CBS made the Arsenal legend Thierry Henry ‘King for The Day’ as part of their Champions League coverage this week.
To many Gooners he’s already the King, but the American broadcaster wanted to know if the pundit was in power, what are five rules he would change regarding football?
We can discuss his ideas today, then I will be thinking of my own over the weekend.
Feel free in the comments to put forward any changes you would make towards the sport.
A Free kick for ‘Not Playing’.
This obviously is to discourage time wasting which has been a talking point recently.
I was amazed at the World Cup to discover that on average the ball is actually in play for just over an hour. So, if nothing else the customer is not getting value for money.
FIFA’s response was to add on literally every second for added time, meaning we were getting 12 minutes routinely being held up by the fourth official. This hasn’t transitioned yet domestically.
Henry just doesn’t mean the obvious such as a keeper taking ages to kick the ball or a player conveniently getting cramp the moment their team is leading.
The Frenchman feels the moment an official feels a team is not trying to ‘play’ he can award the opposition a free kick anywhere of their choice 20 yards from goal.
This would take a brave referee to have the conviction to interpret a team not trying to ‘play’.
You can tell Henry used to be a striker and, as one of the greatest to ever live, of course he always wants an attacking brand of football.
Yet some managers and players wouldn’t have the medals they have if they were not allowed to keep the ball in the corner and try to take the sting out of a match.
From an entertainment element, Henry is simply trying to protect the sport and encourage that next generation to attack.
After all, montages of Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo, Messi, etc involve skills and tricks, and you wants kids copying that in the playground. You certainly develop better talent the more positive you encourage anyone to be on the ball.
It’s idealistic though, as teams who park the bus and knock balls into the corners are just as much part of the game.
Henry had the luxury of representing France, Arsenal and Barcelona so might not empathise with teams who can’t ‘play’ at the Etihad, Old Trafford, Emirates, etc.
Can a Bournemouth get a result at Man City by ‘playing’?
How do you separate ‘not playing’ compared to being under relentless pressure?
If a team has little choice but to clear the ball every time, or they have possession because they are pinned in, is it right for them to be penalised?
How controversial would it be if they are hanging on for a result and get punished for ‘not playing‘?
Mike Up the Officials/Referee Post Match Interviews
This has long been requested, if nothing else it makes for good TV, hearing how officials communicate and getting them to explain decisions.
A Television audience hearing what a ref is saying happens in other sports, yet it’s fair to suggest that in Rugby and Tennis the respect for authority is a lot better then in Football.
That’s not saying you won’t see an Umpire shouted at, but it means a points violation and isn’t then dissected by every pundit.
Plus, do footballers and managers truly want the world to know how abusive they can be towards those in charge.
Because it works both ways. Do managers really want that box opened?
Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp have all been warned about their conduct on the touchline. They could all do without the distraction of having every word said to an official made public.
I would also question what difference it makes if an official tells the media they got a decision wrong?
When clubs have been apologised to for a wrong call, the response (and rightly so) is that it doesn’t give them back the lost points.
The priority has to be to safeguard officials who already are subjected to verbal abuse at games and online.
It’s a sad reflection of society, but forcing an official to face pundits and journalists only raises their profile and increases the chance of danger.
Some supporters racially abuse their own players for missing a penalty, so of course they would do the same to an official who they view as being incompetent.
It’s sad but it doesn’t make it any less true.
3 Goals = +1 points
I love this rule!
Essentially, win lose or draw a team gets a point if they score 3 goals.
This happens in some aspects of Rugby, where you get bonus points after a certain amount of tries.
It again is Henry trying to promote positive football.
Again, he might not be showing much empathy for those near the bottom who naturally are not going to score three times as much as those near the top of the division.
Yet, how great would title races and relegation fights be if this rule existed?
Last week 4 of the bottoms 5 all would have got an added point which would have been costly to Leeds.
We would have more of an outside chance currently of being champions if there were added points up for grabs.
Emergency Sub
We have all seen this scenario.
Your player is fouled, you get a free kick and the game stops, so the person hurt get treatment.
The ref then orders them off the pitch until play resumes and he or she waves that player back on.
So even though it’s your free kick, you’re the team who has to play minus 1 player. Somehow the opposition end up benefiting from what should be a punishment for their ill-discipline.
This isn’t always only seconds.
Depending on the treatment a team could be playing minus 1 player for several minutes.
Henry’s solution? Have a designated sub for these scenarios.
This is another way to discourage players staying down wasting time, because once they do, an official can ask them to roll off the pitch and the sub comes on.
