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The FA Cup final is the big game of the weekend, but United can seal up the title on Saturday as properly. The relegation battle need to be fierce, but here is a look at the games from the weekend.

Gameweek 37 Picks:
Blackburn vs. Manchester United
Blackburn are virtually safe and a point could be important for them and that is all United need to have to win the title. Despite that, United will ride the momentum from winning last week with an additional league win as they seal the title. Manchester United 2, Blackburn 1

Blackpool vs. Bolton
Blackpool need any points they can get whilst Bolton is kind of shutting it down for the season. Nonetheless, Blackpool’s defense will cost them again as they can only get a draw. Blackpool 1, Bolton 1

Sunderland vs. Wolverhampton
If Wolverhampton can get a win here, they may possibly feel they are safe. Sunderland still don’t have any strikers, but they will do sufficient to match a Wolves side that are lacking their top striker. Sunderland 1, Wolverhampton 1

West Bromwich Albion vs. Everton
Neither team has considerably to play for in this game, and consequently I anticipate an open game that ends in a draw. West Bromwich Albion 2, Everton 2

Chelsea vs. Newcastle
Chelsea could be down after their defeat last week, but they will respond at property and get another win as they rebound from the poor performance. Chelsea 2, Newcastle 1

Arsenal vs. Aston Villa
Arsenal still could fall to fourth place in the league whilst Villa need to have a point to guarantee their safety. Arsenal’s defense will price them again as they only get a point at residence. Arsenal 2, Aston Villa 2

Birmingham vs. Fulham
Fulham’s season is completed and Birmingham will be desperate for a win at house. They will get it. Birmingham 1, Fulham

Liverpool vs. Tottenham
The battle for fifth has two teams going in distinct directions. Liverpool have been playing wonderful and have been pretty a lot unbeatable at residence and that will continue in this game. Liverpool 2, Tottenham

Wigan vs. West Ham
This game really should seal somebody’s fate. Wigan have the slightly far better top quality in their side and with the house crowd, they seal the London team’s fate. Wigan 2, West Ham 1

Manchester City vs. Stoke City
They will have squared off this weekend in the FA Cup. With a game in Manchester and the far better depth, City should have enough to overpower Stoke. Manchester City 2, Stoke City

Last Week: 2-9
Total: 164-196

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In an upset that shocked the record-breaking 164,000-plus crowd who gathered at Churchill Downs these days, Animal Kingdom took house the win at the 2011 Kentucky Derby.

The official win/location/show was: Animal Kingdom, Nehro and Mucho Macho Man. Shackleford came in fourth location.

Jockey John Velazquez was slated to ride Uncle Mo, who scratched earlier this week due to gastrointestinal difficulties, but picked up the mount for Animal Kingdom at the last minute. This is the initial Kentucky Derby win for Velazquez and Animal Kingdom’s very first race on dirt. Thankfully for Animal Kingdom, the rain held off making for a dry track although the sky over Churchill Downs was an ominous gray for the entire day.

Meanwhile, jockey Calvin Borel came in tenth on Twice the Appeal. Borel has won 3 Kentucky Derbies and was hoping to earn a fourth win.

With the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby over, are you ready to location your Triple Crown bets? The Preakness Stakes is just two weeks away on Saturday, Might 21 and the Bodog Racebook has all online horse racing bets.

Gambling blog and sport news by ixgames

The Bundesliga season ended this weekend, and it is time to take a look back at the season and give out some awards for the season and take a look back at the predictions that were made before the season.

For a brief recap, Borussia Dortmund dominated the season taking a large lead at the halfway point before cruising to a league title. Bayer Leverkusen came close to creating it a tight battle, but by no means could put real pressure on Dortmund. It was not a very good run for the high spending teams as Munich struggled by their standards even though Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen struggled being near relegation. The actual teams relegated were St. Pauli and Eintracht Frankfurt while Borussia Monchengladbach will be facing Vfl Bochum in the playoffs. Here are the ESS awards for the Bundesliga.

