How to make football better by adepting rugby rules?

Football and rugby are come from the same origin, so I think both kinds of game can learn from each other in terms of rules. Now football games are more intense than last 10 years, so I think football should adept and improve the rules in order to make it better. I think we should learn from rugby because some rugby rules are designed very well for the football game.

Sin bin: In rugby, the referee has the right to "sin bin" the player, that is, suspend the player for 10 minutes. When a rugby player receives a yellow card, that means "sin bin", he needs to be suspended for 10 minutes. If the remaining time is less than 10 minutes before halftime, the player will be suspended the remaining time in second half. If the remaining time is less than 10 minutes before fulltime, that means the team is shorthanded until the end of the match. Since football games are more intense and more personal fouls, sin bin can make the players calm down when he is suspended. More importantly, as the player knows the team will be suffered by his personal foul, he will be less reckless. For the fans, we can see more tactical moves for both teams in that 10 minutes as the shorthanded team will try to avoid goals and the other team try to score goals.

Blood bin: Blood bin in rugby means when the player is bleeding, or is injured, he will go out of the field to receive treatment. Unlike football, replacement is allowed and that replacement will not be counted to be the usual substitution. In other words, when the injured player has received the treatment and available to play again, he can come back to the field and the replacement player can be also available for the other substitution. Football players also get injured, no matter it is real or not, it takes lot of time, so blood bin can assure the game flow as well as avoiding the team to be shorthanded at the injury moment.

Video referee: There are lots of arguments since World Cup 1966, when England scored the controversial goal and won against West Germany in the final. I do agree with the video referee, but there is a condition. Similar as the rugby union (coz rugby league sometimes abuse the video referee), the referee should have a decision and the video referee is the assistant to the referee. The video referee can be implemented ONLY under the condition related to the goal, that is, ONLY the situation of the ball crossing the line or not, and the video referee shouldn't be used in the situation of deciding offsides. Video referee can confirm the ref's call, making the correct call otherwise, and to be inconclusive. If the video referee is inconclusive, the referee's decision is the final decision. It can avoid the goal line controversy.

Time offs: This is the most important. The mentioned 3 changes must be supported by time offs. The referee can stop the game clock under the situation of the player is injured, players lose control and starting a brawl, and the goal line controversies. For example, Chelsea's Petr Cech was collided with the Wigan player and made Cech concussed 2 seasons ago. The match had delayed for about 10 minutes and even the referee had 8 minutes injury time before halftime, it is still unfair to Chelsea I believe. Time offs can also the good solution to the time wasting. Players fake their injury in order to waste more time if the team is leading. I agree time wasting is a tactic, but I'm not asking for being fake. If the player is injured, stop the clock and take their time to receive the treatment. However, one thing is important is, the match will not have injury time. When rugby reach the end of the game, the referee will only allow the trailing team one last play for them to level the match, if they fail to do so, the match is over. Football can learn from this, only giving the trailing team one last play and make the match better in game flows and to be more fair.

Sometimes I agree to that quote - Football is a gentlemen's game played by ruffians and rugby is a ruffian's game played by gentlemen. I want the football game to be more fair then now, so I want some major rules change in order to make it happen.

Hong Kong Football - what is the way out? (Part II)

Last time I have shared a bit about the problem of the Hong Kong football, now I would like to share with you about the way out. First, I would like to share with you some suggested solutions from the people around Hong Kong.

Some people said Hong Kong should form up a representative team to participate in the league in China, but I don't agree. Yes, technically it is possible and the "national" team of Hong Kong can still remain, like the relationship between Australia in New Zealand in A-League. What I don't agree is the stakeholders. Clubs in Hong Kong are the major stakeholders in any changes in the league, so they will protect their interest at all costs. Some people suggest those clubs can be the feeder club to that representative team, but this movement has already drastically affect their interest. Some people also said the league in Hong Kong can stay remained when the representative team is formed. Well, the clubs' interests are affected again as the league and the team position in the Hong Kong football industry will be very embarrassed. Imagine their investment to the team is vanished at a night, will they support the change? I don't think so. If forming up the representative team to play in China, clubs in Hong Kong will be downgraded and it will end up with intense internal fight within the area in Hong Kong. So, I don't think it is possible.