This though could still be used to waste time, and is a rule that needs more clarity as it can be manipulated.
If you’re defending a lead and used all your subs but want fresh legs on, fake an injury?
Due Diligence
This is more with players welfare in mind and a world that us fans don’t really see.
Clearly Henry feels more needs to be done for a club to learn about the asset they are purchasing and vice versa.
The Frenchman feels that part of any transfer should make it compulsory for the Football Director or Owner to visit the player or the player visits his new home before signing.
While clubs look after new arrivals in terms of hotels and transport, Henry feels clubs should be investing in a person’s character.
He feels too many players move abroad and can’t settle into a new culture or are homesick.
This could be avoided by all parties getting to know each other.
These are Henry’s 5 Rules if he were King….
Mine to follow …….
Watch the video here……
Let me Know what your 5 rules would be.
Dan
Video – Mikel Arteta talks about the reasons Arsenal have dropped from the top, and addresses the question if we “bottled it”
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I just don’t agree on the free kick for not playing, because it would depend on the officials’ preferences
I think his other ideas will make the games more entertaining and encourage more goals
A mixed bag from Thierry.
Daft to suggest a free kick for “not playing”. Too subjective a call and bound to lead to arguments and dissent. And for what? Not a starter at all!
The injury EMERGENCY sub suggestion is decades overdue and plain common sense. At present it harms the side fouled against and rewards the fouling team. Bonkers,unfair, so needs changing NOW.
I am against extra point for goals, as it would change the status quo that has existed for decades FAR too much and discriminates against good defences and, lets say, “1-0 to the Arsenal” etc Not remotely sensible and will never happen.
On refs explaining their decisions, I foresee problems. Ref are already ludicrously badly treated and need support, NOT further situations where they can be questioned and challenged
NO, not for me at all. Instead I would bring in Draconian punishments for openly defying a ref and for chasing the ref round the pitch while disputing his decisions. I ACCEPT I will be in a tiny minority with this view, but it is the same principle why I am 100% against VAR. I would accept that refs make mistakes; we accept that players do, managers do, so why not refs too? Everyone is human and therefore fallible. To expect perfection is foolish and we OUGHT NOT to do so.
We need to stop accusing refs of bias while being massively biased ourselves. BLATANT HYPOCRISY ON A GRAND SCALE This is unjust and unfair. Though I accept I am preaching to a brick wall and despair ot that reality.
More due diligence and checking into a new players character is WISE and, to a,minor extent but not enough, already happens. I WOULD INSIST ON FAR MORE CHECKING BEFORE SIGNING.
But all told, at LEAST Thierry Henry deserves credit for thinking ahead and not being a dinosaur, as so many in football are. Sigh!
Speaking as a retired referee, I agree with you about the punishment for chasing the referee around the field, but this could be solved be the referees themselves. A willingness to show the yellow card to any following players would go a long way. I was a youth referee and thought that if I had made no more than one egregious blunder per half I had done a pretty good job. Now most of those blunders went unnoticed because I counted being out of position to see what had happened. If everyone else agreed, and I was not needed at that moment I was off the hook. As to the VAR it certainly makes sense for offside decisions and occasionally to distinguish between a foul and simulation. What I would change is to put a binding time limit on the decision. If it takes too long, the original decision stands.
The only rule here that I like the idea of is for referees to be more accountable. I find the others a bit daft
It’s funny that everytime I see people within football discussing, as usual it’s the fans that are not considered.
Number one change needed is stopping the clock at VAR decisions! Fans have to pay so much to watch their teams, and more time lost on VAR with the correct decisions not even being made at times!
An extra point for 3 goals would lead to the likes of Man City normally winning the title even easier than they have done thus far. The gulf between the top clubs and the rest would become even greater. Bad idea. Goals scored and goal difference is already a useful yardstick.
One thing that should be stopped is the loaning out of players who are not kids anymore. They are bought by big clubs, sent off to other clubs and may not be involved with that parent club for years or ever again (Arsenal examples Pepe, Torreira, Mari, Saliba, Guendouzi, Mkhitaryan). Each of those players had there own background story admittedly, but imo this should stop. No doubt someone will give an account as to why it is a good thing to loan out players in certain circumstances. However, I think if a club doesn’t want a player sell him.
EvGunner Agreed. Loan deals should be only for very young players who are still improving and are under 21. Preferably aged 17-19, but up to the end of their 20th year, in some circumstances. The day they hit 21 they should never be loaned again!
Oh hello dear, glad you agree with me for once !
Only for ONCE? Surely thats not true!