Player Of The Year: Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
This was surely going to come from Dortmund. Nuri Sahin, who will be heading to Real Madrid, was my midseason candidate, but in the end, Mats Hummels is my player of the year. He anchored a strong defense with 22 goals as nicely as adding five objectives of his own for Dortmund. Sahin might have been the player who controlled the pace, but it was their defense that set them apart from the rest of the pack and Hummels is a large reason for that.

Manager Of The Year: Jürgen Klopp (Borussia Dormtund)
There are very a few coaches worthy of this award such as Mainz’s Thomas Tuchel and Hannover 96′s Mirko Slomka. Both led teams that had been not expected to be near the top, but they were in truth able to reach the Europa League positions. Nonetheless, Klopp is the deserving manager. He was able to get a young team to gel and they had been an extraordinary attacking force whilst also being solid defensively.

Finest XI:
Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04, Germany)
Defenders: Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Michal Kadlec (Bayer Leverkusen, Czech Republic), Marcel Schmeltzer (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund, Serbia)
Midfielders: Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich, Germany), Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund, Turkey), Arturo Vidal (Bayer Leverkusen, Chile)
Forwards: Papiss Demba Cisse (SC Freiburg, Senegal), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich, Germany)

Dortmund are everywhere in this squad, especially in defense. Only at forward are they not represented and this is mostly due to the fact they did their scoring by committee. Cisse and Neuer are the only players from outside the top three on this list.

Biggest Surprise: Hannover 96
Mainz was the other massive surprise, but Hannover 96 is up here simply because they had spent the past couple of seasons struggling whilst suddenly generating a run to the top of the Bundesliga only falling out of the Champions League spots late in the season. The most impressive component is that they made this push with extremely couple of modifications to their squad as Emanuel Pogatetz the only actual key addition to their beginning lineup.

Biggest Disappointment: Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg brought in lots of big name players, and they barely survived relegation even becoming in 17th spot for some time in the course of the final day. This team by no means gelled and none of their signings actually came through. Edin Dzeko ended the season as this team’s top scorer regardless of becoming sold in January. Overall, this was a terrible season for the club that is only 2 seasons removed from winning the Bundesliga title.

Predictions:
Looking back at my predictions, they weren’t close at all. I did predict St. Pauli going down, but Freiburg and Nurnberg did quite properly whilst Monchengladbach and Frankfurt were not on my radar. Munich, Wolfsburg, and Hamburg were my top teams followed by Werder Bremen, Leverkusen, and Schalke 04 had been the next in my predictions. Dortmund wasn’t in my top six, and it shows how disappointing the season was for several of the top teams as several finished just above the relegation zone. Top scorer wasn’t especially close despite the fact that my prediction of Dzeko was hurt when he left in January for Manchester City, although Mario Gomez went on to be top scorer with 28 objectives.

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Manchester City v Stoke City
2011 FA Cup Final
Wembley Stadium, London
Saturday, 14 May 2011
15:00 BST

Manchester City and Stoke City are vying to make history on Saturday as they contest the 2011 FA Cup final at Wembley, having beaten much more fancied rivals in Manchester United and Bolton Wanderers in the semifinals to get here.

Stoke City may possibly be an unlikely four.6 (Betfair) to win against Manchester City but sports betting odds only tell you so significantly – it’s the recent form, team methods and obtainable players that will establish how the teams play on Saturday, so let’s look at the key numbers surrounding the two teams.

You can follow the FA Cup Final Live Blog here.

Set Piece Kings v Open Play Specialists

Both Manchester City and Stoke City could be known for the strength and power of their players, but Castrol statistics show that in the Premier League this season, the teams have gone about their enterprise in completely different techniques.

1 of the key factors why the Potters have adapted to life in the Premier League because their promotion in 2008 has been their capacity to get the most out of set pieces. A remarkable 44.2% of their goals in the Premier League this term have come from set plays (excluding penalties), the highest ratio in the league. Tony Pulis’s side have scored 11 headed goals in the league this season, whilst six of their 14 objectives en route to the FA Cup final have also been headers.

