So the premier league has started enforcing the new rule that if a GK leaves his line before the kick they will retake the kick. Champions league had at first enforced but hasn't really been giving it as much weight as the new handball rules. This rule modification you'll recall was a huge issue on the WWC (IIRC one PK was taken 3 times).
In Manchester U v Crystal today De Gea did as GK training indicates on the kick and took a step with one foot off the line. His back heel on the other leg was off the line. It was a spectacular and textbook save but they retook the penalty kick and Cry scored on the 2nd kick. Such a strict enforcement of the rule makes it very difficult for a GK to save a shot...increasing the odds of a striker already making a relatively easy goal. The impact on the rules (particularly in conjunction with the new handball rules) is that an award of the penalty is almost always an assured goal.
IMHO this aspect of the game, particularly given the new handball rules, is still very broken. Fixing the penalty shot itself is very hard: you'd have to do something very extreme (like only counting a penalty as 1 point but a field goal as 2, or moving the spot back and reworking hundreds of thousands of pitches around the world) or rework the awarding of the penalty itself (e.g. a DFK in the box instead of a penalty unless its DOGSO). It's especially hard if the game is determined by penalty shoot outs. The easiest way to fix this is to let the goalkeeper move as soon as the whistle is blown.
Yeah I hear the objection: it will cause the GKs to run up and try to snag the ball before the striker takes the shot and that just turns it into a 1v1 MLS style. But I'm not sure that's true....it would just encourage strikers not to take those long run ups to the strike or to shuffle their feet.
Another more minimal solution is to allow the GK to stand behind the line. It would allow them the space to jump forward and increase the reaction time. The rules makers don't seem to fully appreciate the mechanics of diving (that it involves a forward motion at an angle). In any case, I'm working on an article on the subject so would appreciate any thoughts.
In Manchester U v Crystal today De Gea did as GK training indicates on the kick and took a step with one foot off the line. His back heel on the other leg was off the line. It was a spectacular and textbook save but they retook the penalty kick and Cry scored on the 2nd kick. Such a strict enforcement of the rule makes it very difficult for a GK to save a shot...increasing the odds of a striker already making a relatively easy goal. The impact on the rules (particularly in conjunction with the new handball rules) is that an award of the penalty is almost always an assured goal.
IMHO this aspect of the game, particularly given the new handball rules, is still very broken. Fixing the penalty shot itself is very hard: you'd have to do something very extreme (like only counting a penalty as 1 point but a field goal as 2, or moving the spot back and reworking hundreds of thousands of pitches around the world) or rework the awarding of the penalty itself (e.g. a DFK in the box instead of a penalty unless its DOGSO). It's especially hard if the game is determined by penalty shoot outs. The easiest way to fix this is to let the goalkeeper move as soon as the whistle is blown.
Yeah I hear the objection: it will cause the GKs to run up and try to snag the ball before the striker takes the shot and that just turns it into a 1v1 MLS style. But I'm not sure that's true....it would just encourage strikers not to take those long run ups to the strike or to shuffle their feet.
Another more minimal solution is to allow the GK to stand behind the line. It would allow them the space to jump forward and increase the reaction time. The rules makers don't seem to fully appreciate the mechanics of diving (that it involves a forward motion at an angle). In any case, I'm working on an article on the subject so would appreciate any thoughts.
