An Idiots Guide to Soccer and Soccer Gaming (Part III)

[StefanK]

Quote: Originally Posted by js3512

Has nothing to do with the commercial breaks or lack there of. It just doesn't hold my attention whatsoever on TV because it looks like they're just kicking the ball back and forth to each other. Very hard to pick up on any sense of strategy if you're not very knowledgable about the sport.

I get it. Like I said, not judging just saying. I used to think the same way when I was younger. But being raised around the sport, being forced to watch it, I had no choice but to pick it up. Plus IMO the MLS is unwatchable just because I'm used to the speed and talent of English and Spanish League soccer. If you can, try to only watch the EPL or SPL when it comes to picking up the game, it will serve you a lot better than watching MLS. You can trust me on that.

[js3512]

Quote: Originally Posted by StefanK

I get it. Like I said, not judging just saying. I used to think the same way when I was younger. But being raised around the sport, being forced to watch it, I had no choice but to pick it up. Plus IMO the MLS is unwatchable just because I'm used to the speed and talent of English and Spanish League soccer. If you can, try to only watch the EPL or SPL when it comes to picking up the game, it will serve you a lot better than watching MLS. You can trust me on that.

I've watched both the MLS and EPL and I have a hard time seeing any difference. Not saying the MLS is anywhere near as good, I understand that they're not but to an untrained eye it's hard to tell any difference.

[eyeamg0dly]

Quote: Originally Posted by js3512

Has nothing to do with the commercial breaks or lack there of. It just doesn't hold my attention whatsoever on TV because it looks like they're just kicking the ball back and forth to each other. Very hard to pick up on any sense of strategy if you're not very knowledgable about the sport.

i used to think like this too, but it was because i didnt understand what they were trying to accomplish. i dont know how much you are up on college football or nfl. think about spread offenses in college, the idea is the make the field as wide as possible both vertically and horizontally to find matchups that favor your players.

in soccer, when you see them pass the ball like they do, they are trying to spread the defense out either vertically (goal to goal) or horizontally (sideline to sideline) to make room for passes and to generally get players in space. this is what we call the build up. to the untrained eye this doesnt look very productive at all, but if they find the weakness they are looking for then they can exploit it.

some teams like to play narrow favoring tight passing and overloading the defenses zone. my only question is why dont they trying something different with narrow formations, like running screens as an example. or play off balance wide formation but overload one side of the field to shift the zone favorably for your playmakers. think of it like like running isolation in basketball. but instead of players moving into the corners away from the ball handler, they just just shift to one side of the pitch.

[js3512]

Quote: Originally Posted by eyeamg0dly

i used to think like this too, but it was because i didnt understand what they were trying to accomplish. i dont know how much you are up on college football or nfl. think about spread offenses in college, the idea is the make the field as wide as possible both vertically and horizontally to find matchups that favor your players. in soccer, when you see them pass the ball like they do, they are trying to spread the defense out either vertically (goal to goal) or horizontally (sideline to sideline) to make room for passes and to generally get players in space. this is what we call the build up. to the untrained eye this doesnt look very productive at all, but if they find the weakness they are looking for then they can exploit it. some teams like to play narrow favoring tight passing and overloading the defenses zone. my only question is why dont they trying something different with narrow formations, like running screens as an example. or play off balance wide formation but overload one side of the field to shift the zone favorably for your playmakers. think of it like like running isolation in basketball. but instead of players moving into the corners away from the ball handler, they just just shift to one side of the pitch.

When you put it in terms of the spread offense in football I kinda get what you mean. I'll have to pay attention for that next time I see a game on. Maybe it'll keep me involved more.

I have one other question, and maybe there will be a Part 4 of this article to explain this but how exactly do the subs work? I see them come in from time to time but don't really know the players well enough to know anything about how it works. Can players re-enter the game after being subbed in for? Is there a certain time in which subs come in? How does it affect the clock? Things of that nature.

[eyeamg0dly]

Quote: Originally Posted by js3512

When you put it in terms of the spread offense in football I kinda get what you mean. I'll have to pay attention for that next time I see a game on. Maybe it'll keep me involved more. I have one other question, and maybe there will be a Part 4 of this article to explain this but how exactly do the subs work? I see them come in from time to time but don't really know the players well enough to know anything about how it works. Can players re-enter the game after being subbed in for? Is there a certain time in which subs come in? How does it affect the clock? Things of that nature.

once a player goes out he cant come back in. generally 3 subs per game, however ive seen more in friendly matches. clock keeps running no matter what. they sub in when there is a break in the flow. player checks in and then when the ball goes out of bounds, or there is a penalty, or anything really that stops the flow of the game, he joins the game. managers usually sub when there is an injury, player gets red or yellow carded, or late in the game for fatigue or tactical reasons.

the game is very simple. i look at our traditional american sports and wonder why do we need all the rules to make things complicated.