City, on the other hand, have only scored 10 set piece goals (excluding their eight penalties), equating to a ratio of 21.7% percent of their total objectives scored, while only Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool have scored far more goals from open play than the Citizens. The truth that City have scored such a high percentage of their goals from open play might be a key reason why they have only managed two headed objectives all campaign, nine fewer than their fellow finalists.

Man City v Stoke City – Premier League 2010/11

Can Tevez Make The Distinction?

Carlos Tévez has scored/assisted a greater proportion of his team’s goals than any other player in the Premier League this season, directly contributing to 48% of Manchester City’s objectives this campaign. Even so, one also has to contend with the truth that with out Tevez the average number of goals scored by Manchester City is greater than with Tevez, which is as significantly a reflection of him being rested for the weakest opposition as Manchester City discovering a way to function without him in his prolonged injury absence.

Nonetheless, if 1 man is going to make the distinction in the season’s showpiece next Saturday, Carlos Tévez could be it. The Argentinean had been in inspired form for City this season just before his recent injury, but is in with a chance of making the Wembley squad.

And a comparison between the Argentine and Stoke City’s form man Kenwyne Jones, who has notched five objectives in his last six games, further highlights the difference between the styles of play of the two sides.

Tévez has scored 19 goals this season in the Premier League, 10 a lot more than Jones, and has also supplied six more assists than the former Sunderland man. But, interestingly, Jones has headed in six objectives, five a lot more than Tévez, although this is possibly unsurprising given he has fired in 39 headed shots compared to Tévez’s one.

Tévez has also scored 3 objectives and supplied two assists in the FA Cup this season, despite only generating 3 starts. With Edin Dzeko struggling given that his huge cash move from Germany and the unpredictable Mario Balotelli lacking consistency (and likely to be targeted by the Stoke defence), could Tévez’s return be the inspiration Roberto Mancini requirements to bring the well-known trophy back to the club for the first time since 1969?

FA Cup Final moved to accommodate Champions League Final

UEFA rules demand that the ground hosting the Champions League final need to not be employed for two weeks prior to the final (28 May this year). Therfore the FA were left with Might 14 as their deadline for playing the FA Cup final.

Traditionally, the FA Cup final takes place after the final round of Premier League fixtures, nevertheless with the country facing a busy schedule in all competitions in the month of Might, it was unfortunately impossible to arrange this time around.

Consequently, this year’s final will be played on Might 14, meaning that just 3 or four of the scheduled eight or nine games for the penultimate round, will be played on that day.

The Cup final will be played at 1500 BST, whilst the  four other fixtures on the Saturday will be played at 1245 BST.

City were due to play host to Stoke in the penultimate round of league fixtures, however with both teams progressing to the FA Cup Final this fixture will now be played in midweek. Manchester City have already qualified for the Champions League and are pushing for the third spot to make sure automatic qualification but for this weekend, their focus will be only on winning their very first trophy for much more than 34 years. That, and welcoming their new fanbase.

Soccerlens.com

In the last a number of years of the Championship, there has been a trend creating that I’m surprised has not been created a huge deal of.  Since the end of the 2005/2006 season, it has been the most unlikely team (in terms of recent history) who have gone up on the final day.  Not just in terms of recent history, but, much more importantly, the momentum they have been creating right after being overlooked for a lengthy portion of the season.

This year, I am sticking funds down on (see below) and I think it is the smart move (hopefully).

The last many years has observed a trend of clubs in no way prior to of the Premier League era go up, but that is not a prerogitive to put your cash on a person.  There are 2 teams in the play offs this year who have in no way prior to competed at the top, but they are missing something that all the prior winners have had – the unbridled momentum they had going into the play offs.  On a tide of unrealistic achievement, Hull, Burnley and Blackpool have swished to victory.

But, as I said, this is no reason for Swansea or Cardiff to go up.  Here is my assessment.