If you scroll up to my earlier post you will see we also agree on not awarding extra ponts for goals . So that is at least TWICE and there are many other agreements too, DEAR!
I will be hugely surprised but delighted, IF you were, by any chance, to agree with my comments on refs. Almost every other poster onJA seems to think refs are biased but only I consistently say, that almost all fans , not only Gooners but everywhere, ARE biased and are therefore huge hypocrites in calling refs biased.
I never think refs are biased, though I DO think many are way sub-par in their honestly given decisions.
jon I’ve twice messaged you and each time it has seemingly not registered. Some straange quirk/ Particularly annoying because I spent ages writing it.
HOW have you messaged me? Can you not say it on here, publicly?
I am cool to let you have my email, if you ask Ad Pat. It has to go through him !
Jon exactly the same thing happened last weekend. Sent you a post and it didn’t get through. Sent you another one and again it didn’t get through immedietely. By the time they were made public you had probably gone. There is no good reason I can think of for this to happen again. It’s only happened when I’ve posted to you. Basically I was agreeing with you, but for me to try to replicate the post a third time will just be arduous.
EvGunner. Well why not say on this thread then,rather than privately? This is after all a public debate forum and as you have already told me you were basically in agreement , surely your views are no secret from other JA users?
I repeat, if you want my email, I give Ad Pat my permission to let you have it. I would also like to continue debating with you, as you are interestiing and a free thinker.
Jon the same thing has just happened again. You may get this post, but you don’t get the longer posts I send addressing the issue of Refs and VAR. I’ve come to the point where I feel they are being sabotaged for some reason or the other and I’m going to go off-line now because it doesn’t make any sense and it’s annoying me.
Very worrying and I have no explanation either. So why dont I ask you some yes , no, or undecided questions so that w ecan get anidea of whar we both agre about or wha we dont.
First though, as you may have already left JA tonight, just let me know you are still there and i will then write straight back with those questions,
One has to respect the fact that he has come up with some ideas. However, most of these are either unworkable or do not address fundamental problems in the game.
Free kick idea – impractical, defining ‘not playing’ will almost certainly be controversial and a subjective judgement will likely cause all sorts of problems.
Mike up idea – I agree with the author. There is much better respect for officials in some other sports than there is in football. We have any number of pundits and fans who have limited understanding of the laws of football pontificating on decisions.
Why are ex-footballers not calling for a crackdown on dissent which has become part of the fabric of football?
Most pundits insist we should hear what the officials say but are silent on the language used by players and managers when questioning decisions.
The 3 goals = point idea. This needs to go straight in the bin unless there is a complete shake up right across football. It will simply further entrench some of the imbalances we already have.
Emergency sub – this will simply be gamed by many teams.
Due diligence – good idea but impractical in this form. This needs further thought.
DAVID an intelligent view of most of Henrys ideas. I am not quite with you on teams gaming the sub situation
. I much agree that something major MUST be done to stop the constant disrespecting and taunting of refs.
This is, IMO, the most urgently needed change of all. If we are everto have player / ref respect back in the game.
I have said on JA and to football friends that for diving I would mandate an immediate red card plus a six Prem game ban. I would double the ban for a second offence. It could be stopped, if only there was a TRUE intention TO MAKE IT more punished by new hardline football punishments.
.
PS: I loathe the football rules being called “laws”, as they are NOT LAWS, WHICH CAN ONLY BE ENACTED BY GOVERNMENT , NOT BY FOOTBALL AUTHORITIES..
My rules if I were King
1. Give yellow card for anytime players put the ball in the corner and try to waste time or see off a game. Annoying.
2. Award a free kick anytime keepers keeps the ball more than 8 seconds. That is very annoying especially when Emi does it.
3. Stop the clock for VAR checks. Very important.
Dont agree with +1 points for 3 goals. If that is implemented, let’s score screamers 2 goals too
Kobin, The reason I differ with you view about keeping ball in corners being yellow carded, is that it breaks no rules(ie so called “laws) of the game and is simply possession football used by ALL teams, at times.
As it breaks NO “laws”, it would be WRONG to punish by yellow cards.
It would need a change in football laws first , which I CANNOT ENVISAGE HAPPENING.
Want to thank the legendary Frenchman for his insights and rules to improving the modern game.
Find most of the rules too radical and would have died in child birth.
Will gives my take on the time wasting rules as it’s a massive monster in the modern game.
A free kick for not playing ‘
This rule would open a whole can of worms with corrupting officials licking their lips.
