The first of three tough matches coming up starting with Orient.

They seem to have hit some form but hopefully lessons learnt against Shrewsbury should get us a win.

1 hour ago, Zico said:

Yeah but all ours have a chat and a drink too

Some seem almost to be expecting and are ready for it they're over that quick

 

I think the current era of managers like it and both teams probably plan for it. Baxter was doing it every week earlier in the season.

44 minutes ago, Tombwfc said:

I think the current era of managers like it and both teams probably plan for it. Baxter was doing it every week earlier in the season.

Then they should change the fckg rules. Until then stop fannying about.

None too bothered whether "everybody does it, including us.

On 22/02/2025 at 19:04, Krimzon said:

 

First time I've seen this.

He doesn't sound very happy, and seems to be taking a pop at his centre half.

Taking a leaf out of Evatt's book there! 😁

I’m not having it that we wanted that break in play on Saturday. We were all over them and it was only ever going to benefit one team. We might have utilised it, but we’d be fucking daft to just stand on the pitch scratching our arse whilst the other team have a 5 min briefing.

As annoying as it is, I almost don’t blame Orient for doing it. If you can get away with it and every other bastard is taking advantage, why wouldn’t you? It just needs a rule to stamp it out. I think the simplest and most realistic is one of your outfield players goes off for a minute or two. I don’t think you can go into the opposition nominating but it’s enough of a deterrent to stop it in my opinion.

1 minute ago, Eddie said:

I’m not having it that we wanted that break in play on Saturday. We were all over them and it was only ever going to benefit one team. We might have utilised it, but we’d be fucking daft to just stand on the pitch scratching our arse whilst the other team have a 5 min briefing.

As annoying as it is, I almost don’t blame Orient for doing it. If you can get away with it and every other bastard is taking advantage, why wouldn’t you? It just needs a rule to stamp it out. I think the simplest and most realistic is one of your outfield players goes off for a minute or two. I don’t think you can go into the opposition nominating but it’s enough of a deterrent to stop it in my opinion.

It’s the goalies though innit?

They don’t have to go off the pitch after an injury.

 

1 minute ago, Spider said:

It’s the goalies though innit?

They don’t have to go off the pitch after an injury.

 

I know, I meant that if your keeper goes down then one of your outfield players effectively has to do his stint on the sidelines for him for a minute. You’re never going to be able to do anything that impacts the keeper, but telling your striker that he’s got to stand on the sidelines for a minute because his keeper is play acting wouldn’t go down too well.

4 minutes ago, Eddie said:

I know, I meant that if your keeper goes down then one of your outfield players effectively has to do his stint on the sidelines for him for a minute. You’re never going to be able to do anything that impacts the keeper, but telling your striker that he’s got to stand on the sidelines for a minute because his keeper is play acting wouldn’t go down too well.

Who decides if he's play acting though? For instance, cramp is very easy to fake, nigh on impossible to disprove, and can be fully recovered after a few stretches.

Edited February 24, 20251 yr by Cheese

9 minutes ago, Cheese said:

Who decides if he's play acting though? For instance, cramp is very easy to fake, nigh on impossible to disprove, and can be fully recovered after a few stretches.

If an outfield player gets cramp, recieves treatment,  he goes off for 30 seconds. So if everytime the keeper receives treatment a player leaves the pitch as his surrogate. It is not ideal but would irradicate some of the play acting.

Also only allowing captains over to the manager during breaks. Drinks can be provided around the pitch and no need for trainers to hand them to players. 

3 minutes ago, CambridgeBWFC said:

If an outfield player gets cramp, recieves treatment,  he goes off for 30 seconds. So if everytime the keeper receives treatment a player leaves the pitch as his surrogate. It is not ideal but would irradicate some of the play acting.

Also only allowing captains over to the manager during breaks. Drinks can be provided around the pitch and no need for trainers to hand them to players. 

How unfit does a keeper have to be if he’s getting cramp? It’s not like he’s tiring himself out during the game.

Alternatively they bring on a substitute goalkeeper every time for a 5 minute period, this can be either a proper keeper of one of the normal subs.

14 minutes ago, CambridgeBWFC said:

If an outfield player gets cramp, recieves treatment,  he goes off for 30 seconds. So if everytime the keeper receives treatment a player leaves the pitch as his surrogate. It is not ideal but would irradicate some of the play acting.

Also only allowing captains over to the manager during breaks. Drinks can be provided around the pitch and no need for trainers to hand them to players. 

Who decides which outfield player goes off? It's a minefield. Just put a stop to the 'spontaneous' team talk and drink break, then there's no motive for the keeper to go down

30 minutes ago, Cheese said:

Who decides if he's play acting though? For instance, cramp is very easy to fake, nigh on impossible to disprove, and can be fully recovered after a few stretches.

As @CambridgeBWFC says, it’s less about the decision of play acting or not, it’s just a way to bring the keepers treatment in line with every other outfield player.

There’s a reason it’s always the keeper, because there’s zero consequence. If there’s a simple rule that brings them in line with all other players then there’s no loophole.

You could still do it, but there’s not a way you can do it anymore without going down to 10 men for a short amount of time, whereas at the moment there is.

2 minutes ago, Cheese said:

Who decides which outfield player goes off? It's a minefield. Just put a stop to the 'spontaneous' team talk and drink break, then there's no motive for the keeper to go down

I like your idea as well to be fair. I just think it’s less likely to be implemented.

What happens if a player just comes over to grab a water bottle - do they get yellow carded? If not, they’ll start to do that but then linger around whilst they take forever to drink it and the coach talks to them.