Recent History
There are two sorts of teams who normally go up, either 1 who has been an established team, in their mind at least, and has come close numerous times but fallen short.  These teams eventually had all the appropriate elements in location and gained the lengthy sought following promotion in time.

They contain, of recent memory, Ipswich Town who achieved playoff success in 2000 following several years of pushing back into the league in which they had been original founders.  After a fantastic initial season where they surprised everybody and finished fifth, they had been dumped the next season and have not yet returned to the top, only being close on 1 or two occasions.

Bolton Wanderers had a couple of spells in the Premier League in the 90′s, and had gotten the bug and sustained a decent push towards promotion just before achieving this once more in 2001.  They have in no way looked back and are established in the League.

Birmingham City, though never in the Premier League, had been creating towards it for years just before they got the 2002 crown.  Aside from a couple of relegations since the 2002/2003 campaign, they have asserted themselves as a Premier League identity, quickly coming back up the 2 years they have been back in the Championship.

Like their midlands rivals, Wolves had been creating towards promotion many years just before they ultimately achieved it.  An uncertain position in the Championship whenever they compete (they are typically as likely to do nicely as they could do bad), they would like to cement the location they want.  The initial relegation from the Premier League in 2004had them waiting 5 years before they were back in the massive time.

Crystal Palace won the 2004 play offs in what could have been the most unlikely scenario feasible that season.  Flirting with relegation and all sort of financial doomsday scenario’s in December 2003, Iain Dowie’s appointment looked a piece of genius.  he somehow took them not only to the playoffs, but to promotion.  Crystal Palace are one of the original alumni’s of the Premiership, but they have never survived a season in the top flight.  An unlikely story that mirrors some of the past winners that have been recent.

West Ham got promoted at the second time of asking in 2005.  They were constantly contenders for it.  The amount of drama that surrounds them means they are a large club, even if not at the level of other huge clubs in England.

Watford fully deserved to win the 2006 play offs.  They were brilliant in the league, had a brilliant young manager and some brilliant diamonds (Ashley Young in particular).  They were unlikely at the begin of that season to go up, and unsurprisingly had been relegated for the second time in the Premiership a year later.  A case of too significantly too soon, as they weren’t ready for the Premiership, languishing in the wrong end of the table of Division 1 / The Championship for years.  This is the beginning of the crazyness of the nPower (then Coca Cola) championship, where everybody could just as simply be a contender as relegation certainties.

Derby County hadn’t impressed on their return to the Championship back in 2002, their relegation from the Premier League had been challenging to muster.  Until 2007, that is, they hadn’t truly showed serious signs of promotion.  They beat a very good West Brom side that day at Wembley, but were not equipped to go up at all, as the disaster of their final top flight season proved.  An additional case of too much too soon.

In 2008, the Championship had lengthy reached a reputation of unpredictability.  Whereas in the early component of the decade where teams had a solid grounding in the league, and if they missed out on promotion would be just as likely to be in the mix a year later, because Watford had been promoted the whole dynamic of the league had radically changed.  Teams that were regarded as good top quality for the division had been slipping up and finding surprised in league position on regular occasions (read Ipswich, Leicester).  In turn, new clubs such as Hull had been breaking the boundaries and acquiring promoted against all the rules.  By no means prior to in the top division, they need to not have had a right by history’s rules.

1 year later, Burnley were promoted for the very first time in over 30 years in an additional unlikely story.  With years gone by, they had mustered at best the top 10.  Under Owen Coyle’s inspirational leadership, Burnley had been unlikely playoff winners as nicely.  Like several of the other playoff routed stars, it was a case of too significantly too soon, as they had by no means genuinely prepared for the possibility of Premier League football.  Burnley’s remain was brief, but they produced a lot of buddies, and a new level of standard to create to.

Finally, last year, small Blackpool were promoted at the expense of 1 of this years contenders Cardiff.  As has been the case for three years on the spin, Blackpool were one more team who by recent and overall history had no proper to be competing in the playoffs, albeit winning the thing.  Time will tell regardless of whether or not they go up or down, but they have had a fruitful and competitive season amongst the huge boys.

