Self-pass rule...could this work in SOCCERBALL ?

[Easy 10]

I was reading about this new rule brought in by HOCKEYISTS called the "self pass" rule. Basically, when a team is awarded a free-hit (the equivalent of our free kick), the player taking it doesn't have to pass the ball to a team-mate, he can just start to dribble it instead.

No opposition player is allowed to challenge for the ball within 5 metres of the player taking first touch (so this could stay as the 10 yard rule for football). This apparently leads to a much quicker flow to the game, as a player that is fouled can just get up and (as long as the ball is stationary and in the right spot) can continue playing / dribbling, but without being tackled for 10 yards. If he IS tackled within that 10 yards, he gets another free kick / self pass from that spot.

This could lead to some interesting situations, as the defending team won't know whether the player is going to strike at goal, pass to a team-mate, or just start RUNNING at them. And surely anything that speeds the game up has to be a GOOD thing, no ?

Whaddya reckon ? I wouldn't mind seeing this being trialled at a lower level in a meaningless competition, like the Johnsons Paint Trophy or the SPL.
I think its got some LEGS.

 

[Guest]

I like the idea, whether it will work or not, I'm not sure !

 

[Easy 10]

Also, there's a good chance it'd cut down on the tedious rolling round / feigning injury mob, as it gives them the incentive to get up and start a quick DRIBBLE at the oppo, especially if its in a dangerous position.

At the moment, I'm struggling to think of a BAD point.

 

[Easy 10]

Ahh, here's the article.

In January, hockey introduced a self-pass rule for free hits. Basically, in the event of a foul, when the play restarts (with the equivalent of a free-kick in football), the player does not have to pass to a team-mate but can choose to dribble the ball instead.

The penalised team must not be within five metres when he takes his first touch and off we go. I saw this experiment in action on Sunday and tried to find a reason why it is not used in football: so far, I have none.

I expected the self pass to make the game quicker and therefore more exciting, which it did — and hockey is substantially faster than football already — and I liked the idea of gliving additional advantage to the injured party.

The third benefit, which I had not considered, was that the self pass improves discipline by making it foolish in the extreme to argue with the referee. If the opposition can just put the ball down and play on, only an idiot would risk being out of position disputing the decision. There truly was no downside.

Unlike Arsene Wenger’s idea to turn throw-ins into kick-ins, here was an idea that improved the game as a spectacle and made it fairer, without altering the way it was played. The match I watched was Reading versus Beeston, first versus third in the Men’s Premier Division of the England Hockey League, so it was of high quality.

As in football, teams at that level are too well organised to allow players to run with the ball uninterrupted, so the self-pass rule did not unleash a series of mazy dribbles around the pitch. Often a player took a couple of touches and laid it off, as he would in normal play.
What changed was the speed with which a team could get on with the game. When a foul occurred, the ball was placed — it has to be stationary — tapped and the attack began.

The five-metre rule says that an opponent should not be within that distance but, if he is, he cannot play the ball, so there is no question of failing to retreat to delay the restart. Nobody waited for a whistle to be blown, either. Once the foul had been awarded it was up to the team with the free hit to begin the play and often this happened so quickly there appeared no break in the action.

 

[gripper stebson]

A free kick just on the edge of the box would mean yer man could run unchallenged to about the edge of the 6 yard box. BRILLIANT!!

 

[Easy 10]

Hmmm...perhaps we'd have to say that they're not allowed to dribble into the penalty area from a dead ball, they'd have to pass it before the ball crossed the line.

Or maybe not. It would be SUPERBLY entertaining.

 

[Fef]

Oooh, I like that one. I'm reminded of the free kick taken by Porto against Arsenal - it certainly punished Arsenal for hanging around moaning at the ref when they should have been getting on with the game.

A nice idea Easy 10, but the football authorities do tend to move so slowly....

 

[little al]

Most new things in football are tried in hockey first, very similar rules.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

I was going to suggest this a while ago.

I watch a fair bit of hockey as two of my good friends play every weekend. It is certainly a vast improvement and gives the team, that was fouled, the upper hand. It makes the game much faster.

I would definitely be in favour of the switch to this or at least a trial.

 

[Easy 10]

As it says in the article, it would at a stroke prevent all the arguing with the ref (who's never going to change his decision anyway), because players would HAVE to make sure they were pelting back into their position to deal with the opposition, who could suddenly be bearing down on their back 4 or on goal.

And it could see an end to the "professional foul" - go to ground to chop someone down who is clean through, and the attacker could potentially (if uninjured) just get up straight away and have a 10 yard free run at goal, unchallenged, before everyone else has got back. That would go some way towards righting the injustice, instead of just getting a free-kick with everyone already back defending again.

I think this is a WINNER.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

There is the danger that it might be a little too quick for one referee and perhaps we could move towards having a referee in each half, as per hockey.

 

[seagulls4ever]

To say it speeds up the game is an understatement. Good thing you're allowed rolling substitutes and matches only last 70 mins in hockey, otherwise I would most likely die.

 

[Husty]

I play hockey, and do enjoy playing the sport a lot more with the self pass rule, especially as a defender, is nice to be able to take a couple of touches

 

[Barrel of Fun]

To say it speeds up the game is an understatement. Good thing you're allowed rolling substitutes and matches only last 70 mins in hockey, otherwise I would most likely die.

That hadn't occurred to me.

Who do you play for? I watch Spencer Wandsworth 1st XI a fair bit.

 

[Buffalo Seagull]

The other rule change hockey introduced a few years back was doing away with the offside rule.
I think it would be interesting to see a few football games without offside, just to see how it affects the game (perhaps in a pre-season tournament or something like that). FIFA have changed the rule so much in recent years to advantage the attacking team I'm kind of surprised they haven't already proposed scrapping it - they've also made it much more confusing to understand. It would certainly cut down on some controversies, given how many goals are disputed because of offside.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Another rule that could and should be changed is the act of shielding the ball at either the corner flag or when letting the ball run off the field of play.

 

[Buffalo Seagull]

Another rule that could and should be changed is the act of shielding the ball at either the corner flag or when letting the ball run off the field of play.

I agree with you on that - although it is always funny to see the player shielding the ball hacked down by a frustrated opponent

 

[Fef]

Another rule that could and should be changed is the act of shielding the ball at .... the corner flag .....

That's Bas Savage stuffed then!