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AT THE threat of sounding like a person who spent his Christmas break making a tinfoil hat out of chocolate coin wrappers, I wish to counsel one thing relatively outlandish. Not a lot pondering exterior the field however reinventing the field solely or, on the very least, shrinking it. The penalty field, that’s.
Jurgen Klopp complained this week Manchester United get extra penalties than Liverpool, solely to be informed Leicester get greater than both of them. In fact, everybody will get extra penalties than ever.
Within the first season of the Premier League, 1992-93, there have been 61 penalties throughout a 42-game season — a median of 1.45 per recreation week. Final season, in a 38-game marketing campaign, there have been 92, a median of two.42. Anybody pondering the sport was cleaner in 1992 ought to search for Julian Dicks on YouTube.
Final yr’s tally was down from 103 in 2018-19 or the excessive watermark of 106, in 2009-10 and 2016-17. However 2020-21, has been off the size.
Thus far there have been 67 penalties in 17 recreation weeks; a median of three.94 per week. On the present tempo referees will level to the spot round 150 instances by the top of the season. And why? Effectively, until Mark Dennis and Graham Roberts have come out of retirement, we should look to refereeing and VAR.
High-flight soccer has advanced to a stage the place it’s mainly accepted any form of bodily contact within the field, nonetheless trustworthy the intention, is an offence punishable by a penalty. Until you’re wrestling somebody at a nook, which continues to be completely tremendous.
And, with the appearance of VAR, no bodily contact within the field, nonetheless trustworthy the intention, ever goes unnoticed. Solely at corners.
This has already resulted in a gulf between the Premier League and the non-VAR world of the English Soccer League, the place bodily contact between two gamers is usually nonetheless handled as simply that and everybody carries on with their enterprise.
Within the Championship there have been 71 spot-kicks this season — simply 4 greater than the Premier League regardless of there being 4 extra golf equipment and 6 extra rounds of video games performed.
Within the Premier League, ‘successful’ a penalty kick has by no means been simpler, a pattern which is spoiling the enjoyment of many. Take Aston Villa’s latest journey to Manchester United. A extremely good high quality recreation, finely poised at 1-1. Possibilities painstakingly created, two taken, some missed, others thwarted by good defending and goalkeeping.
Then, Douglas Luiz comes into faint contact with Paul Pogba, the United man collapses and everybody agrees it’s a penalty, no dissenting voices.
Bruno Fernandes does what Bruno Fernandes does, it’s 2-1. Extra chances are high created however one second of incidental contact, virtually 20 yards out, a forest of legs between Pogba and the objective, decides the sport.
As a result of, with penalties so available, penalty takers are placing the hours in and, coupled with the very fact goalkeepers now have their ft nailed to the road, observe is paying off. It’s why now we have a high scorers’ checklist closely influenced by penalties. 5 of Mo Salah’s 13 targets have come from the spot, 5 of Fernandes’ 11 strikes and 6 of 11 targets for Jamie Vardy.
This looser definition of what constitutes a penalty, their higher prevalence and the affect they’ve on the result of a recreation means in lots of circumstances the punishment now far outweighs the crime.
So, on condition that defining what’s a penalty is tough sufficient already, let’s as an alternative deal with altering the place a penalty will be awarded.
The 18-yard field is just used to determine whether or not a foul leads to a penalty or a free-kick. It’s not sacred. So let’s shrink it, make it the 12-yard field as an alternative. Would that actually be so dangerous? So unsuitable? If that’s the case, move me the candy wrappers, I would like a brand new hat.
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