Reality
Because 2000, 2 promoted sides via play offs still stay in the top league, five have avoided relegation, and 6 had in no way been in the Premiership prior to victory.

Why is this essential? The teams that had already been Premiership teams in recent years (Ipswich, Bolton, West Ham) just before going back up the play off route, had been constructing steadily or hastily towards a return for years, depending on the club itself.  In recent years, the most unlikely team has won the final, as in the team that was expected to be nowhere near contention.  Below are the list of this year’s finalists.

In the mix

Cardiff have been perennial choke artists for very some time.  They have a number of superb players, and have been constructing up to some thing for very a few years, but they always appear to slip whenever they are in a destiny in their own hands sort of situation.  By all rights, with their squad depth they almost certainly should have already been in the Premier League, but there is a fragility in the club.  They have been in wonderful positions over the last 3 or so years, but usually seem to fall by the wayside.  When Blackpool took a three-2 lead in last years play off, they seemed to lose belief when they had been excrutiatingly close.  With their newest low against Middlesborough (a 3- house deficit), they are still clearly in this funk.  If they did get promoted, they would probably be in great shape for a promoted side, but thats a massive if.

Swansea have completed quite nicely.  Like Cardiff, they have built as a club properly the last couple of seasons, and also like Cardiff, plenty would fancy seeing a Welsh team in the English top flight.  There is a great support and a good football style projected by the club so those are plusses.  if they were promoted it would be all the greater at the expense of Cardiff who have been more likely in recent years and they would have a fervent support. 

They seem to still be constructing up though as a club, and I don’t expect them to “choke” so to speak, but I would reckon they are not really ready to take the next step.

Need to Nottingham Forest get promoted, I expect them to go the way of Derby County, which would not be in anyones very best interests.  Absolutely nothing against Billy Davies, he has carried out a wonderful job, but out of everyone in contention they look the most patchy of the lot, which is just a coincidence, absolutely nothing to do with Davies himself.  They have a few great youngsters and seasoned pro’s at the club which is in their pro list. 

They have a great history, a Premiership history, and competed in the play offs last year, so they have each and every chance, but they have been away for such a lengthy time that ought to they get promoted I would only see disaster ahead.  I don’t anticipate it either, as they have been prone to underwhelming performances.  Though I would really like to see 3 originals back where they belong in a romantic sense.

Reading are going to win the play offs.  The last numerous years has seen a trend of clubs by no means prior to of the Premier League era go up, but that is not a prerogitive to put your money on somebody.  There are 2 teams in the play offs who have in no way prior to competed at the top, but they are missing something that all the previous winners have had – the unbridled momentum they had going into the play offs. 

On a tide of unrealistic achievement, Hull, Burnley and Blackpool have swished to victory.  I expect no diverse from Reading.  Last season they were in horrendous shape and not coping with life outside of the Premiership at all.  A lot of what the club had turn into had disintegrated and it seemed they practically had to commence from scratch.  Brian McDermott got everybody thinking straight once again, they finished 2009/10 in very good form,  Aside from a mid season blip, they have blistered into contention in such a way that their play off place was assured some time ago, when it looked against all odds. 

There is an overwhelming trend the last few years for form being a key factor in the play offs, and why shouldn’t it?  It is still the identical season soon after all and training continues as typical for all clubs involved.  The most unlikely team to be in the play offs is essentially the team who were not expected to be in the mix.  If you have gone from underachieving to overachieving your form is clearly sensational and this is where Reading are at.

Soccerlens.com

Practically 25 years have passed because Diego Maradona scored the infamous “hand of God” goal that took England out of the World Cup in1986. A few months just before the World Cup in South Africa, Thierry Henry, the French striker, flagrantly utilised his hand in a play that led to a goal against Ireland disqualifying the Irish from participation in that tournament. In between these two incidences referees have presided over a myriad of questionable calls and missed opportunities.

