And just to confuse you all, the Women's World Cup in football started tonight.
;D
France look good already.
I did spend 10 minutes wondering why Korea bothered fielding any defenders, but then one of them made a tackle.
All a bit one sided (as the early rounds of the men's football Cup often are).
Should be a lot better when it's down to the final 8 or 16.
I think this will be a good tournament to watch, the professionalism over recent years has become immense.
I'd second that, BIG TIME Dave.
I used to think the Sunday League side I played footy for DECADES ago, would have no problems with beating the then Womens' International teams......Based on highlights of a few games from that era.
If I could go back in time and play with the same team I used to, and take on one of the current sides........It would be a massacre, in favour of the ladies. X_X
Cheers - Phil
What a strike by Germany
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/48567670
There's one thing I need to check....
Is the football in the ladies' game the same weight as the 'normal' ball. :-\
Hands up all those who remember the 'lace up balls'.....They used to soak up any moisture in the pitch, and ended up as heavy as a cannon ball.
Cheers - Phil
What I know about football would fit on the front of a stamp and still leave room for the queen's head but a quick google suggests they are the same, Phil.
2019 Women's World Cup Ball
Name– Adidas Conext19
Size– 5
Weight– 400 to 450 grams
2018 FIFA World Cup Ball
Name– Adidas Telstar 18
Size- 5
Weight- 410–450 g
They can't half belt it then !!
Thanks, Mike.
Cheers - Phil
Quote from: Techno on 09 June 2019, 02:30:34 PM
There's one thing I need to check....
Is the football in the ladies' game the same weight as the 'normal' ball. :-
Hands up all those who remember the 'lace up balls'.....They used to soak up any moisture in the pitch, and ended up as heavy as a cannon ball.
Cheers - Phil
I remember those.
Playing as goalie when it involved standing in a massive triangular swamp based on the goalposts and a point beyond the penalty spot.
Corner kicks were no longer a thing to fear, the ball rarely reached the penalty box.
If it did the oppositions flash-harry striker who'd tried a flying header was treated for concussion / whiplash / spinal compression.
There was also the famous penalty where the ball stuck in the mud and moved rather less than the centre-forward's ankle ligaments.
I also recall the first generation of synthetic replacement balls.
The ones the Brazilian national team impressed the world with may have been a better class than those that reached the Redbridge schools league.
Blocking a shot with the thigh or inner forearm on a cold day produced an effect like a Portuguese man o'war's sting.
Happy times, we made our own entertainment.
Some of us survived.
Me - I wuz alus sick or forgot me kit...boring tedious, pointless and for the lower orders.
Quote from: Techno on 09 June 2019, 02:30:34 PM
Hands up all those who remember the 'lace up balls'.....They used to soak up any moisture in the pitch, and ended up as heavy as a cannon ball.
Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 10 June 2019, 08:18:30 AM
Playing as goalie when it involved standing in a massive triangular swamp based on the goalposts and a point beyond the penalty spot.
Corner kicks were no longer a thing to fear, the ball rarely reached the penalty box.
If it did the oppositions flash-harry striker who'd tried a flying header was treated for concussion / whiplash / spinal compression.
There was also the famous penalty where the ball stuck in the mud and moved rather less than the centre-forward's ankle ligaments.
I also recall the first generation of synthetic replacement balls.
The ones the Brazilian national team impressed the world with may have been a better class than those that reached the Redbridge schools league.
Blocking a shot with the thigh or inner forearm on a cold day produced an effect like a Portuguese man o'war's sting.
Happy times, we made our own entertainment.
Some of us survived.
;D ;D ;D
I remember these, also. I played football with these when I was a lad. If you headed the ball (especially if within the morass, Steve mentions), you not only got pile driven into the ground but, if you were unlucky, you would also have the mark of the lacing on your forehead. ;D
As for the synthetic balls, Steve, I remember these were called MouldMasters(?). So true about being hit by the ball on a cold day! :'(
Quote from: Techno on 09 June 2019, 02:30:34 PM
Hands up all those who remember the 'lace up balls'.....They used to soak up any moisture in the pitch, and ended up as heavy as a cannon ball.
