Proposal to allow a 4th substitute during Extra Time

[Con M]

Warning! Achtung! Those conservatives & luddites who are afraid of change should not read any further.

FIFA's Technical Committee is going to again propose to IFAB that a 4th substitute be allowed during extra time in Cup/knockout games.

5 of the 8 Round-of-Sixteen games at this 2014 World Cup went to extra time, with 2 of them settled by penalties.

The Technical Committee have pointed to the fact that 29 goals so far in this World Cup have been scored by substitutes coming on fresh & full of running. Allowing a 4th sub during extra time could lift the tempo & intensity of the contest during those dramatic 30 minutes. The Committee also cited health & injury concerns when some exhausted players can barely raise a gallop as a further good reason for that extra sub.

The proposal will need a 75% majority vote by the IFAB to pass.

[MegaBonus]

would it still apply if a team hadnt used all 3 by the end of the 90 min???

I don't mind the idea...........adds another level of technical/structural team planning....

[Juventino]

What does an extra substitution have to do with being afraid of change? Not as if subs have been around in the game for 100 years, or three subs been the norm for their entire existence.

[God is an Englishman]

What does an extra substitution have to do with being afraid of change? Not as if subs have been around in the game for 100 years, or three subs been the norm for their entire existence.

No they haven't. Even I can remember when only 1 sub was allowed. Keith Peacock was the first sub used in an English league game in 1965.

[swannsong]

The 4th sub could be a specialist penalty kick taker introduced at the last minute ?

[Blue Mastiff]

MORE TIME WASTING

[Con M]

would it still apply if a team hadnt used all 3 by the end of the 90 min???

I don't mind the idea...........adds another level of technical/structural team planning....

Don't see why not. If you had made no subs until the conclusion of the 90 minutes, you could conceivably replace an entire 4-man midfield, over-run the opposition and not let them get a chance to get to the lottery of penalties.

[bob saget]

would it still apply if a team hadnt used all 3 by the end of the 90 min???

I don't mind the idea...........adds another level of technical/structural team planning....

Don't see why not. If you had made no subs until the conclusion of the 90 minutes, you could conceivably replace an entire 4-man midfield, over-run the opposition and not let them get a chance to get to the lottery of penalties.

Or replace a back four, watch them park the bus and wait for a teeny-tiny minority to claim the rules need to change because Cornsey said it was a bit boring? Perhaps the 4th sub could also pick up the ball in the field of play and be allowed to distribute it by kicking or punching it to players on no more than a 45 degree angle forward. Also, in extra time instead of using a coin to decide who kicks off, the ball could be bounced in the middle of the pitch and a player from each side contests possession. After 5 touches, if there is no score, the possession will be handed over to the opposing team. In the case of a penalty shoot out, if teams are locked at 5-5, the coaches will agree on weapons before performing a duel.

Or not.

[Con M]

Or replace a back four, watch them park the bus and wait for a teeny-tiny minority to claim the rules need to change because Cornsey said it was a bit boring? Perhaps the 4th sub could also pick up the ball in the field of play and be allowed to distribute it by kicking or punching it to players on no more than a 45 degree angle forward. Also, in extra time instead of using a coin to decide who kicks off, the ball could be bounced in the middle of the pitch and a player from each side contests possession. After 5 touches, if there is no score, the possession will be handed over to the opposing team. In the case of a penalty shoot out, if teams are locked at 5-5, the coaches will agree on weapons before performing a duel.

Bob, I can sort of understand the sarcasm, but you've seen how dead on their feet teams have been in those 5 Round-of-Sixteen games that went to extra time. Wouldn't allowing a 4th sub in that extra 30 minutes help add tempo & intensity?

I know change can be difficult to accept, but most did when at first one sub was introduced, then a second & a third. And other changes that have been accepted were preventing goalies picking up intentional back-passes & recently Goal Line Technology. Why not accept this 4th sub change too, if it helps freshen up teams in extra time?