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
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