UEFA to consider scrapping away goal rule

[ScottishCanuck]

Would rather they just scrapped it when extra time came into play.

 

[ScottishCanuck]

Probably linked to no fans?

I would agree it is a pointless thing the day there is no real difference when playing home or away.

I don't think there's no difference between playing home or away. It's dependent on the venue. There are some tricky places to play in Europe, even if much of it has become more sterile in recent years.

 

[hatterson]

Away goals after extra time is the worst possible scenario. How is it fair that one team gets 30 extra minutes to score away?

The simple counter point is "how is it fair that one team gets 30 extra minutes at home?"

 

[hatterson]

Anyway, I don't think it makes a ton of practical difference in how teams set up for a game, but it definitely makes a difference once the game is going.

You go 0-0 in the first leg at home and then grab an away goal early in the 2nd half of the second leg and you're much more likely to heavily park the bus knowing you only need to avoid giving up 2 goals.

Conversely if you know you're trailing by a single goal you may not go as hard in the 60th minute, but if you're trailing by an away goal you go a lot harder knowing that you need 2 goals.

It also sets up the really fun situations where a single goal takes you from losing to winning as opposed to losing to drawing.

 

[Havre]

The word going around is that by getting rid of the away goal, UEFA can arrange some of the CL games to be played in China/Middle East in the future. Reason: money, of course.

Seems plausible.

Would love to see the reaction of the fans when they miss out on a CL game. I guess if they pick a RM home game against some team from a smaller league that is offered a ton of money it works.

 

[Havre]

Anyway, I don't think it makes a ton of practical difference in how teams set up for a game, but it definitely makes a difference once the game is going.

You go 0-0 in the first leg at home and then grab an away goal early in the 2nd half of the second leg and you're much more likely to heavily park the bus knowing you only need to avoid giving up 2 goals.

Conversely if you know you're trailing by a single goal you may not go as hard in the 60th minute, but if you're trailing by an away goal you go a lot harder knowing that you need 2 goals.

It also sets up the really fun situations where a single goal takes you from losing to winning as opposed to losing to drawing.

I'm not sure of football is that "nuanced" in terms of how teams play. Even if you remove the away goal rule a team being 1-0 up in the second half of the second game will in most cases park the bus.

Not that I disagree with you in principle. I agree there are situations where the away goal rule might not "work", but I think there are far more situations it does work.

I'm not sure what is the planned alternative? Just no difference between home and away - meaning more games will go to penalties?

 

[maclean]

I think there are just as many situations where it forces teams to play more open football as there are where it might make them play more conservatively.

But above all, it never ceases to amaze me how people think they can fix human nature by changing a rule. Teams will still play in a calculated way however the rules are set up.

Thirdly, the potential that this is a move to take games away from home fans is unfortunately an explanation that makes far too much sense.

 

[bluesfan94]

This season too we had more away goals than home goals scored in the Champions League and I don't see that as desirable.

Using a season with minimal or no fans and multiple neutral site games to make an argument seems pretty silly.

I don't see the point in getting rid of away goals.

I can see where a completely mangled decision can lead to some injustice. But in general, it's pretty equal for both sides. Even if a side is parking the bus, if they happen to give up an away goal, it's going to force them out of their comfort and to go for it in the return leg.

Acting like teams won't park the bus to play for penalties seems pretty silly.

Plus, now if an underdog home team loses 2-1, they can score one goal and immediately park the bus

 

[Albatros]

I don't think away goals should compensate for fan support or the lack of it.

 

[robertmac43]

 

[Evilo]

They will destroy our game day after day...

 

[Savant]

 

[Savant]

They will destroy our game day after day...

So dramatic!

 

[Power Man]

f*** that shit

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

I don't think it's that big a change. In some ways I agree with it.

 

[Live in the Now]

I'm cool with it. In the last few years away goals have eliminated Ajax and PSG when they were clearly the superior teams. Also usually only 1-2 ties a year are decided on away goals in the CL anyway.

 

[Jussi]

Aaaaand it's gone.

 

[Evilo]

So dramatic!

That's because you're relatively new to the game.
Over the last 30 years, we've seen :
1- the creation of the CL to give big teams more chance to suck and still win the whole thing after multiple losses
2- the non champions playing the Champions' League
3- The erasing of the UEFA cup and with it the Cup Winners' Cup.
4- Euro going from 16 teams to a f***ing ridiculous number
5- a team finishing 3rd in its Euro group without a single win going on and win the whole thing
6- the WC expanding to countries that can't line up two top 5 league pros.
7- Leagues being taken over by super rich teams making sure they spend like crazy to stay on top, even with money they don't have, and then whining that they don't make enough money
8- Those teams then trying to start a superleague WITHOUT relegation for certain clubs.
9- Having a team win 7 or 8 straight league titles in Germany and Italy (and counting for BL)
10- having historic teams with good academies being absolutely irrelevant in world's football because they don't have a rich owner throwing insane money at others
11- american owners trying to make the european leagues more like the NA leagues
12- having coefficients that ALWAYS protect the bigger teams, including a future spot reserved for a team that couldn't qualify but still does.
13- creation of a Nation's League instead of friendlies
14- Insane amounts of money thrown around to buy players but ticket prices pricing out most die hard fans.
15- Agents running entire teams.
16- young players being lured out of their comfort zone in key moments of their development so that they go abroad for bigger money at the risk of not developping properly.
17- The creation of VAR which, instead of helping avoiding big unjust mistakes, is just ruining the game with 10 reviews a game, but missing out obvious mistakes.
18- Ballon d'Or turning into a simple "who's the best player" without ever looking at who had the best season.
19- Team buying under 16 players, being punished for it and still doing it.
20- every single non top 5 league being just decoys and only having a mere hope of playing the CL one day.
21- and now, after 60 years of great european football with the away goal rule, some incredible moments in dying seconds, even that is taken away from us.