Some people said we should set up the regional team to compete in the existing league. I think this is a good suggestion, it can solve the problem of the lacking of sense of belonging. There is a region in Hong Kong, called Tai Po, they have a representative team to play the league in Hong Kong and they use the ground there as their home court. The strong base of community support can stimulate the attendance of the match and create the long term support to the team, as well as the league. However, the down side is the advantage is limited in the regional area. If you are not living in that area, you are not going to support the team. So yes, this is the good idea, but it is limited in terms of geographical pattern.

Some people also said asking for more government support. Well, I'm not going to disagree this suggestion, the government can provide the resources that every corporation can't match. However, as the previous said, the government seemed they were not going to keep support the football industry as they don't think they can get the money back quickly. So the support from the government is not reliable and I predict the outcome is not that well.

So, what's my suggestion?

I suggest to reform the league system, franchising is my final goal. As the relegation system is unofficially dead, we should make it official. Eliminate the relegation system and make the existing team in the top flight be one of the franchisees. The advantage is it can stabilize the participated teams regularly and prevent the threads of the effects after relegation, as it will affect the finance of the teams. On the other hand, the league should introduce the playoffs to replace the relegation matches, so there will be more matches to play as well as to make the league to be more intense. I believe the core change of the league system is the competetion level. There is not necessarily to purchase former stars to the team as it will bring lots of financial burden to the team. Therefore, changing the league system is better and more economical choice. Like A-League in Australia, even there was stars to play for that league, such as Romario, the more attracting factor to attract the crowd is the league competition and sense of belongings. Hong Kong can learn from this.

Even I support Germany as my very first choice, I still support the football in Hong Kong. I can't say I'm a hardcore Hong Kong fan, I do hope one day the football in Hong Kong to be strong again.

Hong Kong Football - what is the way out? (Part I)

Days ago the old arugment of Hong Kong football had been started again. The chairman of South China, which is the biggest and most successful club in Hong Kong, Kit-sing Lo, commented the rival club, Rangers, should be relegated according to the underacheiving result. You may feel that it makes sense, right? But if I tell you the relegation system has unofficially dead, and South China had escaped the releegation 2 years ago because they were the biggest and most successful club, what do you think?

People in Hong Kong really love football - they watch league games all over Europe every midnight. Just count the match schedule of ours. Friday, German Bundesliga match, Saturday and Sunday, league matches all over Europe, Monday, English Premier League (sometimes they have Monday night football), and Dutch league, Tuesday and Wednesday, Champions League, Thursday, UEFA Cup, then back to German Bundesliga in Friday! However, why people in Hong Kong don't watch their own football? I would like to share my point of view here in terms of the problems of the domestic league.

Problem 1 - No investment: Comparing with last 15 years, there was not many people would like to put money into the football industry. This is because they believed this industry in Hong Kong would not gain profit. In fact, yes. This is the main reason why Hong Kong football is declining. As the result of without investment, the league in Hong Kong was not able to attract big name players to play in Hong Kong, or retain the talent in the foobtall industry. Some of the football players in Hong Kong quited the football career because they simply didn't have enough salary to keep themselves survive even. So talents all went away. Kit-sing Lo is the exception, he put lots of money to invest South China after acquiring it 2 seasons ago. Is it enough? No, we need more.

Problem 2 - Without sense of belonging: It all happened all over South East Asia I believe. Asian people support the teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, Milan, etc. are because the various reasons, but not because they feel they belong to that place. Can you see why those people support their own team? This is because they feel they belong to that place, so they support the team wholeheartedly. This is one of the main reasons that the local football in Hong Kong declined. People in Hong Kong don't know about the big names in their own team, and even don't know there is a team around his region. So how can we expect them to watch the game? They know stars in all over the world, it is OK, but they don't care the teams around them, this is the core problem.

Problem 3 - Where is the Government support?: Since the Hong Kong Government had decided to hold an equestrian event instead of football, I personally felt the government had already given up Hong Kong football entirely. Years ago the government had already stopped the support to the football section in the Hong Kong Sports Institute, I personally felt very disappointed and now, even given up to hold an event! It was not enough to invite the big teams to play in Hong Kong every year, I should say it is not a support to Hong Kong football, it is a gimmick indeed. I rather prefer to put that money into the training and support to the football players than inviting those stars to Hong Kong.

