So the GAA have released a statement to justify the introduction of the black card and in the process have made some outrageous claims..
their statement begins "with the introduction of the black card, the average number of points per game is roughly 9.5% higher than 2013"
- so straight away the increase in points is equated with the black card...where is the evidence for this...would better quality shooting not be a factor, would poorer defending not be a factor, would a series of mis matches not be a factor?...there is no research presented to back up this wild assertion.
- they give no breakdown between league and championship. of course the reality is that scoring for the championship showed a marked decline after the league, and was certainly on a par with previous years...no mention of the All-Ireland final being the lowest scoring final in years.
- we are presented with the weird stat of less than one black card per game..what does that prove..of course we all know that refs stopped handing them out when it came to the later stages of the championship
- we are told that since 2010 there has been an increase of 5 points...why was 2010 pulled out of the air...why not 2011, why not 2012, why not 2013...seems to me 2010 was used to justify this stat.

This is a completely disingenuous piece of news management and we should not be fooled!

mayotyroneman (Tyrone) - Posts: 1821 - 02/10/2014 20:53:21    1659559

we are presented with the weird stat of less than one black card per game..what does that prove..of course we all know that refs stopped handing them out when it came to the later stages of the championship

Good Post. Mayo Tyrone man.

This sentence above is my main gripe. Hurling needs a black card too but what is the point if football refs don't implement?

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 02/10/2014 21:30:09    1659579

Mayotyroneman if you have a look on HS main page you will see a full breakdown of the stats. The scores per game have increased quite a lot, as have goals per game, while cards per game have almost been halved. They do the figures for every championship since 2010, which will be a huge relief for you and will hopefully dispel your concerns of propaganda and conspiracies. Overall, looking at all the stats and also the games in general, the indications are the black card has been a success, certainly at intercounty level.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 02/10/2014 21:37:08    1659581

Having read your post again Mayotyroneman I see that almost everything you state or suggest in it is incorrect, which is amusing considering your angle is that the report is just propaganda. I would suggest your post is a completely disingenuous piece of spin and fair-minded football lovers should not be fooled!

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 02/10/2014 21:49:44    1659592

Someone in the GAA needs to attend a stats class and learn of the concept of independent events. Have they totally ruled out all other potential factors to allow them to conclude that the increase in scores is down to the introduction of the black card? They need more than data over 1 year in my opinion.

trim1 (Meath) - Posts: 162 - 02/10/2014 21:50:30    1659593

Black card is a joke.

icehonesty (Wexford) - Posts: 2550 - 03/10/2014 08:26:44    1659604

here is the article in question, the figures cover the last 5 seasons from 2010-2014 http://hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=225344

mayotyroneman

"with the introduction of the black card, the average number of points per game is roughly 9.5% higher than 2013"
- so straight away the increase in points is equated with the black card...where is the evidence for this...would better quality shooting not be a factor, would poorer defending not be a factor, would a series of mis-matches not be a factor?...there is no research presented to back up this wild assertion. - There have been plenty of mismatches in other years too - the research is presented later in the report which looks back over the 4 previous seasons of relatively comparable scoring


- they give no breakdown between league and championship. of course the reality is that scoring for the championship showed a marked decline after the league, and was certainly on a par with previous years...no mention of the All-Ireland final being the lowest scoring final in years - These figures are only for Championship matches


- we are presented with the weird stat of less than one black card per game..what does that prove..of course we all know that refs stopped handing them out when it came to the later stages of the championship - IMO, along with the decrease in the numbers of other types of cards shown that the fear of receiving a black card has reduced fouling in general - that is not to say that the black card couldn't be applied more consistently, or just more often, when required

we are told that since 2010 there has been an increase of 5 points...why was 2010 pulled out of the air...why not 2011, why not 2012, why not 2013...seems to me 2010 was used to justify this stat - There are figures for all seasons in between as well, 2010 as the furthest year they looked back (though i would admit it is also - marginally - the lowest scoring of the 5)

game.on.now.ger (Galway) - Posts: 423 - 03/10/2014 08:54:31    1659609

Other statistics which I have compliled that are a direct response to the introduction of the Black Card:

Attendances at League and Championship games are down 23.776%
Attacks or attempted attacks on game officials and players by patrons entering the field of play has increased 248%
Alcohol consumption prior to games has increased and the age of those being drunk has decreased
Burger and chip sales are up 77%
Levels of abuse directed towards officials are up 302%
Referees bottling decisions are up 450%


Interestingly though, what they don't say is that if the Black card was being applied to the letter then we would probably see most games ending up 12 or 13 aside.

Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 4058 - 03/10/2014 09:40:02    1659616

Offisde

Statistics can be used to prove almost any point.

85% of all people know that……

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13707 - 03/10/2014 10:05:32    1659625

Burgers and chip sales up 77%? What percent of those burgers were meat, what percent was Irish meat, what percent of beefburgers contained beef and what percent of those Irish beefburgers containing beef were organic and therefore 'fairly good for you'?

Statistics are all well and good but facts are what we need in these times of rogue burger vans selling allsorts of stuff.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7345 - 03/10/2014 10:19:11    1659630

Offisde

Statistics can be used to prove almost any point.

85% of all people know that……

85.1% MesAmis.... ;-)

Also, 88.16% of all statistics are made up on the spot apprently.

GreenandRed - that is all part of next years extensive study. Just waiting for funding to come through from Findus.

Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 4058 - 03/10/2014 10:27:41    1659632

It's all Captain Birdseye down our way.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7345 - 03/10/2014 10:31:55    1659634

There are lies, damned lies, and then there are statistics.

Monica (Wexford) - Posts: 31 - 03/10/2014 10:48:52    1659642

To be fair I'd say the advantage rule has had more impact then the black card.

Why have none of the statistics been referenced to it? or are we putting all the positive spin onto the black card as it is more controversial?

JP91 (Armagh) - Posts: 316 - 03/10/2014 10:56:11    1659646

Initially I was in favour of trying out the black card, see how it goes in the championship, but to be honest referees have a very difficult job determining the difference between yellow, black and even red cards, which has led to some very inconsistent interpretations so maybe it is time to scrap the black card, even if it is contributing to more scores.

A more simple solution would be give players a one match ban if they accumulate a certain number of yellow cards, say 2 or 3 and they miss the next game and maybe if they reach 6 or 8 (or whatever) then they miss the next 2 games. You could tighten it up even more by starting to count the yellow cards from the start of January right up to the end of the championship, if a player is on the edge of ban playing in an AI semi final, they're going to behave themselves!

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 03/10/2014 11:29:49    1659657