VAR thread 2022/23

[SkyBlueFlux]

I know this is probably hoping for way too much. But I do think while Webb wasn’t “great” for us, he was a lot more respected and had more of an air of competence than the current crop of refs.

He became PGMOL Head after the season was already underway so fair to say sweeping changes can’t be made at that stage.

If there’s one thing I think Webb cares about, it’s his own ego. He loved reffing a World Cup final and he will hate people constantly telling him how shit everything is and all the apologies he’s having to dole out. I am going to stick my neck out and say I think he will take more drastic action to change the way VAR is implemented over the summer.

Maybe I’m naive but let’s see…

 

[cheekybids]

I know this is probably hoping for way too much. But I do think while Webb wasn’t “great” for us, he was a lot more respected and had more of an air of competence than the current crop of refs.

He became PGMOL Head after the season was already underway so fair to say sweeping changes can’t be made at that stage.

If there’s one thing I think Webb cares about, it’s his own ego. He loved reffing a World Cup final and he will hate people constantly telling him how shit everything is and all the apologies he’s having to dole out. I am going to stick my neck out and say I think he will take more drastic action to change the way VAR is implemented over the summer.

Maybe I’m naive but let’s see…

He’s had no problem being cast as the Rags stooge for 20 years so I’m not convinced.

 

[Gray]

I know this is probably hoping for way too much. But I do think while Webb wasn’t “great” for us, he was a lot more respected and had more of an air of competence than the current crop of refs.

He became PGMOL Head after the season was already underway so fair to say sweeping changes can’t be made at that stage.

If there’s one thing I think Webb cares about, it’s his own ego. He loved reffing a World Cup final and he will hate people constantly telling him how shit everything is and all the apologies he’s having to dole out. I am going to stick my neck out and say I think he will take more drastic action to change the way VAR is implemented over the summer.

Maybe I’m naive but let’s see…

Do you believe in Fairies and Santa Claus?

 

[SkyBlueFlux]

Do you believe in Fairies and Santa Claus?

I was prepared to be roundly mocked.

But to be clear, all I believe in is Webb’s ego and desire to be seen as the one who “fixed” VAR. I don’t think that’s too far fetched.

Either way, time will tell.

 

[cheekybids]

I was prepared to be roundly mocked.

But to be clear, all I believe in is Webb’s ego and desire to be seen as the one who “fixed” VAR. I don’t think that’s too far fetched.

Either way, time will tell.

He’s certainly fixed var…….for the Rags.

 

[halfcenturyup]

I was prepared to be roundly mocked.

But to be clear, all I believe in is Webb’s ego and desire to be seen as the one who “fixed” VAR. I don’t think that’s too far fetched.

Either way, time will tell.

VAR will never be fixed. There will always be arguments about the subjective elements of decisions that the pro-brigade will justify like PGMOL and the anti-brigade will tear to shreds like the biased crazies they are. No change then. All that has happened is that we have to wait and see if a goal is going to be rolled back for a mm offside before we can celebrate. Whoopee dooo. Oh yes, and the crazy mistakes that referees made once every five years have supposedly been ruled out. And replaced by new crazy mistakes. Well worth it.

 

[SkyBlueFlux]

VAR will never be fixed. There will always be arguments about the subjective elements of decisions that the pro-brigade will justify like PGMOL and the anti-brigade will tear to shreds like the biased crazies they are. No change then. All that has happened is that we have to wait and see if a goal is going to be rolled back for a mm offside before we can celebrate. Whoopee dooo. Oh yes, and the crazy mistakes that referees made once every five years have supposedly been ruled out. And replaced by new crazy mistakes. Well worth it.

Fair point. The reason I put “fixed VAR” in embedded quotes is because I agree with the above.

What he might do though is introduce things fans are asking for like referee comms and getting rid of this weird rule-of-thumb that means every decision gets overturned if a ref goes to the monitor.

It won’t get rid of the debates but I’d welcome those things as a step forward.

 

[TheBeautifulGame]

the joyous moment was taken away because the lino flagged! and fans simply would not accept 'yeh he got it wrong but it was a close call so it is what it is'

you're in la la land if you think linos would normally not flag those type of offsides. It was a weekly basis that offside goals were flagged. hence another reason VAR was bought in.

My point was that we don't know that it would have been flagged for offsides if VAR didn't exist. Before VAR was introduced, linos flags were accompanied by a whistle and that decision was the be all end all. Nowadays, whether or not he throws the flag up, it would prompt a VAR review regardless. So nowadays, he's more willing to signal for offsides knowing that it isn't the final decision. Especially given all the times goals have been reversed upon VAR for marginal offsides. Before VAR, the benefit of the doubt generally went to the attacking player within a margin of error. So, if it was close, if he was "about level" chances are the goal would have stood.

The joyous moment was certainly taken away, you act like it wasn't. Don't you miss those exploding moments of a goal being scored and knowing right then and there that it's a goal? There's nothing like the moment that the ball hits the back of the net and knowing right then and there that a goal was scored. That organic jubilation has been removed from the game. We don't get that pandemonium anymore with the "was it a goal, was it not" VAR conundrum which is one of the biggest problems with VAR.

"But they get the calls right now."

What we've learned is that's rarely the case. The Stones goal is a rare example of a non-goal being correctly reversed. And now the pro-VAR people are like "see - VAR works" forgetting how often VAR has caused controversy or robbed fans of joyous moments.

 

[TheBeautifulGame]

Won't happen

but would love them to trial out say 3-4 months without VAR then run a poll to all Season Ticket holders and have a vote on whether to go back to VAR or to stay as it is.

If they did that, fans would vote overwhelmingly to keep VAR out of the game.

 

[TheBeautifulGame]

if everyone could happily accept incorrect calls from the officials then i'd support that aswell.

It's a misconception posed by the pro-VAR crowd that it's the "fans fault" for being outraged by howlers when they happen, and that passion of protesting an injustice is why VAR needed to be introduced. That whole mindset has lost the plot.

When there was an incorrect call, before VAR was introduced, part of the fun and catharsis was carrying on about it and reminding rivals that they were lucky to win the match or whatever the case may be as a result of a bad call. True howlers were quite rare, and in instances when there was a borderline incorrect call, the best recipe for "accepting it" or "forgetting about it" was for the match to continue uninterrupted so fans are able to move on to the next phase of play. With VAR, the incorrect calls are now obsessed over and you're stuck waiting for decisions that produce more outrage and controversy due to that.