Problem 4 - Rotted system: Who will watch the match when you know the whole league is not fair? Frankly South China should have relegated 2 seasons ago, no matter how big the impact is. This is the fair of the game. Now the relegated team do not need to be relegated because of the "special reasons". This time Rangers I mentioned above would like to stay in top flight because they have different sponsor and would like to use the different name to compete next season. Kit-sing Lo was very unhappy about it, but, he seemed to be forgotten what happened to his team 2 seasons ago. The whole league system has beed rotted long ago. So facing this situation, people like me won't watch the game.

Hong Kong was the strongest region (we are not a country, so we call region) in Asia in 1970s to 80s. However, since the uprise of Japan and Korea as well as the prolong decline of Hong Kong, now Hong Kong is the second tier all over Asia, and have a great distance to the strongest nations such as Australia, Japan, and Korea. It is very disappointing indeed and solutions are urgently implemented.

Germany in Euro 08 - Final thought

Germany had summarized the tournament with a 1-0 defeat against Spain last night. It can be said all the efforts previously were wasted. As a hardcore Germany fan I was pretty upset, coz it was just a little step away from the trophy. Just a little step and we have to wait another 2 years to witness Germany to win another major trophy - World Cup. However, I feel really proud of the players as they told the world that Germany is a major power in the world football. OK, Here's my final thought of Germany in Euro 08:

Defence: Generally the defence was very inconsistent. Sometimes they had a very solid defence but sometimes they lost the goal cheaply. This was becoz the players were lack of form in club football. Apart from Per Mertesacker, Christoph Metzelder, Arne Friedrich, Philipp Lahm, and Jens Lehmann did not gain the solid form in their clubs. Metzelder and Lehmann were even the substutite players in Real Madrid and Arsenal respectively. So their performance even was solid, as they did not gain the consistent form, it was very often to see they lost the possession and created dangers in their own zone. Heiko Westermann is a good solution to the German defence in the future. Schalke 04 can provide him a stable and competitive environment for him to grow. As things go smoothly, I believe Westermann will be the most important member in the Germany squad.

Midfield: The midfield were very competent in the tournament. It was the key to lead the team into the final. The match against Portugal could prove that the German midfield were controlling how the whole team worked in the match. The Spanish could successfully made the German midfield suffocate so when Germans wanted to equalize the match, it was simply very hard for them. Torsten Frings and Michael Ballack did a very good job. They had limited lots of spaces against the opposition and controlled the midfield. However, they did not have any way out to fight back the high quality Spanish ball possession. Simon Rolfes did a very great job in the Portugal match. As expected from myself personally, he will be the most important in the German midfield in the future. All he needs is the big match experience. When he gain enough match experience, he can even replace Ballack in terms of the importance of the team.

Attack: The attack in this tournament was better than Euro 2004. Same as World Cup 2006, the attack had variety so that the Germans could score goals against the opponents. Lukas Podolski did a very good job in this tournament. It was quite a surprise that he did the remarkable job in the left flank. Having this new role, the German attack has more variety in terms of ball possession and counter attacks. Bastian Schweinsteiger also proved himself that Bayern Munich should have play him more. His role in right flank made a chemical reaction with Podolski and Miroslav Klose. Even though Germans played 1 striker in the final stage, their attack was still threatening. Mario Gomez needed more time to adept the big match environment. He was not really get used to play in a such big matches. Even I'm in a million miles away from him, I feel that he was really stressed.

Bench: The bench was definitely the weakest link in the tournament. There were only 16 players at most that could deliver in the match, which meant there were 7 players were totally wasted!!! I believe this is the main reason why Germans were defeated in the end. This was becoz the bench players couldn't support the starters when they were in trouble. As fans could all see the bench players were totally useless when they were substituted in the field. Marko Marin could be the very good bench player in the future. Same as Rolfes, Marin needs more experience. I believe this is the most urgent problem that the Germans need to solve, as we know bench power is the real factor to control the match.

Overall: I'm very happy to see how the Germans perform, and I'm proud of those players. One very good thing is they have the fighting spirit. Their fighting spirit carried them through to the final but unfortunately couldn't bring them to the trophy. I do hope that the Germans can keep this fighting spirit every match and I do believe they can win the World Cup 2010!!

