[Football] What is the point of the coin toss before kick-off?

[GJN1]

Well, just that really. Why should choosing an end to attack be a thing? Or kicking the ball back from the centre spot?

Let's get rid.

It will also make my son's job easier when he refs on a Sunday and stop him tipping the jar of coppers out all over the kitchen table and having to settle for a stray Euro to use.

 

[Giraffe]

Wind and sun.

Edit: And slope

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

So we can win the toss, choose to kick off and give the ball away after 15 seconds to concede …

 

[Mustafa II]

Wind and sun.

Edit: And slope

...and location of fans.

 

[Berty23]

So that Sean Dyche teams can change ends and if they win believe it is because they switched ends.

 

[halbpro]

It will also make my son's job easier when he refs on a Sunday and stop him tipping the jar of coppers out all over the kitchen table and having to settle for a stray Euro to use.

Tell him to get some ref coins, can get them off Amazon for a couple quid. Much nicer and won't spray coins everywhere!

 

[pasty]

So nasty managers can potentially make us kick towards the north stand first half.

 

[keaton]

I don't have a problem with their being a coin toss but I did raise on Saturday at the Lewes game why it takes place just before kick off. Surely 15 minutes or so before makes sense. Our game didn't kick off till 15.03 and spend the first two minutes of every game moving ends

 

[Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ]

If not a coin, what should be tossed in the centre circle?

 

[MJsGhost]

If not a coin, what should be tossed in the centre circle?

I would suggest a dwarf, but I believe that is frowned upon these days.


THESE DAYS

 

[schmunk]

If not a coin, what should be tossed in the centre circle?

 

[Justice]

So nasty managers can potentially make us kick towards the north stand first half.

Being front row of the North that really pisses me off

 

[Baldseagull]

Well, just that really. Why should choosing an end to attack be a thing? Or kicking the ball back from the centre spot?

Let's get rid.

It will also make my son's job easier when he refs on a Sunday and stop him tipping the jar of coppers out all over the kitchen table and having to settle for a stray Euro to use.

There is sometimes an advantage which will be greater or lesser at different stadiums, or in different weather conditions. Some pitches have a slope one end to the other, you might consider it an advantage to be playing downhill second half. The sun might be getting low in the sky second half and be in the Goalkeepers eyes, might be one end has your fans behind it, and you want that second half, maybe the pitch is shaded and one end is cold, but will warm up as the sun moves round, so the first half keeper at that end is disadvantaged.
Kick off is less of a worry, but you don't have to kick the ball back, it used to be the opposite, it had to go forward, but since 2016 you can kick it whichever way you want, and can score direct from the kick off, if you catch the keeper out.

 

[Hamilton]

Come on.

The chance to attack your own end in the second half. Loads to play for.

 

[Braggfan]

Well, just that really. Why should choosing an end to attack be a thing? Or kicking the ball back from the centre spot?

Let's get rid.

It will also make my son's job easier when he refs on a Sunday and stop him tipping the jar of coppers out all over the kitchen table and having to settle for a stray Euro to use.

In the Albion Heritage Society magazine, there was a great piece a few years back with Gary Chivers. He told a story about a game down in Portsmouth where one half of the pitch was frozen and rock hard and the other half had thawed and was like a bog. He said you had to wear moudled boots for the first half and screw in studs in the 2nd half. They did the coin toss in the dressing room before the game, but had planned to do a fake one on the pitch for the fans (maybe the tv cameras, i can't remember if it was on tv or not). Portsmouth won the coin toss in the dressing room, but when they went out on the pitch Chivers called it right and choose to shoot the other way. When the ref pointed out that Porstsmouth had already won the toss, Chivers said "Oh its like that is it?" and played hard done by. The ref then gave every decision the Albion's way for the first half