Can’t believe the cantankerous negativity which surrounds the relatively innocuous introduction of an extra point for the early-round League Cup group. This competition is our least precious, below the Scottish Cup, League title, Champions League, Europa League and at the top of the tree, the Petrofac Cup. Its purpose should be to experiment, especially in the early rounds.
My only issue with the change is its overwhelming conservatism. If you’re going to make changes, be bold.
An objective of any change in our domestic game or competitions should be to increase excitement and drama. Some work has gone into this with the research paper, Suspense and Surprise, by Ely, Frankel and Kamenica, who collected data from 24,000 ‘soccer’ matches across 67 leagues to “compute suspense and surprise generated from each soccer match”. It’s a weighty document, but in brief, they conclude that football is characterised by having plenty of suspense – during any minute a critical goal can be scored, but surprises, either during the game or with respect to the outcome, are few. They write:
“In any given minute of a soccer game, it is very likely that nothing consequential happens. Whichever team is currently ahead becomes slightly more likely to win (since less time remains). There is a small chance that a team scores a goal, however, which would have a huge impact on beliefs. So belief paths in soccer are smooth, with few rare jumps. This sustained small probability of large belief shifts makes soccer a very suspenseful game.”
So your game is suspenseful as a result of nothing consequential happening during any particular minute. It’s that “nothing consequential” line which is a tad disturbing.
The reason I’m referencing this is that on analysing his paper, Frankel accepted (in his academic terms) what kids and five-a-side players have known for decades. A football game where the winner is not decided by the team which scores most goals, but where the “next goal’s the winner” rule holds true, adds crushing drama and excitement to the suspense of the game.
Winning by six goals? So what, it’s next goal’s the winner now – and your chances of winning are no better than 65%. I’m not advocating a competition with this rule – football fans are far too conservative for that, but it’s worth considering why people watch sport, or any other pastime. Put the question differently, a ‘next goal’s the winner’ sport would never drop its dramatic finale to adopt a system which would allow teams to create winning lead with 75% of the game remaining.
Football has come a long way since the formation of the Football Association in 1863. It has cultural resonance and occasionally athletic brilliance, but for the most part the game flourished without that brilliance. It simply offered better entertainment than was on offer elsewhere. Football has never been dependent on skillful wizardry, for the most part this is a rarity. Don’t listen to people who tell you style or ability determines interest in the game, it doesn’t and never has done. The game will live or die on its ability to throw up drama and suspense.
My guess is that the game will last another 150 years, but it will be completely unrecognisable from the sport you and I know. It will be forced to change by increasingly sophisticated and diverse entertainment options.
Always play ‘next goal’s the winner’ at fives, unless it rankles your conservative tendencies too much.
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I liked the tone of the Blog today!
Now if we could get Gordon64 and Jobo back on that would be good too.
Oh and Weefra. Anyone know how he is getting on?
Hope you are OK!!
Sorry Norman, I’ve just had an attack of common sense (and self-preservation).
Hope that you all have a grand time. Tell me all about it in Stansted next Tuesday night.
Davido
Even at this early hour some CQN’rs are Franz Liszt.
Winning Captains
:-) i know,alas nae 4th,so ma bottom lip is oot far enough for emdi withoot a mention to jump aff:-)
CelticRollercoaster happy birthday mate.have a great day
HH
Bourne
I suspect you were being extremely kind there but I’m just getting a message that says I can’t access it until I enable JavaScript and now I cannae find it to turn it back on!
Help!
JJHS,
I saw a programme about Clark Maxwell a couple of days ago. Hadn’t heard of him until then. Should be a shoo-in. If he was idolised by Einstein, what more is there to say?
Qonno
hi mate,i dont know if it was you who posted a while back bout seeing Celtic play against Dundee in the late 40s,a vital game i believe.apologies if it was not you
HH
And many Mayr will be too de Literes on…
The barrell has been well and truly scraped
Last one….
I’ve Haydn – uff
From Lionsroar Earlier
Does anyone know how to make this archive visible to those outside the UK.?
http://theb.fi/1R4QUhF
HH
Davido
Away to catch de bussy.?