Personal sharing: So much to say, simply speaking thank you all of the supports of the match gathering event during this month. I'm very happy to be with you guys there. We shared ups and downs in this month and this is very unforgettable for me. I'm also gad that we have created a network to support our favourite team. I won't be walking alone coz I know you fans are always walking with me. We also showed that all Germany fans are sticking together tight and support our team wholeheartedly. Maybe 20 years later I will forget how Germany lost to Spain, but I won't forget the moment we together had. This is the most memorable moment in my life and once again, thank you all!!!!!!!!

Germany in Euro 08 - Semi Final Analysis

What a drama!! The last 12 minutes of the match is the drama of the match! The Germans finally prevail in the end with Philipp Lahm's 90th minute goal and win against Turkey 3-2! This is what the semi final match means!! However it's a bit shame for the fans around the world that the transmission has lost for about 10-15 minutes in 2nd half in total so except the fans in the stadium, no one in front of TV can watch the goal of 2-1 and 2-2 live. OK, here's my analysis for this match:

Defence: Comparing with last match, the German defence is very inconsistent this time. It is a bit unfair to score Per Mertesacker and Christoph Metzelder such a low score from the German newspaper Bild, I think the Turkish give even heavier pressure than Portugal and make the German defence have errors. Both 2 conceded goals are directly related to Jens Lehmann, he is very inconsistent in the entire tournament, and he is the weakest link of the defence to be frank. However, I still stress to start him becoz he has already communicated with the back 4 so they know how they play. If the Germans put another goalie in this moment, it will be very unwise coz both parties need to communicate again and may make a further trouble. Philipp Lahm has a fair game, but his winning goal is too important to leave out so he is the man of the match. I think so far he is the best defender in the German team. Marks: 70/100.

Midfield: Simon Rolfes is very nervous this game. Maybe he does not have experience to play in a such important game. His miss tackles brings him down during the match. So he is substituted in the halftime by Torsten Frings. Frings does a great job for controlling the midfield and makes the Germans start to control the match. His strength and stamina are very important for the Germans now, epsecially when the match comes in the final third period, his stamina will make the difference. Michael Ballack has a quiet game, maybe the Turkish midfield defense are very tight that Ballack can make any breakthroughs. Ballack's long shot and header is one of the best in the world, but his weakness is he does not run a lot, so when the space is limited for him, his performance is limited for him. Marks: 70/100.

Attack: The attack is not bad this match, at least scoring 3 goals from the limited shooting. Miroslav Klose is Mr. Big Match this time, he is very quiet this match but he can take the rare mistake from the Turkish so he can score the leading goal. This is very important from the Germans coz before the goal, both teams are in the deadlock. Klose breaks the deadlock and make the match wild open and make the Germans cruise to the final. Lahm's winning goal is the sensational individual effort, he deserves that goal. The German fullbacks this match are pushing forward in the final third of the match so it brings pressure to the Turkish. So I think besides their defense, their attacks are pretty good. Marks: 80/100.

Overall: It's all about fighting spirit. Being in this stage of the match it's all about it. Without fighting spirit, no matter how good the team is, they will lose game. Both teams have fought hard during the match and they do not give up and give in until the end of the match. The Germans only do a little bit harder and better in the last 4 minutes of the match. Here I give a round of applaud to the Turkish, they are troopers. It's a bit shame that there's only 1 winner so, I can only say winner takes all. Overall mark: 75/100.

Germany in Euro 08 - Quarter Final Analysis

Astonishing! Germany wins against Portugal and be the first team to qualify for the semi final. Portgual was the favorite of this match but Germany had gone over the obstacle and won against them and the match ended up with 3-2. Now here's my analysis:

Defence: The defence is sensational! Even though the German lose 2 goals, it is still the best performance in these 4 matches. Cristiano Ronaldo has very limited space to work on and he cannot perform his best in the entire match. Still, his first touch is excellent that create the first goal for Portugal, so we can't blame the German defence in that goal as Cristiano Ronaldo does very well. However, the Germans lose concentration a bit to let Portugal score the 3-2 goal and make the last few minutes very exciting. Generally the defence is very good this match. Marks: 85/100.

