Dear World Cup 2018,
I have some questions.
Why do teams seem to be taking so many short corners, when the set-piece has been shown to be the biggest statistically underutilized xG inefficiency? Bend it in for the inswinger and let probability do its work. (Note: It is also entirely possible that I don't actually know what I'm talking about, and I'm saying this because I read a book and now I'm basically a Blog Boy)
Why are sliding tackles ok again? I seem to remember there being a concerted effort to get rid of them in the 90s. Not sure if this is just confirmation bias, but it does seem like injuries are up this year. I really want to see some transcendent Messi/Neymar shit, dribbling fools out of existence, and mostly all we get are these ugly fouls.
Why aren't yellow cards reset after the group stage? It really sucks to watch teams playing without their top dudes. The 2 yellow cards = suspension rule seems a little too low of a bar. My solution for these last two questions: Just hand out more reds for dangerous tackles and do away with suspensions, unless they are for really flagrant fouls or non-football shenanigans. The NBA gets this right.
Why are most of the Fox commentators so awful? I am so done with all the "as it stands" commentary. We all know that if the score is Uruguay 2 Portugal 1, "as it stands" Portugal and Ronaldo will out of the tournament. And can we please ditch the guy that sounds like Troy Aikman?
(To be continued ... )
I have some questions.
Why do teams seem to be taking so many short corners, when the set-piece has been shown to be the biggest statistically underutilized xG inefficiency? Bend it in for the inswinger and let probability do its work. (Note: It is also entirely possible that I don't actually know what I'm talking about, and I'm saying this because I read a book and now I'm basically a Blog Boy)
Why are sliding tackles ok again? I seem to remember there being a concerted effort to get rid of them in the 90s. Not sure if this is just confirmation bias, but it does seem like injuries are up this year. I really want to see some transcendent Messi/Neymar shit, dribbling fools out of existence, and mostly all we get are these ugly fouls.
Why aren't yellow cards reset after the group stage? It really sucks to watch teams playing without their top dudes. The 2 yellow cards = suspension rule seems a little too low of a bar. My solution for these last two questions: Just hand out more reds for dangerous tackles and do away with suspensions, unless they are for really flagrant fouls or non-football shenanigans. The NBA gets this right.
Why are most of the Fox commentators so awful? I am so done with all the "as it stands" commentary. We all know that if the score is Uruguay 2 Portugal 1, "as it stands" Portugal and Ronaldo will out of the tournament. And can we please ditch the guy that sounds like Troy Aikman?
(To be continued ... )
