Timekeeping

[Joga Bonito]

The fourth official does nothing all match so he should take care of it, in European matches it should be those 5th/6th/7th/8th officials whatever they are who stand outside the box with their radios and rarely do anything. Getting paid to do that, now that's the life.

 

[crazyg]

I remember many years ago watching a City v Southampton match at Maine Road, and using the stopwatch function on my watch to record the actual time played. I stopped it when the ball went out of play, or a foul was given, etc, and restarted it when the ball was played. The actual playing time was 21 minutes, 30 seconds! I didn't bother with the second half.

I still look at the clock today, and the average time for a goal kick is 25-30 seconds, and 15-20 seconds for a throw-in. That is, of course, if the team we're playing ISN'T time-wasting, when it can be much, much, longer - eg, Tim Howard.

As for the point that the match could go on for 2-3 hours, I don't think so. Once the players, managers, etc, realised that 90 minutes football WOULD be played, there would be no point in time wasting, feigning injury, as they would be late getting to their wives, partners, mistresses, prossies, as it was their own time they were wasting. We, as fans, would actually see 90 minutes football.

 

[jollycity]

The average time that the ball is "in play" in a premiership match is just under 40 minutes.

By this standard, you would have to play for 3 Hours 20 Mins to get 90 minutes of ball in play time !!

 

[Bill]

for the first time ever i put my stop watch on and stopped it when the play stopped.

we actually played 3m 42 secs.

 

[blue b4 the moon]

for the first time ever i put my stop watch on and stopped it when the play stopped.

we actually played 3m 42 secs.

Is that how much of the 5 mins injury time that was actually played on Thursday?

 

[quiet_riot]

If Hart`s header went in last night - all the City players should have returned to their own half & all lay down injured.

Why? We'd have won it if that had gone in!

 

[Lancet Fluke]

The average time that the ball is "in play" in a premiership match is just under 40 minutes.

By this standard, you would have to play for 3 Hours 20 Mins to get 90 minutes of ball in play time !!

I don't think 90 minutes time in play would work, it would take too long. They would have to come up with a figure like 30 mins each way. As has been said, I reckon once players realised there was no point fucking about then 30 mins each way would easily be able to be carried out in 90 mins. The issue for me is just how much playing time can vary depending on pretty random things and it should be completely uniform across every match.

 

[Bill]

for the first time ever i put my stop watch on and stopped it when the play stopped.

we actually played 3m 42 secs.

Is that how much of the 5 mins injury time that was actually played on Thursday?

they "played" 5 but i did it to the letter and it came out at 3-42 actually playing time. they was allowing for normal game play.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

To improve timekeeping so that what affects the outcome of a match is what has taken place on the pitch:

1 An independent timekeeper
2 The time is counted down and the clock stops when the game stops.
3 The notion of two 'equal' halves is abandoned and the game become two equal halves only counted when the ball is in play (might have to change from the notion of a nominal 45mins to 35 or 40 mins.

Clubs and fans are regularly ripped off by timekeeping which is noticeably incorrect, dishonest and a travesty of what the game should be about.

There will be not need for 'the fourth official has indicated a minimum of x minutes' fiasco each game. Fans will see on the scoreboard how much time is left. No jiggery-pokery by dodgy officials.

The added time on Thursday should have been nearer seven minutes than five!

 

[matt_161]

This would end up being a complete fiasco. You'd have to shorten matches to around 70-80 mins to get a reasonable time. What about transport links etc? If a couple of teams both timewaste at a 5pm kick off they could be playing all night!

 

[Lancet Fluke]

This would end up being a complete fiasco. You'd have to shorten matches to around 70-80 mins to get a reasonable time. What about transport links etc? If a couple of teams both timewaste at a 5pm kick off they could be playing all night!

You'd have to shorten it more than than that but then if you consider that most "90 min" matches you get about 45 minutes actual play then it wouldn't be a problem to significantly shorten it. I don't know why people assume that an hour long match would take hours and hours. They could still yellow card players for fucking about and wasting everyone's time. Any comparison people make to NFL is also moot as the games are completely different with different "teams" entering and leaving play etc. It seems to me insane that with the level of detail managers and players put into the game these days that in a crucial round of Prem matches with the title at stake, united could get a game of 53 minutes playing time and we could play some time wasting wankers and get 40 minutes. Crazy.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

for the first time ever i put my stop watch on and stopped it when the play stopped.

we actually played 3m 42 secs.

I'm gonna do that for whole match and see if we get a full sixty minutes!

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

Be careful what you wish for. Games could end up 3 hours long just like american football with ad breaks for sky and time outs etc.


I am in favour of an independent timekeeper though although it brings into question how the game ends. Anyone recall the Brazil goal disallowed by Clive Thomas will understand my point.

yeah I was watching that game and Thomas was a maniac; I don't know if that's ever been repeated, but like Zico (who couldn't believe it) that was an astonishing thing to happen (Thomas's decision) and has been held up ever since as an example of how not to officiate.

Thomas was always the kind of ref who would want an incident or two from which posterity could remember him. I remember him getting between two players, linking their arms whilst they persistently nutted each other. But his 'man management' won the day - a wee talking to and away they scampered to further kick the shit out of each other!

 

[Bill]

for the first time ever i put my stop watch on and stopped it when the play stopped.

we actually played 3m 42 secs.

I'm gonna do that for whole match and see if we get a full sixty minutes!

lol you do that,it was quite distracting for 5 minutes let alone 90/60 :)

 

[Lancet Fluke]

for the first time ever i put my stop watch on and stopped it when the play stopped.

we actually played 3m 42 secs.

I'm gonna do that for whole match and see if we get a full sixty minutes!

Interesting below stats for last season. I'm surprised I was under the impression the average was less than 60 mins. Makes you wonder what the shortest and longest in play matches were though as opposed to the average, for me that is the issue.

"At Premier League matches on average, the ball was in play for 62.39 minutes this season – more than in the much-vaunted Spanish and German top flights (61.48 minutes and 61.22 minutes respectively), but significantly less than in Serie A (65.15 minutes)."