Happy days this silly, unable to enforce square ball rule has been amended to allow a player enter the square while ball is in play. I have often been critical of GAA over this rule. And now I feel its appropriate to congratulate them by removing it.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 15/04/2012 13:11:21    1152211

should we now look at reinventing the role of the goal keeper, do we now need a keeper standing in the goalmouth when the ball is in open play ?. should the goal keepers role be more of a cameo style role now, for dead ball situations only ?. do we actually need a designated keeper at all ? couldn't the keeper be used as an extra defender along side the other 3 defenders in the full back line.

ps another thread on the topic already exists.

Gammy_Knee (USA) - Posts: 1482 - 15/04/2012 13:58:00    1152244

Ye. Maybe but now you'll have fella's standing on top of the goalie and this will produce a host of new ?s for our illustrious pundits. Ie was the keeper impeded- did the keeper impede the forward etc.
As a player I considered it an art to be able to judge that ball coming in over the sq. Now you'll have lads ploughing straight into the sq looking for penalties and everything else.

BNF (Tyrone) - Posts: 36 - 15/04/2012 14:09:48    1152250

Well gammy not on the amendment there isn't.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 15/04/2012 16:24:16    1152363

I really do not see how this is an improvement and I don't see what the problem was with the old rule. I'm sure this change will lead to more controversy with arguments over whether the forward in the square was obstructing the goalie before the ball arrived.

Gaillimh_Abu (Galway) - Posts: 1037 - 15/04/2012 16:51:40    1152389

I just think it will be easier to enforce the new rule. I mean look at a few matches over past couple of years graham geraghty against kildare was not in square goal should have been allowed year before all ire semi benny coulter clearly inside goal should have been disallowed v kildare. Just taking these 2 very important decisions. There would have been no controversy if this had been in at the time. Impeding keeper is a lot easier to see than whether a guys foot had crossed line before a ball traveling at maybe 70mph had.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 15/04/2012 17:26:29    1152427

Looks like it time for the return of the big slow full back

Gman14 (Galway) - Posts: 81 - 15/04/2012 20:16:01    1152622

Thank god for that. To many wrong decisions were being made in very important games.

lilywhitemagic (Kildare) - Posts: 1693 - 15/04/2012 21:36:47    1152729

Good news they should've kept it when they trialed it a couple of seasons ago

b.mullins (Dublin) - Posts: 1413 - 15/04/2012 21:39:53    1152736

this is a very big change to the rules, i believe . it was a foul to be in the small square before the ball with the old rule, but with the new rule that's no longer a foul, except for dead ball situations. to me it looks like the gaa dont know their arse from their elbow. important games have been won and lost on the square ball rule up to now. are the gaa now saying they had it wrong all along ?.

Gammy_Knee (USA) - Posts: 1482 - 15/04/2012 22:01:00    1152770

Kildare might win something now.

squareball_1988 (Donegal) - Posts: 343 - 16/04/2012 09:37:10    1152800

squareball_1988
County: Donegal
Posts: 137

1152800
Kildare might win something now.


Won't affect Donegal though, most of their players are usually in their own square !

St.Conleth (Kildare) - Posts: 1730 - 16/04/2012 09:43:42    1152802

St.Conleth
County: Kildare
Posts: 60

1152802 squareball_1988
County: Donegal
Posts: 137

1152800
Kildare might win something now.


Won't affect Donegal though, most of their players are usually in their own square !

You telling us they kicked 1-12 against Kildare from their own square????

omaghredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 3656 - 16/04/2012 11:51:21    1152943

Gammy_Knee
County: USA
Posts: 573

1152770
this is a very big change to the rules, i believe . it was a foul to be in the small square before the ball with the old rule, but with the new rule that's no longer a foul, except for dead ball situations. to me it looks like the gaa dont know their **** from their elbow. important games have been won and lost on the square ball rule up to now. are the gaa now saying they had it wrong all along ?.

