Corners

[Norbs]

Here is a proposal

1) Only 2 players from each side allowed in the 6yd area, goalie not included
2) Only 4 players from each side allowed in the 18yd area

That is all

[Kenneth]

Seems very complicated. What counts as in the box, any body part? How’s that going to be monitored and enforced at Sunday league level?

[Norbs]

Kenneth, Kenneth, Kenneth.

The feet Dear, the feet.

[Norbs]

And all levels have a linesman and referee that can see if there is encroachment in to the areas. A melee is what can be stopped by reducing numbers in the box, that sheer numbers of bodies is what is causing the problem.

What would be your proposal? There needs to be a radical change, something that is easier to monitor and police for the officials

[Mark79]

But then we'd end up with lengthy video reviews to see if one of the 18yd area players' toenails encroached on the 6yd line.

[Kenneth]

It is a weight of numbers problem in the main. I’d start with a requirement that at least two outfield players from each side must be the other side of the half way line. No VAR to be used to check against the half way line. Four players fewer in the box would help in itself, but it would also leave the attacking more worried about clearance and counter attack, so I think it would spread things out naturally.

If it’s still chaos in there, make it three players each, then four etc

[Scratch]

Keep it simple. The 6 yard box belongs to the defending team, teams from the opposing side cannot encroach into this area until the ball is struck. The line is part of the area, and only contact with the foot on the ground is counted as encroachment (making it simple for VAR in the event of a goal to run a quick check).

[Cerbie]

Keep it simple. The 6 yard box belongs to the defending team, teams from the opposing side cannot encroach into this area until the ball is struck. The line is part of the area, and only contact with the foot on the ground is counted as encroachment (making it simple for VAR in the event of a goal to run a quick check).

I think that's a decent suggestion, however, I can see teams like Arsenal immediately taking the piss and putting 11 players in the box if they are defending a lead.

[Irishnev]

Just referee the rules - Raya was fouled yesterday but before the ball got near him there were two or three fouls by Arsenal defenders that should’ve been called as penalties. People are pissed off because Arsenal have been “getting away” with it all season. The ref had to ref what was in front of him and not the season as a whole.

What annoys me is that rules are applied differently in the box vs outside the box. If somebody isn’t looking at the ball and pulls an opponent down then it’s a foul. Apply the rules consistently and if that means 10 pens a game for a while so be it. Teams will quickly change their approach

[Cerbie]

Just referee the rules - Raya was fouled yesterday but before the ball got near him there were two or three fouls by Arsenal defenders that should’ve been called as penalties. People are pissed off because Arsenal have been “getting away” with it all season. The ref had to ref what was in front of him and not the season as a whole.

What annoys me is that rules are applied differently in the box vs outside the box. If somebody isn’t looking at the ball and pulls an opponent down then it’s a foul. Apply the rules consistently and if that means 10 pens a game for a while so be it. Teams will quickly change their approach

the right thing to do was to disallow the goal and award a penalty, but how often do Ref's ignore a foul in the build-up and let the goal stand? The one against us for City was a notable outlier, but at the time, we were calling for the goal to stand and not send Dom off.

The Ref and VAR on this occasion missed the Arsenal players committing fouls, as they have done all season. I really hope they lose the CL final by a few penalties given for what they have been getting away with in the PL. Put POGML under some pressure to fix the ****show that corners have become.

[Buzzo]

Might need a ‘flag on play’ style Gridiron approach. With 2 supporting officials.

That goal was a mess but Arsenal as ever were the big beneficiaries. There are at least 2 penalty infringements on the corner.

It seems they win either way, when they do this as an attacking team they get the goal, when they infringe as a defence it gets disallowed.

The worry is any change encourages play acting. Which already makes the game unwatchable.

[Scratch]

I think that's a decent suggestion, however, I can see teams like Arsenal immediately taking the piss and putting 11 players in the box if they are defending a lead.

Nothing stops them doing that now, but if they did it then a corner to a wide open midfielder, stood on the 18 yard line or deeper, who can then place it into a top corner/blast it hoping for a deflection or handball. Or a corner into the mixer, with the attacking players having a free run with no blockers to stop them powering in.

Making the 6 yard box a defender only zone doesn't mean that no attackers will be in there when the ball arrives, it just means that the keeper will not be impeded from the get-go, and will eliminate the gaggle of players (attacking and defending) that flock around the keeper at present. Any attacker rushing in and bodying the keeper after the kick is taken is a lot more obvious a foul than a player unfairly/snidely grappling to stand his ground or block the keeper off.

And give VAR a time-limit. I read it took 4 minutes for them to decide the West Ham goal was a foul. If it is taking more than 90 seconds, then it is not "clear and obvious" so just go with the onfield decision.

[Norbs]

But then we'd end up with lengthy video reviews to see if one of the 18yd area players' toenails encroached on the 6yd line.

We have automatic off side so can't see why that couldn't be implemented for this too. I like Scratch's idea, but have that limited to 2 or 3 players from the defensive team inside the 6yd box.

Something has to be changed, the current state of affairs is ridiculous

[Mark79]

We have automatic off side so can't see why that couldn't be implemented for this too. I like Scratch's idea, but have that limited to 2 or 3 players from the defensive team inside the 6yd box.

Something has to be changed, the current state of affairs is ridiculous

I don't think changing how corners are taken, or how many players can be involved solves the issue.

Which is the wild inconsistencies in decisions. People are questioning how that can now be considered a foul on Raya, after seeing Arsenal have freedom to be physically aggressive on keepers to score from corners all season long.

The other thing is the bear hugging on corners needs clamped down on. Even if it's a foul on Raya, there's 2 maybe 3 Arsenal defenders grappling West Ham players to ground before the challenge on Raya.

2 arms gripped around an opponent needs to be a foul and result in a penalty if committed by a defending player in the box.

[Mark79]

Just referee the rules - Raya was fouled yesterday but before the ball got near him there were two or three fouls by Arsenal defenders that should’ve been called as penalties. People are pissed off because Arsenal have been “getting away” with it all season. The ref had to ref what was in front of him and not the season as a whole.

What annoys me is that rules are applied differently in the box vs outside the box. If somebody isn’t looking at the ball and pulls an opponent down then it’s a foul. Apply the rules consistently and if that means 10 pens a game for a while so be it. Teams will quickly change their approach

Agree. We just need some clarity and attempt at consistency.

The thresholds appear to change over the course of a season or even week to week.