Cowshed

Yes Dave. A game can be stopped without use of the whistle, and restarted without one. Yes refs will use their voice, sigh language (the arms) at times in games. Some refs will blow for everything and restart everything with the whistle. The point was if you, or your team is out of shape, delay what is going to occur. Perhaps .. Yes players are coached to slow down dead balls to get their team mates into shape. Its a process that starts early. Children will give the ball back at their and their team mates disadvantage, learning experiences alter that behaviour. Switching on can mean intervening to instantly hinder the opponents ability to use a dead ball quickly. And yes get a yellow card. Generally no cards are given. You do what you can to affect outcomes. Why do you seem to be on .. The side of attempting to gain success yes. You interpret the rules and push them to gain advantage. If the ref allows you a minimal gain you take that advantage. If the ref intervenes take the sanction if there is one, but the quest to gain advantage continues - Because your team doesn't, doesn't mean the opposition won't.

If a keeper holds the ball for more than six seconds it can be a indirect free kick. Six seconds is in the rules now. Refs very rarely enforce it. Refs do have that word with keepers as you observe. Its an odd rule with too many variables that effect the release of the ball in six seconds = Refs ignore the rule.

Refs frequently wont blow the whistle. Your nice Corinthian spirit there of moving and leaving the ball to the chivalrous opponents to not take advantage of you being out of possession would be a real disadvantage to your team. Knock the ball away and make them get it back. Grab the ball and get your team mates in shape. Stand in front of it, delay it.. The game is there to be won.

No. that is incorrect. A ref can use his whistle at free kicks. They do frequently. You are saying the goal is "controversial". It is remarkable, its not a normal goal because of the refs unusual actions. The majority of referees would not be allowing that free quick to be taken in that manner after that duration of time. There are other elements that are uneven. Refs at that level are accomplished and skilled, that lack of level of control and that rare goal is more akin to Sunday league.

On my whistle isn't over ruling the laws of game. A ref can blow the whistle at any time to stop the game and restart it. A ref can inform a defending team on my whistle at free kicks, direct keeper etc and they routinely do. Its good practice information. This goal was very inconsistent. Its not a quick free kick at all. Its ten seconds plus after the offence the "quick" free kick is taken. Players around the ball. Players doing laces up. The refs proximity to the ball is odd. He is getting there quickly to stop the game. If you want quick free kicks the ref stays away (they do), Its not normal practice. Its not normal control given the level of the game. The majority of refs do not allow free kicks to be taken like this. Hence I wonder what the players expectations would be from his instruction.

The referee should also be giving the defending team instruction .. On my whistle etc. Refs providing information of what the expectations are part of their control of the game. So the answer could be no depending on what information the ref has given the players.

You use the word entertainment frequently, but not game. You are using examples there that are not new phenomenons. Players and coaches will always look to create advantages to achieve their objective - their success. Referees are generally objective. They have to decide what to let go and what to penalise, and what to sanction. Referees do not view what is a game as product and entertainment. Neither do players. Its a game were the object is to win. Referees attempt to keep the game going. If referees intervene for every transgression your product and your entertainment will suffer, and the game will not flow.

Its geometrical. 4-3-3 can be used to cover more of the pitch using width and depth, which creates greater passing angles to maintain possession versus other formations.

Gegenpressing is associated with 4-3-3. Numerically two cannot press the ball with as much intensity as a three in a unit. 4-3-3 also keeps players in closer proximity to counter press. Formation and style there are related.

Yes. A second yes. Your exceptionally good at this,

I merely answered the point about all and correct. All at Bristol City did not think this was the correct decision.

Ryley leaving BCFC was not considered to be the correct decision by all at the club. Ryley did not expect to be leaving BCFC when he went to Wimbledon to gain experience to further his development as a Bristol City player in the long term, and neither did Brian Tinnion.

Ryley Towler did not want to leave. He had not pushed for a move. The move was a surprise to the player. He was going out on loan to gain experience to improve as a player for BCFC, something he relished doing. This was his picture and the picture being painted for him. The decision to let him go was not from all parties at BCFC.

