I mentioned this on the other thread. In soccer, the clock is non stop, but going all out is far from it, it would be physically to do. It was posted that the standing, walking and jogging were done half the time but, I see it as more. Very difficult to sort out an average, with each game having it's own pace, and some players going all out much more than others but, I would guess that it's closer to 25% of the game when players go all out.
A couple of things I don't like are the refs taking players out of the next match for a red card, and especially 2 yellow's. I've seen many an individual game when yellow's were given or not given for basically the same play, and red card should be reviewed by FIFA, same as the NBA, before taking a player out of the next match.
I'm on the fence with ties. I understand the strategy of playing for them in some cases but would like and extra 10 minutes added to resolve them.
Truth be told, what sport requires "going all out"? Not football . . . I agree the padding/helmets add something to that number but I mean outside of baseball, football is the slowest sport there is. On every play, half of the team barely has to move and then they get a 40 second rest before the next play. It's a very slow sport.
Even in basketball, there is a lot of dragging . . . mind you they also play these games in a comfortable arena for 48 minutes (4 12 minute quarters . . half the time of soccer when you factor in time added) If you take into consideration the breaks and timeouts, there are roughly 20 breaks in the NBA, plus the amount of fouls and free throws that are substantial breaks as well. Sure there are fouls in soccer and there can be delays, but many of those fouls also result in quick start ups . . . AND they add time to compensate for any major delays.
Soccer players average over 7 miles a match in distance with midfielders getting up close to 10 miles in a match., by far the most of any of the major sports, including basketball, tennis,etc. Football averages 1.2 miles in a match and it's only that high because of the amount of times a WR has to go out on routes and then come back to the huddle.
In soccer the amount of high intensity bursts range, but tend to average around 150 for the entire match. Combine with these not being scripted, no break in between (timeouts/huddle) . . . it's definitely the most physically demanding sport. I think Lebron has the buildup to be an incredible forward on the pitch, but it would have to be as a 2nd half sub in the 80th minute.
Ties are all apart of the points process . . . . In group play, they are needed. When the knockout round happens, then the sport takes it to another level and you get 2 15 minute overtime periods . . . plus penalty kicks if needed. The system works.
I do agree that the card system has it's flaws and I would be in favor of review . . . AFTER the match, to determine yellow card severity to see if it can be lessened. Just not a fan of losing key players in big matches because of a carding that may have been unjust. At most have confirmation of a justified direct red . . . but it needs to be quick. Direct red's don't happen that often so it's actually not a big deal.
However I am against slowing down the game . . . I've heard rumblings of challenges,etc. I think ref error is essentially part of the game and it just means you have to factor for that . . . fair or not. The thing you can't do is slow down soccer, it would take too much away from the game.
