket....and then Eagleton coming on through the interchange....100-metres clear of any other player.
If the Bulldogs had got it out of the pocket and spotted Eagleton...and the Bulldogs had won the game, do you think that would have been good tactics from Eade? or unsporting behaviour from him for bending the rules that are there purely so an injured player can be taken off the ground quickly?
We also saw last night during the Port/Swans game....Hall made a "boxing move" towards Kane Cornes....Cornes went down when there was no contact whatsoever.
We've got 3 players (and there will be more) who tested positive to drugs....no-one can tell me that Justin Charles has been the only person to take a banned substance either.
So AFL free from corruption?.....dream on!
And Rimau....it will get worse as footy becomes more cut-throat.


Umpires.....agree with you NewYorkTiger...is because of 3 umps, that you get these continual inconsistencies...where up one end, an ump blows for a free....and when the same thing happens down the other end, then you get a different ump, a different interpretation, and a different outcome.

Rule-changes....personally, I wouldn't like to see rule-changes out on the ground, as there's enough rules already that are grey in the middle.
But I think there is merit on changing the number of interchanges a team can make per game....it would really make it interesting and more tactical as well......you know, the game is slipping away, Schulz has been on the bench all day....does Wallace take the gamble to bring Schulz on to try and win the game? who does he take off? etc, etc.
maybe we could trial something like that in the NAB-Cup and see how it goes?

 

[Ian4]

The sooner the bring in the rule if you kick backwards its play on even if its a mark in the backline the better.
It would soon stop this keepings off type footy were seeing at the moment.

i used to think this but now realise it would cause a lot more flooding

want to fix most of the ills of the game. simple do away with the interchange bench. i know lots of people who dont watch footy anymore because of what its become. if we keep on going the way we are going then soccer will indeed take over.

i'm more of an advocate for limiting the number of interchanges in a game like what they do in rugby league. give each team between 4-6 interchanges per quarter

in regards to an umpiring there are 3 things that drive me nuts:

1. why is it that they always good a good job in the finals but not in the home and away? (if someone tells me that they only pick the good umpires in september then that'll make me mad because it proves that the other umpires are no definately good).

2. i'm sick of umpires getting sucked in by the players. the 50m penalty given toackland yesterday in the centre isthe perfect example. he ran into tivendale, not the other way around and played for the 50m, and the ump got sucked in.

3. the players are so professional these days that they know how to milk frees. just after the above 50m penalty. the ball was kicked into the st kilda forward pocket. there were 3 richmond players against the dal santo. dal santo was first to the ball and knew there was a richmond player (can't remember which player, might have ben polo) hot on his tail. instead of trying to elude a tackle, dal santo deliberately fell forward. the richmond player behind him had no where else to go but to fall on his back. that was very smart play by dal santo but to me that should not be payed as a free kick.

 

[Liverpool]

The sooner the bring in the rule if you kick backwards its play on even if its a mark in the backline the better.
It would soon stop this keepings off type footy were seeing at the moment.

i used to think this but now realise it would cause a lot more flooding

want to fix most of the ills of the game. simple do away with the interchange bench. i know lots of people who dont watch footy anymore because of what its become. if we keep on going the way we are going then soccer will indeed take over.

i'm more of an advocate for limiting the number of interchanges in a game like what they do in rugby league. give each team between 4-6 interchanges per quarter

in regards to an umpiring there are 3 things that drive me nuts:

1. why is it that they always good a good job in the finals but not in the home and away? (if someone tells me that they only pick the good umpires in september then that'll make me mad because it proves that the other umpires are no definately good).

2. i'm sick of umpires getting sucked in by the players. the 50m penalty given toackland yesterday in the centre isthe perfect example. he ran into tivendale, not the other way around and played for the 50m, and the ump got sucked in.

3. the players are so professional these days that they know how to milk frees. just after the above 50m penalty. the ball was kicked into the st kilda forward pocket. there were 3 richmond players against the dal santo. dal santo was first to the ball and knew there was a richmond player (can't remember which player, might have ben polo) hot on his tail. instead of trying to elude a tackle, dal santo deliberately fell forward. the richmond player behind him had no where else to go but to fall on his back. that was very smart play by dal santo but to me that should not be payed as a free kick.

Ian4,
Agree with you mate!
Also, notice how you never see a 'dropping the ball' decision anymore?
Getting fed up with players grabbing the ball, dropping it, and then the tackling player is penalised for holding the man!

 

[Liverpool]

Well mate, you obviously don't know the rules of our magnificent game. What Rocket did was within the rules. He took a player off from outside the interchange area that was not allowed back on and brought on another player correctly. 100% within the rules. And it is not even close to bad sportsmanship.