I don't have the metrics, but players barely sprint in games. What’s is measured as sprints are not sprints, and that is around 1% of the game. Sprinting is what is known as actualisation, actualisation is where sprinting speed is reached, and this occurs after approximately sixty metres of acceleration in a straight line. Footballers generally do not run in straight lines, rarely if ever for sixty metres and the overwhelming majority of movements in any direction/directions are less than twenty metres. Players as a collective average do around 1,400 changes of direction. Players walk more than they sprint. Its around 36%. Standinmg still is 18%. Jog 16%. Low speed running 15%. Moderate speed running 10%. High running 2%. Jumping 2%. Sprinting 1%. The source there is Richard Bate former FA technical director, and Sport Dimensions development..

Beautiful. RIP the greatest and first.

Which was the point made. Bristol City's training facilities are of a standard I would expect to see. A point I posted years ago on this forum was that BCFC could have invested far earlier. David James wages for a season would finance a network of coaches at regional youth development centres for seasons. Bristol City have had a lot of these wages not achieving a lot, but creating significant financial losses. The money Mr Lansdown spent on restructuring repeatedly debts of tens of millions could have been invested in going down a path of a state of the art, excellent, top-class facility and a regional network of development coaching across the South West.

Sorry top class would mean Bristol City's training ground would be amongst Arsenal, Villas, Brightons Chelseas, Leicesters, Man City's, Southampton, Spurs. With respect it absolutely is not. I have been fortuntate to have seen my Son play at and taken youth teams to those facilities to play against academies and development sides. There are worlds apart there,

Beauty is a perception, but we can measure excellence. Excellence would be category 1/player development efficiency. Bristol Citys academy is not cat 1 and not ranked in the top 15 academies in England for developing players = It is perfoming well, but not excellent. Your use of state of the art would indicate you feel BCFC have a training facility of the highest level. Versus the South West yes, but versus facilities at Villa, or Leicester or Southampton or many Championship sides and virtually all Premiership clubs its a big big no.

Are you sure about that? Or might they not? No I wouldnt. Focusing on what you control versus negative noise, solutions versus excuses, is a superior path.

Focus on behaviours that make success more likely. Don’t wee yourself about it (penalties) Back to focus on behaviours that make success more likely those controllables of possession, chance creation versus the uncontrollables e.g. refs who are not out to get Bristol City.

It is beyond rubbish. The VAR intervention would be contentious and be around law 12 then 14. The two are not the same. The incident was then shown on screens in the stadium. Players are surrounding the ref, Crowd is? Henderson acts like a big baby and should have been have been booked for dissent then off for the second yellow. It’s all pressure on the ref. Respect is arse wiped again. The cycle of abuse towards officials is furthered, people see all of that and the refs at every level are fair game, abuse will be refs mobbed in cars from parents, punches thrown at refs, child refs leaving pitches in tears again and again at grass roots level ...What is seen at the top is repeated.

Timekeeping isnt the responsibilty of the ref in pro football, fourth official there The game exists without VAR. We dont need it. VAR does not improve the experience for everbody. VAR undermines refs because instead of focussing on the ref being the official in charge, and that role being respected focus is on error. Refs still get criticised and abused and so does VAR .. A prediction I made becaause that a is a nature of humans. VAR does not break the cancerous cycle of abuse of refs in the game. VAR wont recruit or improve the crisis in ref recruitment at grass roots level feeding into the games pyramid . Linesman are being reduced to individuals carrying a flag. The refs role gets dumbed down. Development? Progression? Impact on game? Respect? The game is being damaged. Each seaason football loses thousands more refs than it recruits. VAR could be adding to the haemorrhage.

I agree, but the experts with a whistle and flag did not. Even experts and that is what they are will make errors, or see the game differently in a fleeting moment.

If you add all stoppages onto a game it becomes two and half hours long. Stoppages are demed what are normal and appropriate. Norms across leagues and Countries reflect its all very standard. Refs should speak to players. Players do need information of why, what for, the consequences of what is next and some yes will not give a toss. Don't know Opinion here bookings moderate persistent infringements because its the last resort. As a player will I foul again when I know the next sanction is I am off? No I wont.

Because a player can be in an offside position but will not be penalised as they are not involved in active play. The whys of are open to the refs interpretation of the rules. The offsiide rule is open to discretion.