This is not a reflection on my disappointment at last nights result, or the dubious nature of VAR, and it does not relate specifically to last nights exit.
BUT
Is there still any justification, for deciding a knockout tie on away goals? Many years ago, away teams put 10 men behind the ball, and desperately tried to hang on to what they started with, (0 - 0), as the old adage was draw away from home, and beat them back at our place, which is where i believe the notion started, that it was an advantage to play the first leg away. In an attempt to encourage a less defensive approach , the away goals rule came into being, to encourage the away side to be slightly more adventurous.
However, i now think the time has come to do away with the "away goals rule" If ever a match was crying out for another 30 mins, and / or penalties, last night was that match, and the hell with tv schedules. The theory that second leg at home is an advantage no longer holds true, the away team in the second leg, is the only one that the away goal rule helps. Previously a 0- 0 at home in the first leg was classed as a failure to press home your home advantage, now some people claim a 0 - 0 at home in the first leg is a good result. I don't get it. Can you imagine if away goals counted double in league games? Similarly, in tennis, if points won on an opponents serve counted double?
A goal is a goal, and only one goal, the whole game of football is, or at least should be about scoring goals, so why one earth, are some goals numerically worth more than others?
BUT
Is there still any justification, for deciding a knockout tie on away goals? Many years ago, away teams put 10 men behind the ball, and desperately tried to hang on to what they started with, (0 - 0), as the old adage was draw away from home, and beat them back at our place, which is where i believe the notion started, that it was an advantage to play the first leg away. In an attempt to encourage a less defensive approach , the away goals rule came into being, to encourage the away side to be slightly more adventurous.
However, i now think the time has come to do away with the "away goals rule" If ever a match was crying out for another 30 mins, and / or penalties, last night was that match, and the hell with tv schedules. The theory that second leg at home is an advantage no longer holds true, the away team in the second leg, is the only one that the away goal rule helps. Previously a 0- 0 at home in the first leg was classed as a failure to press home your home advantage, now some people claim a 0 - 0 at home in the first leg is a good result. I don't get it. Can you imagine if away goals counted double in league games? Similarly, in tennis, if points won on an opponents serve counted double?
A goal is a goal, and only one goal, the whole game of football is, or at least should be about scoring goals, so why one earth, are some goals numerically worth more than others?