Just remembered. In the West of Scotland, we called this type of leather ball a 'cudger.' No doubt there were other names for this throughout the country - e.g., a 'casey' in central England?
Caser
Think we called them a "lacey".
Rugby in the winter, cricket in the summer and playing soccer on school grounds a disciplinary offence as in my first secondary school ... an excellent antidote to involvement in field sports for the rest of one's life :)
Quote from: Techno on 09 June 2019, 02:30:34 PM
Hands up all those who remember the 'lace up balls'.....They used to soak up any moisture in the pitch, and ended up as heavy as a cannon ball.
Yup
And I still won a medal and a cup.
I think those cannon balls put me (almost) completely off ever heading the ball.
Cheers - Phil
Quote from: Westmarcher on 10 June 2019, 10:22:47 AM
;D ;D ;D
I remember these, also. I played football with these when I was a lad. If you headed the ball (especially if within the morass, Steve mentions), you not only got pile driven into the ground but, if you were unlucky, you would also have the mark of the lacing on your forehead. ;D
As for the synthetic balls, Steve, I remember these were called MouldMasters(?). So true about being hit by the ball on a cold day! :'(
Ahh yes, the mouldmaster, quickly classified under the Geneva convention, and replaced by something with an inert vinyl coating.
The advent of goalies gloves that resembled a knight's gauntlets coincided with the phasing out of the leather ball.
Sepp Maier of West Germany was wearing huge great gloves that wouldn't look out of place in a blacksmith's shop while plucky Brits were making do with thin cotton better suited to a butler handling his lordships silverware,
While a leather ball was quite pleasant to catch, the shiny surface on the synthetic balls was less forgiving on the hands, and slipped through more easily.
The latest footballs now have a double skin with a bouncy layer in between - really difficult to catch without latex palmed gloves.
Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 11 June 2019, 12:07:50 AM
The latest footballs now have a double skin with a bouncy layer in between - really difficult to catch without latex palmed gloves.
Interesting......Didn't know that. :)
Is that why the ball seems to 'swerve' so much more, from time to time ?
I wonder what a 'good' new football costs nowadays. (I'll go and look it up.)
Over £100 for a top notch one. :o :o :o......Though there look to be 'decent' ones for around £10.....Which somehow sounds too cheap. :-\
Cheers - Phil
Quote from: Techno on 11 June 2019, 07:09:49 AM
Interesting......Didn't know that. :)
Is that why the ball seems to 'swerve' so much more, from time to time ?
I wonder what a 'good' new football costs nowadays. (I'll go and look it up.)
Over £100 for a top notch one. :o :o :o......Though there look to be 'decent' ones for around £10.....Which somehow sounds too cheap. :-
Cheers - Phil
Yup!!!
My second daughter is quite taken with the soccer and the world cup ball is quite spiffy! My wife tried to find one for her and almost fainted at the £129RRP :o
Very proud of my second daughter: her school have taken to allowing national kits to be worn to school on match days during recent World Cups (definitely the soccer, can't remember about the rugby).
Nothing had been mentioned about it for this World Cup, so she asked her teacher to ask the head master and there was a whole assembly about it yesterday and it's being allowed - you have to choose a nation and you can wear the kit on the days they play.
Personally, I'm not at all keen on the policy, but if you're going to do it at least have equality m/
Cheers!
Meirion
Well done, that woman =D> =D> =D>
The NZ girls managed to hold the European champions to 1-0; took them 92 minutes to score :)
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/48599571 (https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/48599571)
Excellent
Quote from: Techno on 11 June 2019, 07:09:49 AM
Interesting......Didn't know that. :)
Is that why the ball seems to 'swerve' so much more, from time to time ?
I wonder what a 'good' new football costs nowadays. (I'll go and look it up.)