Dramatic is the word.

 

[Eisen]

Why? Stupid.

 

[Eisen]

That's because you're relatively new to the game.
Over the last 30 years, we've seen :
1- the creation of the CL to give big teams more chance to suck and still win the whole thing after multiple losses
2- the non champions playing the Champions' League
3- The erasing of the UEFA cup and with it the Cup Winners' Cup.
4- Euro going from 16 teams to a f***ing ridiculous number
5- a team finishing 3rd in its Euro group without a single win going on and win the whole thing
6- the WC expanding to countries that can't line up two top 5 league pros.
7- Leagues being taken over by super rich teams making sure they spend like crazy to stay on top, even with money they don't have, and then whining that they don't make enough money
8- Those teams then trying to start a superleague WITHOUT relegation for certain clubs.
9- Having a team win 7 or 8 straight league titles in Germany and Italy (and counting for BL)
10- having historic teams with good academies being absolutely irrelevant in world's football because they don't have a rich owner throwing insane money at others
11- american owners trying to make the european leagues more like the NA leagues
12- having coefficients that ALWAYS protect the bigger teams, including a future spot reserved for a team that couldn't qualify but still does.
13- creation of a Nation's League instead of friendlies
14- Insane amounts of money thrown around to buy players but ticket prices pricing out most die hard fans.
15- Agents running entire teams.
16- young players being lured out of their comfort zone in key moments of their development so that they go abroad for bigger money at the risk of not developping properly.
17- The creation of VAR which, instead of helping avoiding big unjust mistakes, is just ruining the game with 10 reviews a game, but missing out obvious mistakes.
18- Ballon d'Or turning into a simple "who's the best player" without ever looking at who had the best season.
19- Team buying under 16 players, being punished for it and still doing it.
20- every single non top 5 league being just decoys and only having a mere hope of playing the CL one day.
21- and now, after 60 years of great european football with the away goal rule, some incredible moments in dying seconds, even that is taken away from us.

Dramatic is the word.

I honestly agree with all you said. I miss days when you would see teams like Steaua or Belgrad go far. Instead it's the same shit in the top 8 year after year with little variation (after a ludicrous amount of games). CL is dead to me. I haven't watched a single game in the last two years. Nevermind pay TV ruining public interest.

 

[Evilo]

True, I forgot having to pay to see matches that were on free TV back then.

 

[Evilo]

I could add that the big teams often have a very very minor number of players or coaches from their own country, which means different leagues don't have different football.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

If away goals hadn't been a thing, there would have been other great dramatic moments instead. At the end of the day it's a K.O. tie so there's going to be some drama if it's close - with or without away goals rules.

 

[Eisen]

True, I forgot having to pay to see matches that were on free TV back then.

You can't even watch every EC game in Germany anymore without having to pay.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

That's because you're relatively new to the game.
Over the last 30 years, we've seen :
1- the creation of the CL to give big teams more chance to suck and still win the whole thing after multiple losses
2- the non champions playing the Champions' League
3- The erasing of the UEFA cup and with it the Cup Winners' Cup.
4- Euro going from 16 teams to a f***ing ridiculous number
5- a team finishing 3rd in its Euro group without a single win going on and win the whole thing
6- the WC expanding to countries that can't line up two top 5 league pros.
7- Leagues being taken over by super rich teams making sure they spend like crazy to stay on top, even with money they don't have, and then whining that they don't make enough money
8- Those teams then trying to start a superleague WITHOUT relegation for certain clubs.
9- Having a team win 7 or 8 straight league titles in Germany and Italy (and counting for BL)
10- having historic teams with good academies being absolutely irrelevant in world's football because they don't have a rich owner throwing insane money at others
11- american owners trying to make the european leagues more like the NA leagues
12- having coefficients that ALWAYS protect the bigger teams, including a future spot reserved for a team that couldn't qualify but still does.
13- creation of a Nation's League instead of friendlies
14- Insane amounts of money thrown around to buy players but ticket prices pricing out most die hard fans.
15- Agents running entire teams.
16- young players being lured out of their comfort zone in key moments of their development so that they go abroad for bigger money at the risk of not developping properly.
17- The creation of VAR which, instead of helping avoiding big unjust mistakes, is just ruining the game with 10 reviews a game, but missing out obvious mistakes.
18- Ballon d'Or turning into a simple "who's the best player" without ever looking at who had the best season.
19- Team buying under 16 players, being punished for it and still doing it.
20- every single non top 5 league being just decoys and only having a mere hope of playing the CL one day.
21- and now, after 60 years of great european football with the away goal rule, some incredible moments in dying seconds, even that is taken away from us.

Dramatic is the word.

I don't know what this particular rule change has to do with commercialization. There's been tons of other rule changes over the decades regarding back passes, offside, officiating etc. that aren't really related to all that either. I get being opposed to this change, but what does it have to do with Bayern winning the league in Germany with ease?