Science3 mins ago
Points For Goals?
15 Answers
It was just a casual suggestion to a friend who is far more of a soccer fan than me. Yes, I follow a team but he’s a season ticket holder and has pretty in-depth knowledge.
My idea was to abandon the 3/1/0 points system for wins/draws/losses and make each goal worth 1 point – thus a team could lose a game 4-3 but still get 3 points. In the event that teams have the same number of points it could come down to how many goals have been conceded, or how many are scored away from home etc.
His response was that he couldn’t think of a single reason why that wouldn’t work.
What do others think?
My idea was to abandon the 3/1/0 points system for wins/draws/losses and make each goal worth 1 point – thus a team could lose a game 4-3 but still get 3 points. In the event that teams have the same number of points it could come down to how many goals have been conceded, or how many are scored away from home etc.
His response was that he couldn’t think of a single reason why that wouldn’t work.
What do others think?
Answers
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It is a stupid idea.
The moment you start giving points for goals teams would just allow each other to score lots of goals.
So before the game the managers could say to each other "lets score 10 goals each in the first 15 minutes" and once it is 10-10 and we have a few points then we will just enjoy the rest of the game.
Then the next week another team will agree to draw 11-11 to get more points, then the following week a team would agree to draw 12-12 and so on.
I have to say it would only take a moments thought to realise how this system would be abused so I am surprised your football fan "friend" could not even see the problems.
The moment you start giving points for goals teams would just allow each other to score lots of goals.
So before the game the managers could say to each other "lets score 10 goals each in the first 15 minutes" and once it is 10-10 and we have a few points then we will just enjoy the rest of the game.
Then the next week another team will agree to draw 11-11 to get more points, then the following week a team would agree to draw 12-12 and so on.
I have to say it would only take a moments thought to realise how this system would be abused so I am surprised your football fan "friend" could not even see the problems.
What about something like ...
3/2/1/0 points for win, score draw, no score draw and loss.
Plus one point for scoring 4 or more goals and winning or drawing; or 2 or more goals and losing.
So a 4-3 result would give 4 points for the winner and one point for the loser; a 4-4 result would give 3 points for each side; and so on ...
3/2/1/0 points for win, score draw, no score draw and loss.
Plus one point for scoring 4 or more goals and winning or drawing; or 2 or more goals and losing.
So a 4-3 result would give 4 points for the winner and one point for the loser; a 4-4 result would give 3 points for each side; and so on ...
One thing I would say is: what reason would there be for it? A few years ago people were talking about things like abolishing the offside law (even widening the goals!) to bring more goals, but over the years the game it would seem has evolved, helped by changes instituted by the (often rightly) much maligned FIFA, such as the back pass rule, the new offside law, more protection for "flair players" from referees, and a general culture, it would seem, of emphasis on attack.
As it is, if teams finish level on points then goal difference or goals scored are already taken into account.
A few years ago there was a competition called the Anglo-Italian Cup (they used to show the second half of games like Blackpool v Bari live on Grandstand - how we were spoiled back then!) and I seem to recall there was some sort of system similar to Anax's idea employed then.
And the Emirates Cup and other competitions in other sports used bonus point systems for goal scoring. It seems wrong though: and potentially a recipe for abuse. Does anyone remember the notorious case of the Nigerian teams who lost about 70-odd nil on the same day a couple of years back? Were points for goals introduced there'd be even more temptation for shenanigans of that sort. And if one team has a blinder and wins 11-0 on a low-scoring day they're suddenly 9 points clear at the top ...
As it is, if teams finish level on points then goal difference or goals scored are already taken into account.
A few years ago there was a competition called the Anglo-Italian Cup (they used to show the second half of games like Blackpool v Bari live on Grandstand - how we were spoiled back then!) and I seem to recall there was some sort of system similar to Anax's idea employed then.
And the Emirates Cup and other competitions in other sports used bonus point systems for goal scoring. It seems wrong though: and potentially a recipe for abuse. Does anyone remember the notorious case of the Nigerian teams who lost about 70-odd nil on the same day a couple of years back? Were points for goals introduced there'd be even more temptation for shenanigans of that sort. And if one team has a blinder and wins 11-0 on a low-scoring day they're suddenly 9 points clear at the top ...
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