Over £100 for a top notch one. :o :o :o......Though there look to be 'decent' ones for around £10.....Which somehow sounds too cheap. :-
Cheers - Phil
I probably described it extremely badly.
The feel is a bit like foamboard - something spongy under the external layer.
The outside is far smoother than 2 decades ago, with an almost silky feel.
Tricky to catch with bare hands, but the palms on the goalie gloves stick to it like blu-tak.
I think this is why they are now using 2 different grades of Latex - sticky stuff for the palms, and harder stuff for the punching areas.
With these new rules about the goalie's feet actually touching the line when penalties are taken, I'm having a hard time calculating how long a shootout might take. The combination of time spent on VAR and the huge disadvantage the goalies are dealing with might make for a "cricket like" experience.
Then again, maybe the North Korean referee will just call it over at 6-5 even though every penalty has been scored up to that point.
Quote from: lowlylowlycook on 19 June 2019, 10:54:35 PM
With these new rules about the goalie's feet actually touching the line when penalties are taken, I'm having a hard time calculating how long a shootout might take. The combination of time spent on VAR and the huge disadvantage the goalies are dealing with might make for a "cricket like" experience.
Totally agree !
It'll have to be pretty rubbish spot kick to give the goalie any chance of saving it.
Cheers - Phil
How the heck did the the Scots manage that! :'(
Quote from: lowlylowlycook on 19 June 2019, 10:54:35 PM
With these new rules about the goalie's feet actually touching the line when penalties are taken, I'm having a hard time calculating how long a shootout might take. The combination of time spent on VAR and the huge disadvantage the goalies are dealing with might make for a "cricket like" experience.
Then again, maybe the North Korean referee will just call it over at 6-5 even though every penalty has been scored up to that point.
Somebody's bound to balloon one up into row Z.
Apparently the Premier League has got out in front of this and said they will not be using VAR to monitor goalies during penalties.
I think this VAR thing at penalties is quite easily remedied. Introduce a rule that compels the goalkeeper to face the back of the net whilst standing on the line at the moment the kick is taken. And if the ball hits the keeper and does not go in, show the keeper the yellow card for unsports(wo)manlike conduct for not getting out of the way and order a re-take. :P
Indeed. This new rule is utter b******s!
To repeat....
I totally agree.
Frigging stupid rule.....As it stands, at the mo'.
Cheers - Phil
On the plus side, the yellow cards they are handing out for the goalie being inches off their line might make for less time wasting at the end of matches.
The interview that Marta gave after the loss to Fance was pretty amazing.
https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1142931040463290368
Hopefully people can see that but I'm not sure how FIFA handles twitter.
Cameroon shove on the ref was unnoticed, after a pretty bad tempered match?! :o
Quote from: lowlylowlycook on 19 June 2019, 10:54:35 PM
With these new rules about the goalie's feet actually touching the line when penalties are taken, I'm having a hard time calculating how long a shootout might take. The combination of time spent on VAR and the huge disadvantage the goalies are dealing with might make for a "cricket like" experience.
Then again, maybe the North Korean referee will just call it over at 6-5 even though every penalty has been scored up to that point.
Isn't the goalie supposed to be at a huge disadvantage when the penalty is taken? :-\
Wasn't a(/the?) previous version of Law 14 that the goalie had to remain stationary until the ball was struck? At least under the current law they can shift their weight in anticipation of the strike - like a tennis player waiting to receive a service.
I think the major problem is the way they've decided to implement an American Football style VAR system where the referee gets a call and has to run to a viewingbooth on the half-way line to make a decision on supplied evidence. I think a hybrid rugby system (taking from both codes) would work a lot better:
From RU the constant monitoring for foul play and bring such events to the attention of the referee for sanction.
From RL the system for adjudicating of goals and penalties, where if the referee thinks there is any issue or doublt they call for it and the video ref makes the decision. This is also the cricket system and take the on field-officials out of the ultimate decision. Personally I perfer this over the RU version where there is often a three-way discussion and it can seem muddy.