A simple , transparent , easy to implement and enforce is the recent time wasting added time procedures of the world cup.
But there is no appetite to address the issues at hand as no one dares to put a bell around the cat neck.
Great players don’t make great thinkers are they? Most of the changes would make the game too artificial.
Time wasting is part of the game. It’s a hurdle the losing team has to overcome. The game should not be that easy.
Due diligence. Don’t club do that already with new players? If they don’t it’s very primitive.
A free kick for not playing has a potential to be abused by English referees. This will just give the likes of Man utd more chance to score time wasting or not.
1 point for three goals and Man City/PSG will be winners by January.
Emergency sub. The simplest and more practical solution will be to just pause the game when the player is receiving treatment.
Now the one I agree is to make referees Especially English referees accountable. Some if most are like those dirty cops we hear about most of the time. Thr LAPD of football.
Gulp, gasp and choke. Have to agree with the as amazing mister fox that it is a mixed bag. Anything that stops time wasting and makes the game flow gets a big thumbs up however something like rewarding teams for the amount of goals they score just tends to complicate things. Let’s face it there are games when you can play amazing football but it’s not your day and other days when the opposition has thrown in the towel and that four goal margin doesn’t mean as much as we fans would like to believe.
Joe, Exactly and what your post shows is that scorelines in matches are sometimes wildly out of kilter with how the game went. Not always of course, but sometimes.
And its that fact which makes the sport so precious, as it is so unpredictable.
If it were otherwise, it would be boring. Keep all the elements that help to make it unpredictable, say I. If an inferior team finds itself ahead with time running down, why the hell should they not keep the ball in the corner ,as it helps them.
Henry was thinking aloud I would say, but not PROPRLY thinking much at all. Unless the so called “laws”(rules , actually) of the game are changed to accommodate such thinking, which would be daft and in any case will not happen, then leave well alone , say I. I would agre that faking injuries ansdother gamesmanship timewasting needs cracking down on. But that only needs refs to be more strict. AND crucially refs being SUPPORTED IN THAT IMPORTANt TASK AND NOT BEING CONSTANTLY BLAMED FOR EVERY PERCEIVED “WRONG” DECISION.
The major change I WOULD ENFORCE in football would be to back refs 100% and outlaw dissent and chasing refs round the pitch, by using MANDATORY RED CARDS, followed by long bans . BACKED UP BY FOOTBALL AUTHORITIES ALWAYS
ONÉ THING HAS TO CHANGE IS PLAYERS WAGES,
THEIR HAS TO BE A CAP ON IT NO PLAYER SHOULD GET ANYMORE THAN 100 GRAND A WEEK ITS ENOUGH AND IF THEY WIN A LEAGUE OR ANY CUP GIVE THEM A BIG BONUS THEIR WAGES ARE BREAKING CLUBS..
Allelujah! A fellow realist!
I have been saying for many decades past, even before the Prem was formed, that obscene player wages will in time make football unaffordable for all save the very rich.
Countless would be attendees have been effectively barred from watching by the obscenity of players wages for yonks. That is grossly unfair and morally repugnant.
As a working class sport it has been out of reach for many peoples pockets to attend for many years already and is accelerating down the slippery slope to ruin!
While countless mentally “blind” folks look “sightlessly” on. SIGH!
Referee being mic’d up is long overdue in football. A big part of the hate toward referee is because it seems they can just show up and do whatever job they want without little repercussion and explanation. If the public can gain some insight on the thought process of referee and how they arrive to a decision the respect for them will increase exponentially. The fact that PGMOL looks like a shady organisation with no one to answer to ain’t making it better. If there isn’t something shady going on surely they wouldn’t mind on having mic.
Being mic’d up is also a big benefit for referee as all insults and distasteful language toward them by players or coaches will be caught. Yellow/red cards for abuse and harassment will be also be clear and unbiased as we have all heard what they said.
Time wasting is a plague that is being aided by the referees unwillingness to take actions especially towards keepers who are the biggest offenders. The moment a gk is sent off by two yellows for time wasting a precedent will be set that there is no tolerance for time wasting. Excessive time wasting when a team has been awarded a free kick would result in the decision being reversed.
Emergency sub is a good idea but needs to be clarified and set to avoid it being abused by teams.
Acksha, Surely the problem refs have with taking firm and decisive action indr the laws that exist is that they know they will not be properly backed by thr authorities and will once agin, AS IS THE NORM WITH ALL REFS, be unjustly pillaried and blamed for what is the bad behaviour of players.
My article on how we generally disrespect refs and refereeing will follow on JA very soon now.