Ed. Note - A modest proposal from Executive Committee member, Coach McGuirk…
Well, we’ve all survived another ManU/Arsenal match at Old Trafford. Sure, some feathers were ruffled, some food was thrown, and officials were berated, but the team managed to avoid one of those bench clearing brawls that certainly are not appropriate in soccer. That’s something those Neanderthal hockey players only do! Not to bring the beautiful game into any disrepute, but soccer could learn a thing or 2 from hockey on how to control players on the pitch.
OK, now that I’ve lost probably 90% of the purists as they frantically hit the “Reply To This” button, ready to fire off missives ranging from “You’ve lost it!” to “So’s your mother!”, I’ll let the 10% who are still with me in on my little secret: soccer needs a penalty box. Yes, a “sin bin” as they are referred to in Rugby, a little area to send the bad boys to who have committed a foul, not so great as to warrant a sending off, but something above and beyond a regular caution. Take ‘em out of the game for 5 or 10 minutes. Make their club play a man down. Sure, at first glance most people think that a “sin bin” would increase the violent challenges as players wouldn’t be worried about having to take an early shower. Actually, dear readers, the effect would be quite the opposite.
Let’s take the example from this weekend: Ruud van Nistlerooy decides to take a chance and give Ashley Cole the business end of his boots. The linesman didn’t see it. We know that because RvN looked directly at him after the incident, and when he saw that no penalty would be forthcoming he immediately adopted his “cat that ate the canary” grin. Mike Riley didn’t see it. He was yards away and had a bad angle since the incident happened with both players turned away from him. Who did see it? Well, the millions around the world who watched it on TV did, but we certainly couldn’t do anything about it. The one person who saw it and could intervene was Sol Campbell. Sol has the reputation of being a gentleman, but he didn’t look very gentlemanly when he saw what Ruud had wrought. Frankly, he looked as if he wanted to break Ruud in half. Could he have done it? Sure, but he knew that he risked a red card, and he couldn’t put his team down a man. He had to do what was best for the team, and he did the right thing.
But what if Sol knew that, the next time the ball was anywhere near RvN he could scythe him down to let him know what he thought of Ruud’s studs technique, and the worst that would happen would be a 5 or 10 minute break from the game? Would Sol have done it then? My guess is no, and not because I think Sol is a saint. It’s because the incident with RvN hacking Cole WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED!
Ruud van Nistlerooy is a smarmy jerk, but he’s not stupid. He’s a master of the cheap shot and the wind up because he knows that 99% of the time there will be no retribution. Put the fear of God, or the fear of Sol Campbell bearing down on him at light speed with menace in his eye, in Ruud and he would have simply made a half-hearted attempt to get the ball from Cole and that would have been the end of it. Players who specialize in the cheap shot do so because they know that they won’t have to (physically) pay for their crimes. In hockey, they do. Sure, there are still a few cheap shot guys in the NHL, but generally after they take a cheap run at somebody the next time you see them is doubled over in pain near the boards after justice has been served, out on the ice, by the players themselves. The law of the land is “Take a cheap shot, but prepare to pay the price”.
Would RvN and any of the others so adept at “gamesmanship” be willing to do so? Would Pires, Rooney, or any of the other “diving champs” be so easily toppled over if they knew that later in the match they would get fouled, for real, in a way that would leave them in pain for a few minutes? My guess is that by lessening the severity of the penalty (10 minutes off instead of the whole match) not only would the sport be less violent, but that the masters of “gamesmanship” would have to find a new way to play, as well.
6 Responses to “Why Soccer Needs to Look to the Frozen North For Help”
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October 26th, 2004 at 6:59 pm
Coach M, you idea is refreshing. But I don’t think the FIFA nor the FA would ever let it happen.
Let’s face it - football has gradually been turned into a sissy’s game now. Players are not allowed for tackle from behind… a “reaction” to an opposition’s foul play would risk the danger to get himself [the one who got fouled at the first place] sending off… and hell, players are not allowed to “over-celebrate” their goals these days. What can i say, IMAGE IS EVERYTHING to the FIFA people.
As a result, the “cheap shot expert” would always get their way. They could purposely wind the oppositions up without worrying they would get punished by the ref, nor revenge from the opposition. Van Diver is the MASTER of it, you put it well, everytime after he successfully winded our players’ up, he would have that “cat that ate the canary” grin. Put it that way - Van Diver is a Dennis Rodman of football who would never get the official foul.
Man, how I miss Keown, knowing that we would get someone to soft him out.
People been talking about the SPORTSMANSHIP. I agree sportsmanship is important when our opposition PLAY FAIR. If they are a nasty bunch, and we are talking about sportsmanship, it’s like getting punch on the right face, and we are going to tell him “well punch, now punch me on the left”? Sorry, this is football, a MAN’s game. Being nice will never win you anything.
October 26th, 2004 at 8:50 pm
I agree that the fear of retribution would definitely make for a lot fewer incidents like RvN trying to skin Ashley Cole’s leg, but I disagree on the diving thing. I actually think that there would be more diving, because now, if there is any question about a call, the refs know that the player would only be out for a short period of time, as opposed to possibly giving them the boot or getting them suspended for an accumulation of yellows. The players would know this too, and go down at every opportunity, just to try and get a player off the pitch for a short time and get the advantage. Could they face retribution? Sure, but the first time a player retaliates, is off the pitch for 10 minutes, and watches his club go from a goal up to a goal down, then you’ll see managers put the clamps on that sort of thing.
I also agree with Andez that UEFA and FIFA would never go for this. Just like in baseball, there are so many traditionalists who couldn’t stand to see anything new introduced to the game. And let’s be honest: it’s the most popular sport in the world, so why change it? I think the FA actually has it right with the video review panel, but they have to impose stronger penalties. Three matches is fine, but if you put Ruud out to pasture for six (sorry, couldn’t resist), then you send the message that deliberately trying to injure is a serious offense. Considering Lauren got four last year for handbags, I don’t think this is unreasonable.
October 26th, 2004 at 10:03 pm
Coach?! You are apparently suffering from withdrawal symptons, because the hockey players are locked out?!!!!! (me too!)…
But listen, you hockey puck!!! you don’t need to change the beautiful game. Its doing just fine, thank you. I don’t want to see them enlarge the nets to get more goals… and we don’t need to drastically alter play with a penalty box…
Take off, aye! you hoser….
Go Habs Go?!!
October 27th, 2004 at 8:50 am
Er, before anyone else thinks McGuirk is off his rocker…
About a month ago there was an item on Soccernet saying this exact thing, that the FA were considering the use of the sin bin.
Personally, I don’t think it’s such a bad idea. Makes a yellow card actually mean something beyond “one more and you’re out.”
— Geoff
October 27th, 2004 at 9:17 am
Now I think you are both “off your rocker”… the game is not broken, why try to fix it.
October 27th, 2004 at 11:10 am
In all actuality I just feel that it would curtail all the “violence” that people seem to be disgusted by. Anyone who’s a hockey fan will tell you that, without the system in place it would be damn near impossible to play since the cheap shot artists would do more stickwork than you could, well, shake a stick at.
The main point is that knowing that you’d have to pay later in flesh will prevent incidents like the one on Sunday from happening.