I hope you know that your DD knows much more about the game than you do because your ignorance of the game is astounding. Limited substitutions is one of the biggest defining characteristics of soccer. In the old days, there were no subs. Talk about tough.
I played AYSO from 1st grade until 8th grade. I was good and I know the rules from England. Rules are made to be changed sometimes. Here's my point regarding females. Way too many girls sit on da bench and watch. That is stupid Outside. The GDA ruined the girls game brah. We will play like England now.....lol!!!!!
You forgot to say, “in your opinion”.
Awesome article. Thank you.
I did not play much soccer, since it was not available in the small town we moved to. Your DD plays at a higher level than you ever did, hence she knows the game better than you. My kids know way more about the game than I do. The current college substitution rules allow hockey style line changes favored by Anson Dorrance at UNC. I personally feel that is an ugly style of soccer that does not prepare our players for the world game. We have an amazing sports infrastructure for college athletes, and the NCAA ruins it for soccer. If there were fewer substitutions and the season was not so compact, there would not be a need for such large rosters. Smaller rosters would be less expensive also. Since we have so many English youth coaches in the US, it is not surprising that we play with an English flavor. I look forward to the time when we have our own homegrown generation of coaches, and especially to the time when the generation they coach become coaches.
My first game ever was CSUF vs USC at SC like 6 or 7 years ago. Titans won and played harder and had a chip on their shoulder. It was super physical and I was shocked. My dd IQ in soccer is very high and is made for possession with ganas. I understand the Blues way and I always say the silver lining of the age change was saving my dd body from injury. It's all working itself out.
I was at the CSUF vs. USC game last year at USC's embarassing field (I was first chair vuvuzela). USC had one player smaller than Titan's biggest player and played a very physical game. USC was the better team, but it was 0-0 at half. If Titan Sarah Davidson's first half shot would have even hit the post a little more towards the inside of the post than it did, it might have been a game were the better team did not win. Titan's Atlanta Primus scored a classy goal though.
With lots of subs, spending the effort to recover after a bad tackle is a viable tactic. Once the player can't recover quickly enough, sub them.
One reason rosters are so big in college is that players quit, transfer, and are done. Many players on a roster receive no athletic money, their resources are financial aid, academic moneys and loans.
Limited subs by the current international rule just means we get to watch clearly concussed players stumble along the sidelines, hoping to save their team a wasted substitution.
One of the things US Soccer got right in the GDA was that a player who was suspected of being concussed could be subbed out for evaluation and re enter for the replacement player if cleared by the medic after evaluation.
Use to play against Jeremy Gunn (Stanford Men) back when. He's doing what he knows and as you mention its a very old style English form of the game. Though some EPL teams still employ it. Its a huge contrast when you watch Paul Ratcliff's ladies play quality soccer.
The sub rule brings a balance to the game. Therefore as you mention it is a defining characteristic.
Not quite, but a neat way to think of it. Its about making and seeing space on the field. Then knowing when to make runs and where. They used Messi and Firmino as examples because they play differently on teams with different tactics. Firmino uses his pace constantly while Messi picks his moments.
