So as mentioned thought it'd be worth having a var thread for the season to try and keep people (me) going on about it out of the match threads. Just saw this beeb article so seemed a good a time as any: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/football/48953873 Surely we'll get at least one mental game this week so where's your bets for that? Think whoever is reffing Liverpool/Norwich on Friday night will have been told to try not to use it.
The only question you need to ask for any VAR decision is the following. Did it go in our favour? Yes, VAR is amazing. Always knew its be good. Did it go against us? Yes, VAR is awful. Absolutely ****ing shambolic.
My hope for Friday night is that VvD gets sent off, but is recalled from the dressing room 10 minutes later when VAR reverses the original decision, only to score an own goal that gets Norwich a point, 15 minutes into time added on.
Something I have been told this week as well, not VAR related as such but a rule change. In amateur/semi-pro football they are introducing sin bins for mouthing off at the ref. Do it once it is a ten minute sin bin, not sure about twice yellow/red? I don't know why this rule change has been introduced at the lower levels not at the top, usually it is pretty universal I thought. Be a nice ten minute breather for me every game anyway. @tomw24 did you know about this?
There's a fair bit of history re this. My favorite 'experiment' was the kick in one around '94. I remember seeing Bognor play that season, get very confused, and really failing to grasp the concept.
I think they will introduce it at the top if it proves successful. BTW a second sin binning for the same player does not result in a red card. The player cannot take any further part in the game but may be replaced with a sub after the 10 mins are up.
I HATE VAR With every fibre of my being It can **** off Then, once it's ****ed off, it can **** off a bit more. After that, it can **** off. And it still won't have ****ed off enough. I'm only attending games this season because it's my son's last year at home before he goes off to college.
I think we will have a **** year (the PL that is not just Saints) with VAR. In about a year or two we won't notice it is there. We will have to take the pain to iron out the problems. The theory of it is excellent. It's the implementation of it that isn't.
It's a bit like Brexit in that it sounds a good idea in principle when using buzzwords but when you actually try to put it in practice you realise that it's actually unfeasible.
I admire your optimism. It's being touted as low key. Like it was in cricket. And in rugby. In both of those it grew and grew until it's ruined the game. I've watched umpires call for replays of run out batsmen who were six feet out of their ground. I've watched rugby referees call for replays of rock solid tries. It'll start small. Then it'll take over more and more decisions as TV pundits demand more and more and finer and finer precision. It's awful. Vin
And that's the problem, or one of them. The implementation is carried out by humans so it's always going to be about opinions as it was pre Var. As we saw in the women's World Cup, the decisions varied from VAR to VAR. There won't be the level of consistency that people want. Also instead of denying the away side a penalty at Anfield by the on-field ref, the VAR will deny the penalty 5 minutes later (when he's already decided in 10 seconds, but waits 5 mins to make it look like it works)
Not necessarily. The rules are very open to interpretation which means it won't be difficult for officials to still have bias. I strongly suspect that 'clear and obvious' will mean different things from decision to decision and from game to game.
Well I admit the bit in the brackets was a bit bullshitty (you shouldn't take things so seriously Tom, it was a joke about not getting decisions at Anfield), but I stand by the rest.
There's a few things that make sense, but the 'build up to the goal' check is the one I find very disconcerting. If you look for something, more often that not you'll find it, even though it plays no part in the goal. And that is going to kill the atmosphere. Once one gets scrubbed, we'll be expecting the worse from then on-wards.