Whatever stops it, I don’t care. It just needs the loophole closing.

1 minute ago, Eddie said:

I like your idea as well to be fair. I just think it’s less likely to be implemented.

What happens if a player just comes over to grab a water bottle - do they get yellow carded? If not, they’ll start to do that but then linger around whilst they take forever to drink it and the coach talks to them.

Whatever stops it, I don’t care. It just needs the loophole closing.

Yes. When there aren't any stoppages, they go without a drink for the full half. It's not like we're playing under the Arabian sun.

I’d like to see 2x 30 minute countdowns with the clock stopping whenever the ball isn’t in play which would eradicate time wasting altogether and take the responsibility away from refs.

Plus we’d get more football/value for money and a 10, 9, 8 countdown in each half.

1 hour ago, Cheese said:

Who decides which outfield player goes off? It's a minefield. Just put a stop to the 'spontaneous' team talk and drink break, then there's no motive for the keeper to go down

Teams could nominate a player before the game, or it is always one of the strikers. It is to act as a deterrent, as even if the team talks are prevented we may still see instances to break momentum. It is a shit practice and is really frustrating for fans when it is so obvious what is happening 

Bit of a minefield really. Whilst it's a problem, as SS mentioned himself, he'd used it to his advantage. It does make me think two things;

1. How numb in the average professional footballer that a manager can't get instructions onto a pitch in real time through those closest to him

2. Once a manager has realised the tactical change that has been made by the opposition manager (shouldn't need more than 3 mins), why doesn't he then instruct his own goalkeeper to go down and overcome those changes. Appreciate that then becomes a never ending thing, but in the short term it would seem an obvious thing to do.

No easy answer to the problem. If they change the rules about keepers being injured,  expect managers will then just tell outfield players to go down, and they'll take the 30 second hit (presumably by telling a forward to go down).

We're possibly not far away from having 'tactical' breaks, which each manager can have in each half. Or quarter game intervals of 2 mins. Even then, a manager may spot something and the keeper would still go down outside of these breaks. As @Cheese says, the only way to truly stop it, is to make players wait in the centre circle or some other designated area of the pitch any time a player is injured, and book them any time they go over to the side (perhaps captain being the exception).

I do think football needs greater evolution than we currently see. But maybe that's for another thread 🙂 

 

1 hour ago, Eddie said:

I like your idea as well to be fair. I just think it’s less likely to be implemented.

What happens if a player just comes over to grab a water bottle - do they get yellow carded? If not, they’ll start to do that but then linger around whilst they take forever to drink it and the coach talks to them.

Whatever stops it, I don’t care. It just needs the loophole closing.

Some good comments and suggestions, hopefully its not just BW fans that are wound up by it and something is done.  You've reminded me of that corner Orient had at 0-1 when they had a player on the touchline having a drink, and the ref actually waited for him to finish, delaying the game even more, and of course he then wanted to be in our penalty box for the corner, and the ref again waited for him to jog over and take up position.  Absolute farce.

Keeper goes down injured, no outfield player is allowed in the D, staff can't leave the technical area and any player leaving the pitch can't come back on until a minute after the restart...

3 hours ago, freds dad said:

How unfit does a keeper have to be if he’s getting cramp? It’s not like he’s tiring himself out during the game.

Alternatively they bring on a substitute goalkeeper every time for a 5 minute period, this can be either a proper keeper of one of the normal subs.

Exactly.

The answer is right in front of us ... 'flying keepers', mabe with a 3-&-in rule too.

Alternatively a message, which could be done today, saying "this is noted, it's unacceptable, cease & desist" adding 'twats' at the end. 

They could chuck in that every time a keeper catches the ball and jumps on the floor & has a lie-down will result in one of his fingers being amputated.

Honestly though, an off-field time manager could stop it immediately. Like Rugby League.

16 minutes ago, Dr. Feelgood said:

Exactly.

The answer is right in front of us ... 'flying keepers', mabe with a 3-&-in rule too.

Alternatively a message, which could be done today, saying "this is noted, it's unacceptable, cease & desist" adding 'twats' at the end. 

They could chuck in that every time a keeper catches the ball and jumps on the floor & has a lie-down will result in one of his fingers being amputated.

Honestly though, an off-field time manager could stop it immediately. Like Rugby League.

The 4th official should be the one deciding added time. He's got less to do than the actual ref, so it makes perfect sense. Tricky innit. Even though the ref was probably spot on with the +10 on Saturday, it did feel like WE were being punished for Orient's time wasting.

Its actually potentially a very lucrative ad break

Thatll be why nowt gets done

#cynic

20 minutes ago, Casino said:

Its actually potentially a very lucrative ad break

Thatll be why nowt gets done

#cynic

For international broadcast and premier league matches maybe, not having it for Bolton V Orient in the 3rd tier, no matter how many 'international' viewers we may attract. 

If that is the case I would anticipate rule changes to 4 quarters, or official time outs for both teams 

41 minutes ago, Cheese said:

The 4th official should be the one deciding added time. He's got less to do than the actual ref, so it makes perfect sense. Tricky innit. Even though the ref was probably spot on with the +10 on Saturday, it did feel like WE were being punished for Orient's time wasting.

As mentioned earlier the solution to this would be the winning team having the option to not have the other teams time wasting added on. Appreciate that is massively complicating a situation and if a team was chasing aggregate scores would not work 

Just stop the clock every time the ball is not in play. Simple.

31 minutes ago, bwfc4ife said:

Just stop the clock every time the ball is not in play. Simple.

Games wouldnt finish until 5.30pm.