Only around 6 / 1,000 shots in the premier league create XG higher than a penalty (so Arsenal had 3/4). And the majority of fouls that lead to a penalty have less than a 10% chance of leading to a goal (including way too many non-deliberate handballs)
Penalties have actually been getting easier with VAR ensuring keepers stay on their lines and the new rules stopping the keepers distracting the taker.
I think it would make the game fairer and more exiting if penalties weren’t an almost guaranteed goal. So I came up with some ideas to reduce the impact of penalties:
- Require the fouled player to take the penalty.
- Offer indirect free kicks for non-deliberate handballs.
- Prohibit stuttered run-ups, making the kicker’s approach more predictable for goalkeepers.
- Move the penalty spot back.
- Use VAR to penalise diving more harshly
Let me know if you agree that penalties are too hard and if so how we could change them?
I’ve also explored more ideas in a new video, consider giving it a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6elPY8ZvtI.
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I’m not sure how much point 1 would work in terms of reducing the number of penalties scored. Keepers at the moment study the opposing penalty taker and know which side they favour etc. Randomising it in some ways makes it harder for the keeper.
why would we change something that was designed this way on purpose? I don’t understand the question, it is supposed to be easy and it should discourage fouling in the box
Penalties are supposed to be a reward, they should obviously hugely favour the attacking team?
As a former GK… I always hated penalties but they ARE a part of the game and do serve a purpose… I wish that penalty shootouts weren’t used to decide games. Back in the old days in the USA MSL they had a different way of ending games which I thought was more fair and that was a ball placed 35 yards from the goal and the taker could dribble the ball and the keeper could come out to cut down the angle. The kick had to be taken in 8 seconds from the first touch. No other players involved. Evened the odds a bit and was a fairer way to end it all I thought. FIFA stepped in and stopped it…but I always thought it should rise again!
May not be a popular opinion but penalties would be better if they were like old MLS pens.
Attacker vs keeper both have a chance to think and react and you can honestly say it’s a 50/50 situation.
Shrink the penalty area to 12 yards, any foul in the area leads to a direct free kick from the nearest edge on a line from the centre of the goal through the location of the foul. No players allowed in the box except the keeper.
If you foul a player front and centre it’s a slightly harder penalty. Foul them by the touchline and it’s a short corner pretty much, far fairer punishment for the location of the foul.
Hand balls in the box should be indirect free kicks. Having to stutter around with your hands behind your back or having to worry about where your hands are when jumping or doing an awkward movement requiring balance is against the spirit of the game in my opinion.
I strongly agree on the third point. Stuttered run-ups should be banned. Not to mention that players look so stupid when they do a weird walkup and miss (looking at you, Zaza).
We suggested in the last thread that non penalty taking players were allowed to enter the box and challenge as soon as the penalty taker began moving towards the ball as a means to stop this.
I’ve always felt that too many occasions don’t merit a free shot on goal from 12yds. Like a foul near the edge of the box when there’s 5+ defenders between them and the goal. I think the occasions aren’t specific enough to merit the change, but it would be ideal imo to see those instances become direct free kicks inside the box instead, allowing a wall since there were defenders there when the infringement occurred.
Then don’t break the rules and foul opponents in your penalty area
How many dives or simulations do we see in those exact scenarios?
That’s an entirely separate issue.
Not particularly many
If that’s the case, then punish everything in the box. Referees already apply selective reasoning to penalties, as ‘contact not warranting a penalty’ is always used to justify decisions. If it would be a free kick outside of the box (like Hojlunds grab on Rodri) then punish it accordingly.
It isn’t expressly treated any differently
Michael Cox (The Athletic) suggested having a semi-circle penalty area a la 5-a-side.
This way, any foul within this area would be close enough to goal to justify a penalty.
Then again… If the offensive player is running away from goal i.e. to the touchline, then this idea falls flat.
Also encourages diving as the rewards are so great. The spirit of the game has been lost.
I think the solution to that problem isn’t harder penalties.
It’s harshly and consistently punishing dives, which we very rarely ever do.
Agreed and not giving soft penalties
What the fuck is xg?
Sounds like a load of wank to me
What the fuck is xg?
Chelsea FC coping mechanism.
I completely agree that the player who is fouled should take the penalty
I think they should take the penalty wearing beer goggles.
Nah. Place your hand on the ball, run 10 rounds around the ball with your hand still on it and then shoot.
Have you ever made yourself dizzy and tried to kick a football? Might be good craic if they implemented it
Hockey style dribble penalties like MLS did in the 90s would spice things up
I actually really liked the MLS thing they did where they had 30 seconds to score from the half way line. Gave the goalie way more of a chance. Probably too time consuming to implement though.
yeah not really being serious as an alternative but it was fun! the time limit certainly made it work for its purpose (shootouts)
i’ve been looking for a video like this. i’ve always thought that penalties rewarded soft fouls waaaaay too much