Do you really think the Hall and Cornes were serious? Cornes reaction was beautiful and hilarious. I am glad his shorts weren't white though. Plus our well educated and honest umpires spotted it for what it was, a laugh, and didn't pay any match winning free kick.

The world diving championships were a joke.

Rimau,
I know the rules to AFL mate, o.k.....probably been to more Tigers games than you have had change of underwear too...so what do you want to do next, have a pissing contest? :
Yes, what Rocket did was within the letter of the law, you're right...I never said he cheated or did anything outside of the laws of the game, if you read my post properly.
What I did say was that Rocket used a law that is there so players who are seriously hurt can be taken straight-off to get attention....but he used the law to gain a tactical advantage, with one-minute left. This loophole will be closed at the end of this season, no doubt.
Why I brought it up, was that Rocket did this because he was prepared to try anything to win the game for his club....and as AFL gets more and more professional, with more and more money, then AFL will become more and more like soccer (and other American sports)
We're already seeing it with the way the game is being played and we'll see it more and more from players trying to get an advantage on the field by feigning for free-kicks and 50-metre penalties....and from coaches using loopholes in the laws of the game to try and get a small advantage.
Sport, whether its soccer or AFL...or whether you like it or not...is a big business and will become more sterile as time goes on.

 

[U2Tigers]

1 game really showed me why i like Footy.

The Lions v Bombers game was a great game to watch.

what annoys me is our team has played footy and won games this year playing like both of those teams.

Seriously- that game was a great showcase for how footy should be played. Great game from two *smile* teams.

 

[Liverpool]

Yes, AFL is moving towards big business BUT................
Soccer is not a sport. It is just like basketball and F1 motor gaggles..........its a commercial activity.
Any 'sport' which has a result contrived by the officials to suit an audience is a commercial activity.
Soccer is a commercial activity fully licenced by Seth Blatter or what ever the FIFA boss is named.
Go away and let us discuss a real sport where real men fight each other for a real result.
You had better check up on your rules again Liverpool. Any player that does not come off the ground through the interchange bench, except when taken off on a stretcher, cannot be brought back on. No mention of only injured players. Its one of those rules that real football supporters know.
And by the way the first game that I remember seeing the Tigers play was against Melbourne at Punt Rd in 1961 or 1962. The last game I saw was yesterday.
I've worn out a few pair of undies since 1963.

Look, I don't want to get in the soccer.v.AFL debate again....you don't like soccer, thats fine...I don't care!

All I'm saying is that AFL is losing the plot (the topic of the thread), is becoming more sterile, and is becoming more 'commercial'....and the way the game is played is like soccer/hockey/basketball with zones, flooding, keeping possession, is becoming over-officiated by umpires awarding pedantic free-kicks....and to top it off, players/coaches will try anything to win, whether thats finding loopholes in a law, or feigning for free-kicks, throwing arms back, diving, holding the ball in with one hand under a player so he can get a holding-the-ball-free-kick, etc.....and it will get worse.

And yes, I do know the laws...what you said is exactly what I'm saying...that the law was set-up originally so a player can be taken straight off the ground if badly injured. They brought in the added law of 'if you don't go through the interchange you can't come back on, etc' to try and stop coaches take advantage of the original law.

What Rocket did was good thinking, and was within the laws of the game.....but would he have done it, if the game wasn't so professional, and the 'must win at all costs' mentality that we see in other sports, wasn't becoming more apparent in our footy as well? Is our footy losing the plot?
Yes, it is.....and if you think AFL is some pure sport that has no correlations with other sports, like soccer...then you either have your head in the sand, are just ignorant, or both.....or maybe you're just becoming senile with old age! ;D

 

[GoodOne]

With Demetriou at the top of the AFL tree no wonder they are losing the plot.

 

[Tigerdog]

The question answers itself now that Staff and Rainesy have been cited by the match review panel. :


The AFL need

 

[mb64]

With Demetriou at the top of the AFL tree no wonder they are losing the plot. 

Spot on,with him in charge we are not in safe hands.

 

[Liverpool]

With Demetriou at the top of the AFL tree no wonder they are losing the plot. 

Spot on,with him in charge we are not in safe hands.

I think Anderson is worse....we should have know footy was in trouble the minute a lawyer started getting involved in the running of the game!

 

[stanford]

I agree with claw,
get rid of the interchange bench and replace it with a substitution bench. ie. like rugby union. this will:
a) keep the best players on the park for the whole game, midfielders will be rested in the forward pocket. ala 70-80's football
b) will slow the game down,
c) more contested possesions,
d) reduce flooding

and will still allow a club to cater for injuries.

 

[Tigers of Old]

Substitution bench?
I like the sound of that.