Football has changed considerably over the last decades as evidenced in the physiological characteristics of the players. Today’s players are taller, faster, stronger and far more potent than their predecessors. They have an overall higher physiological capacity and thus the capability to cover far more ground in less time. The dimensions of the pitch have not changed to compensate for the physiological changes. Consequently, the field became congested. It provides much less space for stars like Diego Maradona or Zinedine Zidane to leave their mark as they did in years past.

The rules of the game have not evolved alongside these physiological adjustments. The International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body that determines the laws of the game, comprised of representatives from each of the United Kingdom’s pioneering football associations, and from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), football’s powerful international governing body, have been slow to adapt. Teams play a very physical, regimented, defense-oriented game, relying heavily on tactical schemes and formations. At times it can be difficult to watch the excessive defensive nature of games in a pitch that has turn out to be increasingly congested.

No rules have been passed to produce far more space or open up the pitch and make the game far more offensive in nature. When a player is sent off with a red card, the game entirely modifications. Suddenly, space is brought back to the game. Players are able to use their innate talent and capacity to genuinely demonstrate their skills.

Every sport evolves with time: technically, tactically and physically. There are several ideas that FIFA could look into in order to redress some of the problems the game is confronted with presently. Simultaneously, the rules of any sport really should be revised to accommodate these adjustments.

Take for example, the case with the National Football League, the governing body of American football, which has a considerably a lot more progressive approach as evidenced by the constant revisement of its rules in order to make the sport safer, fairer and far more entertaining. In contrast, FIFA has not made a major alteration to the laws of the game in years. The reality that FIFA has carried out so little so far to reverse such situation or at least promote a thorough examination of the rules of the game is basically inexcusable.

The game calls for a main revolutionary facelift in the core of its rules in order to address problems related to the new physiological characteristics of the players, missed calls, excessive stoppage time, incessant fouling, low scoring and violence. Below you will find a series of straight forward suggestions in numerous domains of the game that may revitalize the sport in a way that would allow us to call this Godsend sport, the lovely game once once more.

The Clock/Timing Device Difficulty

Statistical and information analysis from the last World Cup show that the average playing time during the initial and second round of competition was only 54 minutes. All viewers of international football these days know that excessive faking of injury and fouling is killing the game.

Winning teams have all the incentives to stop play, waste time and consequently run the clock out. Some players are so gifted in the art of faking injury that they might potentially be far better off on a Broadway stage or with a significant acting career in Hollywood. How a lot of times does 1 see players faking the most horrible injury then only a couple of seconds later storm back in the field at full speed as if nothing happened? The ridiculous and pernicious theatrics of these actions really should be curbed and punished.

Presently the clock does not quit and a couple of minutes of injury time is given at the end of the match. In the proposed new method of rules, the countdown timing device would be visible for all to see and the game time would quit every single instance there is a foul, an injured player on the pitch, a corner kick or a totally free throw. Therefore, the game time should be adjusted to account for the stoppage. Rather than two 45 minute halves, the game would have two 35 minute halves with no additional injury time. During the last World Cup, fans had been only watching about 27 minutes of actual playing time in each and every half. With the new program, total playing time would be extended. Readjusting the time of each half would be needed since stoppage inside the construct of two 45 minute -halves would be too onerous.

An official time keeper outside the field would start and quit the clock based upon the command of the major referee inside the pitch. The new timing rules would be a major incentive in resuscitating and preserving the fluid nature of the game because there would be no benefit for players to waste time.

Extra Referees

Modern football play takes place at an unprecedented pace. A single referee inside the pitch has a difficult task of covering a sizeable area and for that reason is needed to maintain a respectable fitness level. Sports such as basketball have 3 officials circulating a court that is considerably smaller in area than a football pitch.

Referees are human and naturally make errors and cannot see all that is happening on the field. Investigation shows for example, that referees call far more fouls against the visiting team, and against larger players.