Ultimatel - for VAR to become accepted like it has in RL, RU, cricket and the NFL - it has to be stramlined AND both the spectaors in the stadium and at home need to know what's going on and why - whether they actually know the rules or not is another matter...
Quote from: O Dinas Powys on 24 June 2019, 11:11:11 AM
Wasn't a(/the?) previous version of Law 14 that the goalie had to remain stationary until the ball was struck?
Pretty sure you're right on that one, Meirion.
Cheers - Phil
The issues with footballs VAR seems to be several fold
It's really slow - with the ref running over to peer at a screen
It's really slow - referrals seem to come in well after the play (this can happen a bit in RU too)
It's really slow - running through the various angles time and again (this is often an issue with any video review) cricket seems best at this but it is helped by having much more fixed points of action
It's very picky - the goalies feet and some of the offsides, feel like decisions that would never have been called in real time. So its not an assistant it's changing the play of the game.
It seems inconsistent - particularly around foul play. RU seems quite good at this.
VAR is going to bring in a) a lot more penalties, and b) a lot of disallowed goals when it's introduced into the english premier league.
And I agree that the whole process needs to be a lot more streamlined, and the actual paying public in the grounds must be made aware of what is going on.
Quote from: O Dinas Powys on 24 June 2019, 11:11:11 AM
Isn't the goalie supposed to be at a huge disadvantage when the penalty is taken? :-
Wasn't a(/the?) previous version of Law 14 that the goalie had to remain stationary until the ball was struck? At least under the current law they can shift their weight in anticipation of the strike - like a tennis player waiting to receive a service.
Indeed, my understanding is that the rule changed to be more permissive for the goalie. Previously both feet had to be on the line when the ball was struck and now it's just one. But the original rule was only policed for obvious infractions, if even that. Also there is a disconnect between the goalie trying to time the kick of the ball and going back frame by frame to see when she moved. I'd say that the most unfair thing isn't that the goalies have to adapt to this new rule (as called) but that they have change how they play in a very short time during the World Cup. Wait, no. That's not it. It's the yellow card for your feet being inches off the line.
Then again, I wouldn't listen to me, I'd listen to this prophet right here:
Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 20 June 2019, 02:57:46 PM
Somebody's bound to balloon one up into row Z.
Sam Kerr :(
My understanding is that England considers a fourth place finish in a World Cup quite the success.
Congratulations!
Since I'm 1/2 Dutch (well Frisian), I can't lose tomorrow.
Quote from: lowlylowlycook on 06 July 2019, 09:54:19 PM
My understanding is that England considers a fourth place finish in a World Cup quite the success.
My understanding is that England were there to improve on their previous best performance i.e. third and that changed to matching their previous best when the yanks beat them and they failed to do that too.
Did anyone else think that VAR got it wrong for the 'handball' for the disallowed England 'goal' ? :-\
Thought it hit the lass on the chest....Not her upper arm.
Cheers
Quote from: Techno on 07 July 2019, 07:03:56 AM
Did anyone else think that VAR got it wrong for the 'handball' for the disallowed England 'goal' ? :-
Thought it hit the lass on the chest....Not her upper arm.
Cheers
It clearly hit her bust and her arm.
Two simple rule changes would solve most of these issues and then VAR could get on with the properly important jobs it does in rugby league and rugby union of looking for foul play and deciding if the ball has crossed the line:
- Get rid off the offside rule: they did it in hockey and after a brief period of adjustment everyone got on fine with it.
- Revert to a modified version of the 1871 pre-schism rules allowing for the handling of the ball.
(Personally I'd be happy if the then extant hacking and tripping rules were also reintroduced, but that's mainly because I have a dark sense of humour :d)
Rather than go the full hog of allowing outfield players to freely handle/carry/run with the ball, permit players to touch/control the ball with their arms and hands.
Both of these changes would obviously effect the game profoundly, but probably in a less deleterious way than VAR is doing
AND the rules would then again be the same at all levels of the sport, which I believe was FIFA's main objection to VAR for years...
Cheers!
Meirion