Midfield: Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Ballack say it all. These 2 fellas make an astonishing performance in the midfield. Schweinsteiger make 1 goal and 2 assists in the game, which means all 3 goals are related to him. He comes out in a different person comparing to the last 2 games. He is very active, very aggressive, and creates lots of space from the right side. This is one of his best performances in his career for sure. Michael Ballack, Mr. Big Match, he seals the game in the 61st minute and make Portugal has great distance to get back to the game. His header is always threatening, he only grabs a single mistake from Portugal defense and it is a goal. The others such as Simon Rolfes and Thomas Hitzlsperger have a good game in defense and tackling so Portugal are not comfortable at all in the midfield. So we should give them credit as well. Marks: 92/100.

Attack: Mario Gomez finally is on the bench this game and he does not come out to play. However, Miroslav Klose gains back his confident and scores the most important goal of the match. His 2-0 header makes the Germans lead Portugal to play. On the other words, Portugal just only follows the Germans' rhythm. Even though he is going to be quiet in the last quarter of the game but he still makes threats. Lukas Podolski plays at the left side, even though the starting lineup shows him to be the striker. However, he runs at the left side in the entire match and leads the Germans have one more extra midfield to create the attack. He makes the first goal in the left side for Schweinsteiger. Also, he still makes runs in the final quarter of the match and lead Portugal can't push up too much. Marks: 90/100.

Overall: It's all about belief. I think the key that the Germans win is all about their belief. They kiss all the problem away and only concentrate on this match. Their moral is very high and aggressive, and their tactics also beat Portugal. So the Germans are the deserved winner last night. Overall marks: 90/100.

Germany in Euro 08 - Match 3 Analysis

My apology that it is late to make an analysis here. Germany has successfully qualify the group stage and will face Portugal this Thursday. Before facing Portugal, let's make some analysis before the matchup.

Defence: The defence has not much tough test this match. Arne Friedrich is the only change compare to last match. He is OK in defence, even his attacking is not good enough still. However, I do think that the defence play the crucial role in this kind of crucial match as the German can't afford to lose a goal first. Philipp Lahm (picture) is the star of the game. He is much better at the left back, even though he prefers to be right back. He forces a foul and lead to the crucial goal. The Germans should be very happy that Lahm is back to his best form as it is very important in the next match. Mark: 77/100.

Midfield: Michal Ballack (picture), Mr. Big Match, you've done it again! He creates the first set piece goal in the entire tournament and his aggression really boost the Germans up. The others do the great job both in offense and defence. Clemens Fritz does not play very well and I think besides the first match, he plays only fairly well. Next match against Portugal, I think the Germans can put Bastian Schweinsteiger as the starter as he is quite hard working and fresh. Also, his long shot can create threats to Portugal too. Marks: 80/100.

Attack: No sign of any regaining any form yet. Miroslav Klose (picture) and Mario Gomez still do not have any confident at all. When I watch Gomez fails to score in front of the empty net, I feel that he is facing the problem of lack of confidence. It maybe because this tournament is his first big event for him and he feels really anxious about the match. So his great form in Stuttgart can't convert to the match. Klose is facing the scoreless drought in the 2nd half of the season and now his scoreless drought continues in the national team. Even the Germans win the match, I don't think the front pair do anything magical in the match. Marks: 50/100.

Overall: Big match team, this is what the Germany fans call their favourite. This time, the big match team has done it again. They make it through to the quarter final before falling off the cliff. In general the Germans have not done well in the first 3 matches but the quality and the big match experience help them through. I'm a bit surprised that Joachim Löw (picture) still keeps Gomez on the starting lineup. Maybe Löw believes he can regain his confident. However, I think Gomez should be on the bench to release his pressure and when he is substituted, he will be the fresh man to play. Overall mark: 70/100.

Now it's all about morality. All the tactical problems are all cliche. Going into the quarter final stage is all about the pitch performance. So personally I don't think Germany is an underdog in the upcoming match. Portugal coach Scolari (picture) also thinks this way. So this match is pretty spectacular as both teams are the big match team. Of course, as a hardcore Germany fan, I will fully support Germany that night and I think the pitch performance will be the winning key.