At present, the major referee inside the pitch is supported by only two linesmen. Placing additional referees on the field – 1 on every half of the pitch and behind every goal watching the activity inside the penalty box – would address several of the problems related to missed calls. There have been reports that FIFA currently is deliberating possibilities into adding extra referees.

Diving/Acting

Players diving in theater-like fashion inside the penalty box attempting to confuse referees into awarding them a penalty kick need to be quickly red carded and suspended for two matches.

Consequently, the team committing such an offense inside the penalty box would be required to play with a man down for the rest of the match and would also be subject to a penalty kick. Furthermore, diving in other sections of the field would result in immediate expulsion from the match.

Such flagrant and farcical acting makes a mockery of the rules of the game. Therefore, rigorous penalties need to be enforced. These rules would convince players to think twice prior to engaging in such unsportsmanlike behavior.
 

The Offside Rule

The offside rule in football is probably the most hard to enforce with precision and one that is greatly under-appreciated. The rule needs to be reformed, yet not totally abolished as some suggest. Without having the rule the whole tactical element of the game would be turned upside down and the game would be played in a entirely different fashion. Moreover, goal hangers, positioning themselves deep down field in close proximity to the opposition’s goal, would be potentially commonplace in a entirely stretched-out pitch.

Reforms to the rule would consist of the creation of a newly demarcated attacking zone at both ends of the field.  A dotted line would be drawn in between the midfield line and the top of the penalty box.  The offside region (attacking zone) would be the space in between the goal line and the newly developed dotted line.  Limiting the offside region would develop more open space in the field of play and potentially lead to far more objectives becoming scored.
 

Rethinking Fouls

The yellow/red card booking method of the game calls for adjustment. There are 3 categories of fouls in soccer depending partly on whether the offense is careless, reckless or the result of using excessive force.

Ambiguity reigns in the way various referees make use of the yellow card and interpret a play involving a foul. The application and use of the yellow card really should be abolished.

A different method in which a specific number of accumulated team fouls would lead to a given player being sent off for an extended quantity of time is worth consideration. For example, each and every time a team commits five fouls they would be punished by the removal of 1 player off the field for ten minutes and have to defend a penalty kick against them.

All match play fouls and other offenses meriting a yellow card would just count toward the accumulated collective team foul number. The present criteria in place for red card offenses would just continue to be applied in the new method.

Forcing teams to play a man down for 10 minutes every single time they commit five fouls collectively would go along way in addressing the issue of excessive stop of play due to fouling and the problem of lack of space that characterizes contemporary football. No matter what rule you have in place fouls will always be committed. With the new rule teams more than likely would usually play parts of the match with a man down since the lower threshold of five collective fouls would usually be met. The proposed change would open up space in the pitch far more often over the course of a game and the brilliance of individual play would once once again reign.

The rule is a win-win scenario given that hypothetically even if a team did not commit any fouls the game would still benefit given that there would be much less stoppage time and brilliance of individual play would be less targeted physically. Committing fouls would surely turn out to be a large liability if some of these modifications were implemented.

Technologies/Instant Replay: A Philosophical Problem

The use of instant replay has been debated over the last several years. It is 1 that has to be approached with considerably caution and deliberation considering that producing use of it would fundamentally destroy the philosophical essence of the lovely game.

Daily living and football play are characterized by a continuous stream of potentially fateful events that cannot be turned back and where there is no reversal of fortunes. To disrupt this vital philosophical dynamic of the game is unnatural, nonhuman and defies the omnipotence of God. It’s a recourse that we do not have in life and we should not have in match play.

A football match – just as life – draws on competing themes such as justice, injustice, victory, defeat, happiness, sadness, tragedy and exhilaration. The complexity and drama surrounding such powerful emotional concepts gives the game a mystical and magical aura. The lure and mystery of the unknown is a central element at the core of every day living and of play in football. The outcome of a game is uncertain and that constant state of unpredictability is what makes football so dramatic, captivating and the passion of the masses.