------

I think the GAA should commended. The square ball rule has taken a lot of criticism in the last few years and rather than burying their heads in the sand they made a change to try and improve things. It's not that they had it wrong all along as you put it, but the old way is very hard to judge. This was fine years ago when television coverage didn't exist or was limited, but with the option these days to watch it in slow motion from multiple angles, everything was being analysed to death.

Another poster mentioned it being trialed in the league a few years ago and it should have been kept. From what I remember the reason it wasn't kept is because while it worked well in football, it didn't in hurling and the way it was setup that time was that it had to be kept for both or neither

game.on.now.ger (Galway) - Posts: 423 - 16/04/2012 14:51:34    1153177

Can see a lot of limited bigger fellas being brought in now to play fb and ff, not sure that is good. It may also encourage shooting from farther out as at least they wont be just dropping into the keepers arms if they come up short.

tj09 (Cork) - Posts: 481 - 16/04/2012 15:15:03    1153211

game.on.now.ger
County: Galway
Posts: 161

1153177 Gammy_Knee
County: USA
Posts: 573

1152770
this is a very big change to the rules, i believe . it was a foul to be in the small square before the ball with the old rule, but with the new rule that's no longer a foul, except for dead ball situations. to me it looks like the gaa dont know their **** from their elbow. important games have been won and lost on the square ball rule up to now. are the gaa now saying they had it wrong all along ?.

------

I think the GAA should commended. The square ball rule has taken a lot of criticism in the last few years and rather than burying their heads in the sand they made a change to try and improve things. It's not that they had it wrong all along as you put it, but the old way is very hard to judge. This was fine years ago when television coverage didn't exist or was limited, but with the option these days to watch it in slow motion from multiple angles, everything was being analysed to death.

Another poster mentioned it being trialed in the league a few years ago and it should have been kept. From what I remember the reason it wasn't kept is because while it worked well in football, it didn't in hurling and the way it was setup that time was that it had to be kept for both or neither

why was the square ball rule introduce in the first place ?...and would it be fair to say that the reason(s) it was introduced in the first place are no longer seen as being fair and equitable and therefore the rule cannot be maintained as is ?.....or is it that it's gotten too hard to judge and therefore that aspect of things now outweighs the fair and equitable reasons why it was initially introduce ?...... with the old rule you were either in the square before the ball or you weren't, simple enough. now however we have two different situations of play governing the square ball for referees to deal with, where before this we had only one. surely this change is only complicating the thing for referees even more so than it is right now ?.

Gammy_Knee (USA) - Posts: 1482 - 16/04/2012 17:11:18    1153368

Have been going to games since the the late fifties and played from the mid sixties and I have no idea how far back the rule goes or why it was introduced..

The rule was there back then tho in many cases refs etc ignored it. In hurling it was ignored and I recall big forwards (often the number 15) living in the square trying to terrorise the keeper with resultant fights, injuries and general mayhem.

Some football refs did enforce it especially at county level but at club back then pitches were often not lined so it was ignored and the BIG FF was the norm with plenty of mayhem. So full backs were generally selected for their that took no prisnors fearless boxing ability.

As a keeper I often got belted until the selectors found a full back line that did not take prisnors tho the A & E at the local hospital had a few resultant casulties.

IMO the change is a retrograde move and could result in some messy incidents. I hope not but I FEAR IT WILL

KELF (Kildare) - Posts: 775 - 16/04/2012 17:36:23    1153395

Has the rule come into effect immediately?

I'm not for it to be honest (but then again I'm a keeper). It will just encourage balls being lumped in and full forwards going straight for the keepers.

There was nothing wrong with the old rule.

mylovelyhorse (UK) - Posts: 36 - 16/04/2012 19:45:19    1153573

god help poor brendan kealy, he's tiny, and marc o'se is small enough too, we'l get mangled.

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 16/04/2012 20:16:24    1153595

Can someone please tell me if the new square ball rule is effect immeadiatly or when it comes in to effect

Breffnisbest (Cavan) - Posts: 474 - 18/04/2012 13:17:40    1154997