talkmagic.co.uk

Yes, I'm Canadian. To begin if a stretcher is brought onto the field at at a CFL or an NFL game it can be a career ending injury..at least an ambulance ride to the hospital and months of recovery.
Okay, so that's my preamble.
I ,like most North Americans, scoff at many of the falls of soccer players. Then the Bumbling Footguard comes out with a stretcher..the corpse is carried off and when he reaches the sidelines he jumps up and is back in the game in seconds.
Now dear Brits be patient with a soccer newbie. First may the "injured " player reenter the field without the referee's permission? Secondly, if not, what would happen if the referee in certain,suspect conditions just happened to have his back to the now-healthy player. May this player get back on the field without the ref's okay?
Next, is it within the realms of reality for ushers in a football to quietly pinpoint where there are people blowing false whistles..then have the law toss them out? And finally, why can't the refs have portable mikes(like CFL &NFL) and announce the penalty and culprit to the crowd?
Please be gentle..I love the game.ron0

First off, it's up to the player, the manager and the medical staff if the player will return to the field. He may have cramp that could be quickly treated, or just a cut. The referee is not supposedly to allow any player with an open wound back on the pitch, so unless the medical staff plaster it up, he's off. Unlike American Football, it is a very fast paced and continuous game with no where near as many stops, they are probably a lot more worn out than you would imagine. As long as they haven't been substituted, the player can get back on the pitch once the referee has been alerted. There was a bit of trouble at a Germany match in the Euro's as a Michael Ballack (seriously good striker if ya didn't already know) was off for a minute, a freekick was taken but because of some technical reason, had to be retaken. In this time, the referee had allowed Ballack to return, rather upsetting the other team!

Secondly, the Referee usually does have a microphone now, used for communicating with the other officials. He doesn't need to announce the culprit because the players don't wear helmets and we generally can see on the big screen's who he was!

Hope this helps!

ron0 wrote: I ,like most North Americans, scoff at many of the falls of soccer players. Then the Bumbling Footguard comes out with a stretcher..the corpse is carried off and when he reaches the sidelines he jumps up and is back in the game in seconds.

That's because some professional soccer players are complete and utter drama queens who go down like stunned mullets at the merest suggestion of a tackle. It's ruining the professional game.

Tomo wrote:

That's because some professional soccer players are complete and utter drama queens who go down like stunned mullets at the merest suggestion of a tackle.

So true, so true!

Of course Rugby Union, a game played by men with odd shaped balls, is a proper man's game. No mamby pambies there !

Mandrake wrote:Of course Rugby Union, a game played by men with odd shaped balls, is a proper man's game. No mamby pambies there !

The scoring is far more interesting too. I've never seen a 0-0 draw in rugby!

Soccer is a good game, skillful, exciting, tactical. Yes the sooky babies that "dive" are a problem, but it's not their fault... FIFA should sort it out. If you dive, and on replay I see daylight between your leg and the guy you say kicked you... you are out for a month.

They wont need to catch everyone, the fact you "may" get caught will be enough. Trouble is, FIFA have allowed diving to become an "art".

Canadians... they like, no LOVE ice hockey. It's "ok"... Baseball, now that is a TRUELY great game. The game that really has EVERYTHING. Sure, a little complicated and intelligent for some to enjoy. However,

80,000,000 fans will attend MLB games this year in the US. another 45,000,000 will attend minor league pro games. No other sport in the world approaches that stat.

Okay got to take up a few points in this thread (besides the obvious that Ballack is a midfielder not a striker).

- The stretcher issue, and specifically players leaving the pitch after getting treatment, is more to do with a ridiculous rule that was brought in a few years ago. If a player gets treatment on the field, he HAS to leave the pitch and wait for the ref's permission to come back on, whether he is perfectly ready to carry on or not. Stupid, stupid rule.

- 80 million people (and I'm one of them) attending Major League Baseball games sounds impressive, but you have to remember that the teams each play 162 - yes, one hundred and sixty-two! - games per season.

- The rugby/football 'man's game' debate is old and tired and pointless. Yes rugby is definitely a more violent game. Whatever floats your boat, I say.