The excessive use of instant replay, as in other sports such as American football, would be a shot to the heart of soccer, disruptive to the fluid nature of the game and lead to a monotonous character that is prevalent in every other sport that abuses such recourse. American football is characterized by numerous set plays interspersed with a series of stoppage intervals and is not played in a fluid continuous fashion. The idea of instant replay is surely more transferable and less disruptive to the nature of American football than to the fluid nature of soccer.

Bill Shankly, the legendary Scottish manager, once said, “Football is a much far more serious matter than life and death.” It is about time that FIFA takes a closer look at the laws governing the gorgeous game. The truth that football’s governing body has been incredibly conservative and slow to act in pushing for substantial changes is unacceptable and at times puts the game to shame. The archaic laws of the game now in place have not advanced concomitantly with the changing physiological capacity of the players and for that the beauty of the sport has taken a beating. Somebody high up in the echelons of the football power structure need to heed the call for change and usher the game to a new frontier.

The author Ricardo Guerra is an Physical exercise Physiologist. He has a Masters of Science in Sports Physiology from the Liverpool John Moores University. He has worked with numerous clubs and teams in the Middle East and Europe, which includes the Egyptian and Qatari national teams. The writer can be contacted at rvcgf@yahoo.com.

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It appears that the Championship Playoff finals are often won by the team who is playing best at the end of the season. Last year, Ian Holloway masterminded a Blackpool offensive (cough) juggernaut to promotion behind Charlie Adam and against a Cardiff side who’ve developed the nasty reputation of being playoff chokers. This year, the well-liked picks from pundits have gone to anyone but the Bluebirds. But is there really a trend to which clubs are most productive come playoff time?

Examining table below, we can draw numerous assumptions. Firstly, it’s bad luck to finish fourth in the table after the standard season (another reason Cardiff City fans are cursing). Not once has a team who finished fourth won via to English football’s Huge Dance.

Secondly, it’s effortless to see that when a club finishes greater in the table (as in Watford, Derby County and Hull City from 2006-08), recent league form usually plays less of a part their playoff success – the two worst-performed teams over the last ten league games over the past ten years both achieved playoff success from third location. This means that the club was either safely in the playoffs or had dropped by dint of poor form from the automatic promotion locations. In all three cases even so, their pursuers failed to take advantage of poor form (cf. Watford 2006 and Derby County in 2007).

Also, it’s essential to realise that Goal Difference counts. Every single promoted club – excepting a strange mid-noughties phenomenon involving West Ham, Watford and Derby County – had a a lot superior goal differential to their opponents. Given before last season’s initial-half scorefest, the prior 6 Playoff Finals had ended 1-, the capacity to balance defence with attack is essential.

So how does this year’s championship reflect these trends?

At this stage it would be straightforward to discount Nottingham Forest as they’ve taken the least points from their last ten league matches of any club who finishing sixth over the past decade. Their collapse – lasting from mid-February to early April – need to have effectively put paid to their chances. This is also reflected in their poor goal difference. Nevertheless as these are finals and – as the quote goes – “You’ve got to be in it to win it”, they can’t be regarded as definite initial-round “outs” just since a decade of stats (not a big sample) says they ought to be.

Reading‘s form appears irresistible. Whilst Swansea City have won less typically, they’ve done so with higher winning margins. This could be put down to facing weaker opposition or their attacking style of play. That their stats match up fairly well with Watford’s and Derby County’s is also encouraging for fans of Cyril the Swan and his men. With Cardiff’s reputation as massive-game bottlers possibly overstated but disturbing reports of late-season drinking apparently close to the mark, maybe it’s less complicated to discount the Bluebirds (my favourite Football Manager team) against the Shane Lengthy-led Royals.

Fearless Playoff Predictions: Reading over Cardiff City, Swansea City over Nottingham Forest, Dave Jones to get sacked and then Reading to steamroll back into the Premiership, leaving Cyril the Swan distraught, tired and emotional.

For more analysis and opinion, shoot across to Matthew Wood‘s blog, Balanced Sports.

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