Question for soccer fans

Mudcat · 06-03-2006, 12:13 PM

I hope my ignorance can be excused, but do they have timeclocks for games yet?

I remember watching soccer in the past and, due to "injury time," no on except the referee knew exactly how much time was left in the game.

Mudcat · 06-04-2006, 09:11 AM

Now come on, someone must know the answer to this.

tacomax · 06-04-2006, 09:28 AM

After the regulation 45 and 90 minutes, the referree advises how many minutes of injury time are going to be played and usually sticks to that (unless there are any further delays during the injury time).

tacomax · 06-04-2006, 09:36 AM

Do I win another shirt?

Mudcat · 06-04-2006, 09:52 AM

So they still don't use a timeclock? That seems so silly to me.

pjesnik24 · 06-04-2006, 09:55 AM

why does it seem silly? if they were using clocks like in Basketball one game would last 3-4 hours easily. I think that when they calculate the time of real play in soccer it comes to 40 minutes per game. Many teams play "on time" and it is a very popular strategy for teams which defend themselves for some reason.
I think that soccer would lose much if they would change the way they meassure the time.

Terris · 06-04-2006, 09:57 AM

well you got a point there pjesnik...but its simply annoying if a goalie kickoff takes a whole minute just because the leading team is in no hurry at all.

Mudcat · 06-04-2006, 10:05 AM

I'm not talking about changing the way they measure time. I don't want to change a thing in that regard. I'm just talking about displaying it instead of having it the referee's little secret.

Just put the 45 minutes up on a big clock. If there is an injury, the referee or some other qualified official can stop the clock. When play resumes, the clock starts up again. The exact time remaining is always there for fans, players and coaches to see.

(Go Croatia!)

tacomax · 06-04-2006, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terris

but its simply annoying if a goalie kickoff takes a whole minute just because the leading team is in no hurry at all.

In such a case, the goalkeeper will get carded and the referree has the option of adding on any time which was wasted. Your example is no different to a team slow-playing a game of basketball or NFL.

And since I've got more poists than you on here, I must be right.

Mudcat · 06-04-2006, 10:31 AM

So is there any reason a properly trained timekeeper couldn't make the determination the referee is making and stop a timeclock in that case?

I think not.

natrass · 06-04-2006, 01:05 PM

OK, very basically ...

Each half last 45 minutes. The referee should stop his watch if there is an injury, subs, etc. As a rule they make a big thing of doing it but at the end of the half it is ALWAYS too little added on.

Until a few years ago, it was the referees secret. Now they have to have the added time signalled to an assistant who will display it on a board at the side.

Invariably it is 2 to 3 minutes regardless of actual events. Recently FIFA wanted it to be more reflective of events and we did start to see more 4 and 5 even 6 minutes added but it has started to drift back.

Basically think of each half as lasting maybe 46-48 minutes anfd you wont be far off.

Its a tradition in football (soccer) to keep things simple. FIFAs theory is that there should be as little as possible to differntiate between the World Cup final and a game in the park pitch. If clocks became part of the game then it diminishes its appeal. Same with TV replays for big decisions.

Do I get a free shirt?

Mudcat · 06-04-2006, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by natrass

Each half last 45 minutes. The referee should stop his watch if there is an injury, subs, etc. As a rule they make a big thing of doing it but at the end of the half it is ALWAYS too little added on.

Until a few years ago, it was the referees secret. Now they have to have the added time signalled to an assistant who will display it on a board at the side.

Invariably it is 2 to 3 minutes regardless of actual events. Recently FIFA wanted it to be more reflective of events and we did start to see more 4 and 5 even 6 minutes added but it has started to drift back.

Basically think of each half as lasting maybe 46-48 minutes anfd you wont be far off.

OMG that's brutal.

totobernal · 06-04-2006, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudcat

OMG that's brutal.

that's the beauty of the football (soccer)

tacomax · 06-04-2006, 04:23 PM

I think Mudcat should stick to Curling.

Baphomet · 06-04-2006, 07:36 PM

From the marketing point of view is great for the media to know when exactly the match is going to end.
45min, 15min pause and 45min, 2 or 4 minutes at the end.

Football is by far the best sport ever, from all perspectives.
Other sports should learn from football instead the other way around. Football soccer is #1.

natrass · 06-04-2006, 07:39 PM

From todays news :

Meanwhile, one man who says he's green with envy at the World Cup's ability to break down barriers and draw nations together is UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

"As the only game in the world that is played in every country and by people of every race and religion, football is one of the few institutions that is as exceptional as the United Nations," Annan wrote in an editorial in the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

As the start of the competition draws ever closer police in Thailand report that illegal bookmakers are moving to neighbouring Cambodia and Myanmar to avoid detection.

"We are trying to prevent gambling during the World Cup, but they are moving across the border to avoid police," said Lieutenant Colonel Subin Boonlek, police chief in Sa Kaeo province on the border of Cambodia.

oversoul · 06-04-2006, 07:51 PM

There's an ugly fact about soccer:

from the total of 90 minutes, the REAL, Effective time of playing on a game, in the best leagues is around 60 minutes.

In countries with weaker leagues you are lucky if you see a game where the ball is really played 20 of the 45 minutes of each half.