[StefanK]

Quote: Originally Posted by eyeamg0dly

i used to think like this too, but it was because i didnt understand what they were trying to accomplish. i dont know how much you are up on college football or nfl. think about spread offenses in college, the idea is the make the field as wide as possible both vertically and horizontally to find matchups that favor your players. in soccer, when you see them pass the ball like they do, they are trying to spread the defense out either vertically (goal to goal) or horizontally (sideline to sideline) to make room for passes and to generally get players in space. this is what we call the build up. to the untrained eye this doesnt look very productive at all, but if they find the weakness they are looking for then they can exploit it. some teams like to play narrow favoring tight passing and overloading the defenses zone. my only question is why dont they trying something different with narrow formations, like running screens as an example. or play off balance wide formation but overload one side of the field to shift the zone favorably for your playmakers. think of it like like running isolation in basketball. but instead of players moving into the corners away from the ball handler, they just just shift to one side of the pitch.

That is a good way of explaining it. To answer your question on why they don't use strategies like overloading one side is because when you do that you leave yourself open to counter attack. Being that the pitch is so big, it is very easy for an opposing player to be forgotten about, thus being able to "sneak" around the defense. Remember that all players do have a responsibility when it comes to defense, not just the back 4 or 5.

Yes, the defenders are most important when it comes that, but if the midfielders don't do their job correctly the opposing side have more opportunity. Think of it as a mixed strategy using your "spread formation" explanation and strategy from hockey. In hockey if the guys in the middle don't defend correctly, the opposing side has more room to work with to be able to weave in and out and create good angles.

[StefanK]

Quote: Originally Posted by js3512

When you put it in terms of the spread offense in football I kinda get what you mean. I'll have to pay attention for that next time I see a game on. Maybe it'll keep me involved more. I have one other question, and maybe there will be a Part 4 of this article to explain this but how exactly do the subs work? I see them come in from time to time but don't really know the players well enough to know anything about how it works. Can players re-enter the game after being subbed in for? Is there a certain time in which subs come in? How does it affect the clock? Things of that nature.

Subs usually only start coming in after about an hour of match time. Sometimes earlier, sometimes later. It's all up to the manager and his gut feelings. If he sees that his 35 year old midfielder is starting to slow down a bit and that opens up some extra angles for the opposing side, he'll most likely sub him out.

Now when it comes to yellow/red cards it's a bit different. Let's say a player gets a yellow card 15 min into the game. If the manager knows that's it's a player who can lose his composure sometimes, he'll sub him out to make sure he doesn't get that second yellow card, equaling a red card. Once a player get's a red card, not only is he sent off but now you are down to 10 men. A manager is not allowed to sub in a player for another who has received a red card. Being a man down drastically changes your strategy and makes it that much harder to come back or hold the lead. Let's say one of your defenders gets sent off, what do you do? Change of formation is first and foremost, but where do get that extra help now? Do you move one of your midfielder into a defenders position and open up the middle of the pitch more? Or do you sub in an defender for one of your strikers and lose potential scoring another goal?

But like I said, it all depends on the manager and how he feels about the situation.

When it comes to affects on the clock, every stoppage affects how much extra time there will be. Free kicks, goal kicks, injuries all affect the extra time clock. Only a few fouls here and there during the match and expect 1-2 min of extra time. Has there been fouls all over the place and a couple injuries? Expect 3-4 maybe 5 min of extra time.

Hope this helps a little bit. I'm not sure if I just started rambling or not

[coach422001]

One small comment on your part II description of offsides. There must be two defenders goalside of the player when the ball is played to him. As you described, most often the offside rule is called when an attacker is beyond the last outfield defensive player and only the keeper is goalside of him. Rarely, if the keeper is off his line, an attacker can be offsides if only one outfield defender or none are goalside. This happened in the last World Cup, where the keeper came out to punch the ball away and the attacking player who eventually put the ball away had only one defender between him and the goal. It took the announcers a while to realize that the official called the play off because the keeper was out by the penalty spot and the attacker was behind him when the ball was played to him. However, as you described in the simplest description most often the keeper is the last defensive player between the goal and the offside player.