HT
That was Awe_Naw that did the switchy off thing…..it’s in security settings enable etc
BSR
Aye, but I don’t know Verdi get it fae…
Davido
Compose yourself.
have a great night Celts,
HH
Davidopoulos
take 5
and get some air on your g string
Bourne
Found it, enabled it and…..£2!!!!! I’ll be having one of those bad Bhoys for the stocking please! :-)
Willie Walllace’s European debut for the hoops..
2 goals against Dukla Prague…
Can’t remember the old commentator’s name….David Francey??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_LrOkEIMoI
son chris called me at 9a.m. ‘dad could you run me over to wishae general? i need some stitches’ i got him there toot sweet, (he got three stitches under his eyebrow). 2pm daughter nicola calls and i tell her about chris, ‘where did he get the stitches dad?’ ‘wishae general’ i answered …the funniest things can just be the simplest…welcome back bobby
BSR/WDH
I’m afraid it’s a Grave situation. Major issues…
RWE
His name was Thomson, first name escapes me for the moment……………………..
Did all the BBC TV coverage in the early days
Davido/WDH
As long as it keeps you….. Bizet
Predictive text,Duh!
I now have grand-kids anxiously awaiting the arrival of Satan this year.
HH
BSR
Don’t lower the barritone
Remember Roger Mitchell ..and his comment about the tainted trophies etc..
Well now he says that DCK was not fit and proper after all. (from the Evening Times for those who are interested.
“A former chief executive of the Scottish Premier League has slated the Scottish FA’s decision to approve Dave King as a fit and proper owner of Rangers.
Roger Mitchell worked just down the corridor at Hampden from the SFA during his four years at the helm of the SPL.
He quit after Rangers and Celtic vetoed the plans for a dedicated SPL TV channel he had formulated with the other clubs.
And today he took to Twitter to comment on the credentials of controverisal South-African businessman King as the SFA prepares to go to the Court of Session to defend its decision to approve his ownership of the Ibrox outfit.
During a conversation with another Twitter user about King’s Rangers takeover, he said: “re King, Rangers will come to regret him. I would have strongly opposed him.”
When asked to predict if retail magnate Mike Ashley – the instigator of the court action against the SFA – would succeed in his bid to overturn King’s endorsement, Mitchell said: “I wouldn’t want him on my back. So yes. How can king be fit and proper after what the judge said about him?”
That was a reference to the South African judge who when finding King guilty of tax evasion described him as a “glib and shameless liar”.
Mitchell also touched on King’s involvement with the Rangers oldco that went into liquidation in 2012 when he tweeted: “and we [sic] was on the board of oldco. So damaged on every level.””
NOWA
Right, this time it really is tempo to go.
Have a good evening all!
Davidopoulos
I’ve stood at the edge of that clef also
catch you all later
RWE
Peter Thomson.
Embdae know if you can bluetoooth an app from your phone to your TV, via a Firestick?
Shuggiebhoy67
LOL – That’s not until next year.
RWE The guy was Peter Thompson he was Head of BBC Scotland Sport in the Sixties but to the best of my knowledge was not a commentator. Hope that helps, he was also like the rest of them at that time a paid up bluenose. H H Hebcelt
BSR snap
RWE,
I think Jock Stein called him “Blue Peter”. Typical BBC Scotland Sports reporter: follow follower of the deid team.
BSR-i think his nickname was Blue Peter…….
Snap, all over the place……
Have I read the title of the article correctly??
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRAkSj1jlgxDm9uYdxBpN40a75XCC-BP6p0ioGKFjRf9tqayBJs
Maybe got my wires crossed Murdoch MacPherson could have been the Head honcho and Peter Thompson/Thomson a commentator/reporter,giving my age away here!!! H H Hebcelt
hebcelt
The one that always get’s me is him commentating as wee Jinky dribbles in and out of the Huns, his voice
nearly breaking with tears………………..
” and now you can see why Celtic decided to play this little bhoy today ”
ClassicBBCTV csc