Thanks folks. Now Monsieur Noir, I'm still treading water on a few points. Could, or I suppose may a ref just happen to turn his back as he watches the play and thus not allow the faker to re enter?
Is it possible an actor could fake an injury to try and get someone to kick the ball out of bounds and thus stop play? Or halt a break a way?
In North American football a player injured and down or one who has taken a knee is off for three plays which can't be done in soccer.
I appreciate everyone's help and thank you. Rugby is definitely a really violent game, but then there's the National Football League. I remember the half dozen rugby boys in the 90's who attended an NFL training camp. They were hurt.
Few people realize many of these Yanks can do Big Three 4.1 second times and have been trained since six years old to hit hard. Hearing the two lines is like listening to a preliminary before a very violent street battle..often with racial overtones. Did I mention steroids?Actually, they're good interviews since each player has at least a university education(yes I know sports scholarships). Hockey players are the worst interviews(often just gr.12-if)Truly rugged athletes who are allowed to fight. Baseball..Mister Black, if you're a Brit and understand ball I'm impressed. I have met serious baseball player/spectators who admit after a lifetime that they still haven't absorbed all the possible game situations. Again, thanks..now out to kill hundreds of potato bugs and curse deer flies and mosquitoes. My tractor is back from the shop.....curse ethanol gasoline and the varnish-deposit it leaves inside engines if one uses petro over 2 weeks old.ron0

misterblack wrote:- 80 million people (and I'm one of them) attending Major League Baseball games sounds impressive, but you have to remember that the teams each play 162 - yes, one hundred and sixty-two! - games per season.

Yes that is a lot of games, however 80 million people is more than attend the NBA, NFL, NHL & MLS combined. Plus the minor leagues. 162 games is a lot for sure... but no other sport even NFL which is the big "TV" game, could capture people's imagination so long and so often.

PLEASE! stop calling it soccer...

it's proper and original name is football...thank you...

footballers are like horses, if they fall over, there's a chance of serious injury - they have, apart from shin pads, not armour protection unlike some football derivatives...

their ankles are their livelihoods y'see...

if they get tackled, dependant on who does the tackle and upon whom

martin keown - arsenal - looked like a caveman, talked like a middle class geography teacher, if you can see him tackle ronaldo from man utd in his first season, you will see a full on proper tackle...

ronaldo, scared for his haircut getting displaced, would cry and fall over at the meer shuddering of the earth...

recently, david villa for spain during the Euro's - a small slight fella, but would sliding tackle the big fellas no questions asked..

some when tackled, would roll on the floor, study alot of italian and french players for that technique...

and equally, for the tacklers, the italians and greek for the "i emplore you, i did not even touch him.." look after they went in studs up and two footed...

its why we should have 4 linesmen in the game in my opinion...oh and a landmine in each half to liven up the game in general...

Studying Ed Fowler.
Heroes dwell in all walks of life, in all cultures for all time past and present. Heroes know no age limit, young or old, male or female they live in legend, history, today and tomorrow. The kid who takes on the school bully, the mother who fights for her child, the teacher who dares to teach truth that challenges what is politically correct at the time, and the artist who stands for his freedom of expression against tradition.

I dedicate this knife to the men, women and children who governed by integrity based on rational principles that have fought for justice throughout all time. Integrity that does not consist of loyalty to one’s subjective whims, but loyalty to rational principles they know as valid and honest, those who stand for their rational judgment over the politically correct atmosphere of the time. They may risk all, life, property, popularity for a much greater cause, freedom!

This is my humble tribute to those special individuals who seek and stand for truth, honor and justice through all ages, walks of life and cultures.
Ed Fowler.
Okay, Abraxus,I can call it football. rono

B0bbY_CaT wrote:

misterblack wrote:- 80 million people (and I'm one of them) attending Major League Baseball games sounds impressive, but you have to remember that the teams each play 162 - yes, one hundred and sixty-two! - games per season.

Yes that is a lot of games, however 80 million people is more than attend the NBA, NFL, NHL & MLS combined. Plus the minor leagues. 162 games is a lot for sure... but no other sport even NFL which is the big "TV" game, could capture people's imagination so long and so often.

NBA: small court, can't possibly host as many people as a baseball stadium
NFL: Only 16 games per season, most teams sold out every week
NHL: Outside Canada definitely the 'second-division' sport
MLS: Likewise, and again not many games per season

Don't get me wrong, I really quite like baseball.

ron0 wrote:Few people realize many of these Yanks can do Big Three 4.1 second times

What do you mean by this ron0?

Not a bad analysis of North American sports. Did it and appreciate your spin.
As they say in the technical colleges..Questions please.

(1) Do you think the Yanks' municipal, college & university soccer systems will ever produce a system in which good American players can stay at home and make decent money?
(2) Back in the day the few pro gamblers around told me they had to know how to cheat in case they were playing with a cheater. Do card magicians do any better at i.e. poker than normal people?
(3) Will Major League Soccer ever be more than league for excellent punters;those on their way up(to Europe), or on their way down(from international leagues)?
(4) Have you been called a Yank yet when you returned to England?
You provide a mid-Atlantic spin. Thanks.ron0