World Soccer XXX: We Have Men Too!

[Jimjamesak]

Now that I'm not on mobile...

Kep, your proposed model to me looks good in the abstract but an absolute nightmare when you get into the nuts and bolts. It's honestly not far off from college athletics or worse, high school sports. It'd require a degree regulation bordering on ridiculous.

You institute a salary cap so rich teams can't horde talent.

Teams get around the salary cap by offering things like free housing and endorsement deals. Now you have to regulate those things.

Teams decide to get around this by spending more money on coaches and scouting. Now we regulate those.

Teams decide to get ahead by spending more money on facilities. Regulate that? "Hey, we promoted! We can finally add that second field to the training ground!"

At some point it just becomes "Wealthy Neighborhood A" vs "Wealthy Neighborhood B" and that's not really any different from now.

[Kepler]

Much like taxes and the constant fight to stop evasion, the solution to the problems is more vigorous enforcement. I'm not naive and I realize cheaters will always try to cheat, but thieves will always try to steal and fraudsters will always try to defraud. That's why we have laws and rules and enforcement.

Now, you may well ask, if we as a society can't get our act together to prevent cheating on taxes, which has real world consequences for health and well being, could we do it for something that doesn't matter in the slightest?

You may well ask.

[Slap Shot]

Since 2000 the WS has had 13 different winners and there isn't even a salary cap. The SB also 13. Stanley Cup - 12. Don't care about the NBA.

How many different orgs have finished at the top of the table in the EPL the past 20 years? 6? Bundesliga? 5? Just looking at Eridivisie since 2000: Ajax 9, PSV 8, Feyenoord 1, Twente 1, AZ 1.

**** that.

[Jimjamesak]

Since 2000 the WS has had 13 different winners and there isn't even a salary cap. The SB also 13. Stanley Cup - 12. Don't care about the NBA.

How many different orgs have finished at the top of the table in the EPL the past 20 years? 6? Bundesliga? 5? Just looking at Eridivisie since 2000: Ajax 9, PSV 8, Feyenoord 1, Twente 1, AZ 1.

**** that.

But the magic of maybe, possibly seeing Billings play in the top division one day makes up for that!

Right?

[Jimjamesak]

The one thing that many of the pro/rel zealots don’t mention is the fact that there’s one, maybe two countries where the lower divisions are stable (England and maybe Germany but Germany also has plenty of reserve teams to stabilize things). Heck, La Liga, Ligue 1, and Serie A all have clubs with attendance and money issues and they’re the first division!

[Kepler]

I don't think "zealotry" is fair. I'm open to the novelty of it (for American sports) but I don't think it's a panacea and I'm open to its criticisms. And TBH I think I'm the only person here who does not absolutely hate it.

[mookie1995]

Brighton is coming over for some sort of tournament. In the planning stage to go to NY to see the Giants/Mets the first weekend in July but might switch that up to see Albion the end of that month. Don't really care if it's meaningless but it's probably the closest I'll get to seeing them other than the Peacock network.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/english-...mer-tour-in-us

mookie got tickets for the doubleheader in philly on sunday 23rd

[Kepler]

But the magic of maybe, possibly seeing Billings play in the top division one day makes up for that!

Right?

Kinda.

The other solution is to let the teams follow the money, which will actually result in LA and NY controlling titles forever, until global warming makes Anchorage the only America city with a mean temperature under 120.

[Jimjamesak]

I don't think "zealotry" is fair. I'm open to the novelty of it (for American sports) but I don't think it's a panacea and I'm open to its criticisms. And TBH I think I'm the only person here who does not absolutely hate it.

Wasn’t talking about you Kep. The #prorel4USA people are absolutely zealots.

[Kepler]

Wasn’t talking about you Kep. The #prorel4USA people are absolutely zealots.

There is a whole world of sh-t talking about most things of which I am completely unaware.

[Jimjamesak]

Kinda.

The other solution is to let the teams follow the money, which will actually result in LA and NY controlling titles forever, until global warming makes Anchorage the only America city with a mean temperature under 120.

Or we could use the system we have now.

You know, the system that has lead to the longest lasting and largest US Professional Soccer League in history.

[Jimjamesak]

Broadcast schedule for the Women’s World Cup.

The Final being at 6am ET is a big yikes.

[SonofSouthie]

It's about time.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-cha...ld-understands

[Jimjamesak]

It's about time.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-cha...ld-understands

:facepalm:

JFC, it’s not that hard, they’re just making it hard on themselves.

The handball stuff is pretty clear:

For the purposes of determining handball offences, the upper boundary of the arm is in line with the bottom of the armpit. Not every touch of a player’s hand/arm with the ball is an offence.
It is an offence if a player:
• deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, for example moving the hand/arm towards the ball
• touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger. A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation. By having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised
• scores in the opponents’ goal:
• directly from their hand/arm, even if accidental, including by the goalkeeper
• immediately after the ball has touched their hand/arm, even if accidental

Did you move your arm towards the ball? Are you making yourself bigger? They keep tinkering with this stuff and everyone still ends up PO’d.

Here’s my solution as a referee: If the ball touches an arm, it’s a foul. Let’s see how they like that.

As for offside, it doesn’t matter if you move the line or make it bigger, you’re only changing where the argument takes place.

[SonofSouthie]

:facepalm:

JFC, it’s not that hard, they’re just making it hard on themselves.

The handball stuff is pretty clear:


Did you move your arm towards the ball? Are you making yourself bigger? They keep tinkering with this stuff and everyone still ends up PO’d.

Here’s my solution as a referee: If the ball touches an arm, it’s a foul. Let’s see how they like that.

As for offside, it doesn’t matter if you move the line or make it bigger, you’re only changing where the argument takes place.

So be it. At least everyone will know what's a handball. And I'm also a firm believer that there should be 2 referees on the pitch.