Time Wasting

[sidcow]

The Reading match reminded me of a new phenomenon in modern football. 

Time wasting has been around for years but I cannot recall teams in the past wasting time from the kick off.  This now seems to be happening more and more. 

You may have expected it in the last 10 minutes of an important game but it's become almost relentless. 

Early in first halves you see teams taking time over throw ins and free kicks. Keepers dwelling on the ball etc. 

I am not sure what can be done but I do have some ideas. 

Firstly all substitutions should become rolling with the fourth official in charge. The game should just continue.  If not as an alternative the oncomming player should be carded or sin binned for the leaving players time wasting and the departing player have a one match ban. 

I wonder if the time has come to experiment with players for some "injuries"  being treated on the pitch? 

I think timekeeping should be purely in the hands of the fourth official with a siren to end the game like in Rugby. Sick of seeing referees pointing at their watches when someone is time wasting only for nothing to be added. 

At the end of the game each team should be given a list of the added seconds and the reason for it to make it clear to them that they have not benefited from the time wasting though I apperciate they also do it to break up play not just time. 

I feel this is one of the things ruining the game and needs to be controlled better if not stamped out. 

Thoughts anyone? 

[turnbull]

Sunderland did the same a couple of seasons back.

The answer is to use an independent time keeper as they do in rugby. Stop the clock when the ball's dead or referee asks for "time off". 

This will stop time wasting and force teams to try and keep possession or "hoof and defend" to run the clock down. 

It was also mean the end of "plucked out of thin air" injury time.

Okay, it may need tweaking from the rugby model, but I'm sure it would work.

Edited April 17, 2017 by turnbull
spelling

[mikeyp102]

Time keeping should definitely be like rugby. Treating injuries on the pitch, should happen but there should be a clear rule on when the person should be allowed to rejoin the play, because otherwise you'd get some who would go down injured when the ball isn't near them, teams not pick them up and then they get up and carry on.

[TrentVilla]

It's always been a problem and not just in the last few minutes. 

Liverpool were horrendous at doing it when in front in games, regularly just passing from keeper to defence and back again.

That is why the backpass rule came in.

[VillaChris]

I actually think it's worse in this division than the prem, refs are far slower to clamp down in this league. Forest in the September were the worst visiting team I saw to time waste.

We've done it plenty of times though, it's what you do if you're winning a big game.

What always annoys me is when keepers take the mick on goal kicks early on and the ref will decide to book them in the 94th minute after their tenth delayed kick. They don't have the bottle to book them early as then they'd have to send the keeper off if he brings down a player for a penalty.

Saying that though I can actually remember Friedel getting booked first half at the Emirates when we won down there.

[Dr_Pangloss]

The standard of refereeing in the Championship is absolutely disgusting, the worst I've ever seen, shudder to think what it's like below this level.  

Edited April 18, 2017 by Dr_Pangloss

[Wainy316]

Before the backpass rule I don't see how anybody ever threw away a 1-0 lead.

[Stevo985]

There are a couple of things that could be done in terms of time wasting and they are so painfully obvious it truly annoys me that nothing's done about it.

1. The 6 second rule - enforce it. Why bother having these rules in football if they're not enforced? If 6 seconds is too short then make it 10 but actually penalise people if they hold it for more than that. I'd also introduce a similar rule for set plays.

2. Rolling subs - I don't mean having as many as you want. I mean if you want to make a sub you can, but the game doesn't stop. No 5 minute standing ovation for a player who walks off slower than my grandma or all that nonsense. Players would soon run off quickly if they knew the game wouldn't wait for them.

3. No stoppage for injuries - let the physios on while the game carries on. If the injury is serious then the ref has the option to stop it, but in general play continues. That would soon stop people rolling around feigning injuries if they were at a distinct disadvantage if they did so.

4. Clock stops in injury time - this may be a less obvious one, but the way injury time is handled infuriates me constantly. Time is hardly ever added on in injury time. You get the standard 4 minutes, but if something happens in that time it's never accounted for properly. I've told this here before, but there was a game last season, I think Pantillimon was the opposing keeper but I could be wrong. We were down by a goal anyway.
4 minutes supposedly added on. The opposition keeper had a goal kick in injury time. He took ages to take it, was booked by the ref, complained to the ref, the ref told everyone he was adding the time on, the keeper still took ages to take it and eventually lumped it downfield. I went back and timed it (yes I'm that sad) and it took over 90 seconds for that goal kick to be taken.
Then 4 minutes of injury time expires and the ref blows up immediately.
it's nonsense.
So my solution would be for injury time, or maybe the last 10 minutes of a game, the referee controls the clock. like in Rugby or American football. if the ref stops the clock for injury or goal or sub or whatever, then the clock stops and you can see it **** stop.

[kurtsimonw]

#3 on @Stevo985 list is the one that annoys me the most. Players going down every two minutes towards the end of a game an die kills it. I completely agree that physios should treat the player on the pitch. For starters it wouldn't happen all that often, because players wouldn't fake an injury and put their side down a man. If the physio decides to be clever and call it "serious" to stop play, then that player should have to be substituted. 

Stoppage time being the other obvious issue as it's so random. The Milan Derby this past weekend had a 97th minute equaliser, with 5 minutes added on. Many things in football need to be made more clear, black and white. 

[Tegis]

Or just kill the clock when the ball is not in play. All problems solved. 2 x 30 minutes or something.

[Zatman]

I remember we played Wigan and Kirkland was in goal and he was time wasting for about an hour of the game. Think was the season we threw away 4th

[Lichfield Dean]

The perfect thread for this Atletico Madrid performance :-)

[sharkyvilla]

I like the idea of stopping the clock for subs and maybe when a goal is scored and everyone's celebrating.