Football mysteries

Dave Rudd

No Googling ... just pure, mindless speculation, please.

Let's have some fun regarding things that we have accepted since birth, and yet which are not immediately obvious to most of us.

1) Why is there a six-yard box?

2) Why 45 minutes each way?

3) Why eleven-a-side?

4) Why do we throw the ball back if it goes out of play at the sides ... but kick it if it goes out of play at the ends?


There may be others.

Hal1x

Why not?

ForeverAddickted

I never understood why there was a semi-circle at the edge of the area until someone told me it was so that all players remained 10-yards (?) from the ball when a penalty is being taken.

Chizz

ForeverAddickted said:

I never understood why there was a semi-circle at the edge of the area until someone told me it was so that all players remained 10-yards (?) from the ball when a penalty is being taken.

You didn't know what it was for until someone told you what it was for? Just like everyone else.

Dave Rudd

ForeverAddickted said:

I never understood why there was a semi-circle at the edge of the area until someone told me it was so that all players remained 10-yards (?) from the ball when a penalty is being taken.

Correct.

It is also the area for which I was defensively responsible during the latter stages of my playing career.  Come into the 'D' and you are mine.

DaveMehmet

Did Cory Gibbs really exist?

EricBanterna

You can by a football club for a pound and ride the donkey till its dead and then Swan off into the sunset.

Stig

Six yard box is to stop keepers pumping the goal kicks straight into the opponent's penalty box. Though why not a six yard strip along each end of the pitch I don't know.

Edit - I guess goal kicks aren't taken from behind the goal line to save space on run ups.

North Lower Neil

6 yard box is so the keeper takes a goal kick in the right place surely?  Why that's 6 yards though, no idea.

Addick_and_Chips

If you want football mysteries. Steve Bruce is your man. 

Addick_and_Chips

JohnnyJoeyDeeDee

Some distant memory that one purpose of the 6 yard box was to allow less physical contact on the goalkeeper within that part of the penalty area than in the rest of it

Dave Rudd

Stig said:

Six yard box is to stop keepers pumping the goal kicks straight into the opponent's penalty box. Though why not a six yard strip along each end of the pitch I don't know.

Edit - I guess goal kicks aren't taken from behind the goal line to save space on run ups.

North Lower Neil said:

6 yard box is so the keeper takes a goal kick in the right place surely?  Why that's 6 yards though, no idea.

I happen to know this one (unlike the other questions posed) and, while both your efforts have merit ... sadly they are wrong.

I'll save the big reveal for a while, though, just to see what else is proposed.

Dave Rudd

JohnnyJoeyDeeDee said:

Some distant memory that one purpose of the 6 yard box was to allow less physical contact on the goalkeeper within that part of the penalty area than in the rest of it

Oh well.  That didn't last long.

Perfectly correct.  You are allowed to charge the goalkeeper if he has the temerity to leave his goal area.

Simpler times.

North Lower Neil

Addick_and_Chips said:

If you want football mysteries. Steve Bruce is your man. 

Fire up the XJ8!

Biggest mystery is whether he wrote them or just got paid to put his name to them.

Dave Rudd

North Lower Neil said:

Addick_and_Chips said:

If you want football mysteries. Steve Bruce is your man. 

Fire up the XJ8!

Biggest mystery is whether he wrote them or just got paid to put his name to them.

Are they written in a Geordie accent?

"How, man!  Ah think he's deed."

On a similar note, how come people don't sing in regional accents?

A Geordie singing songs by Morrissey ... now there's a thing.

"Tak me oot, the neet.  Tak me anywhere, man.  Ah divvent care."

iaitch

I hope not, I found reading Sexist Sid or is it Sid the Sexist in Viz very hard work.

bobmunro

ForeverAddickted said:

I never understood why there was a semi-circle at the edge of the area until someone told me it was so that all players remained 10-yards (?) from the ball when a penalty is being taken.

I know the original 6 yard box was actually two semi-circles of 6 yards radius with the circle centre at each goalpost - looked like a pair of tits! The keeper had to take a goal kick within 6 yards of the post nearest to where the ball went out.

There's quite a few other uses but I can't remember them apart from vaguely recalling from my refs course that an indirect free kick awarded to the attacking side can't be taken within the six yard box even if the offence took place inside the goal area.

iaitch

They could do with bringing back the rule that the goal kick is taken from the side it went out.

They changed it to apparently speed up the game but most teams use it as a delaying/time wasting tactic.

thenewbie

The biggest mystery of all: Why of all the clubs in all the world did I make myself miserable by supporting Charlton?!

Stig

iaitch said:

They could do with bringing back the rule that the goal kick is taken from the side it went out.

They changed it to apparently speed up the game but most teams use it as a delaying/time wasting tactic.

I think their change was good in theory, but as you say never worked in practice. Don't know why they don't make it the ref's decision and the ref just points to the side nearest to where the ball happens to land or get picked up.

usetobunkin

The 6yd box is so any infringement on the goal line, is moved so the player taking the free kick can have a run up and not a punt. 

MrWalker

Dave Rudd said:

ForeverAddickted said:

I never understood why there was a semi-circle at the edge of the area until someone told me it was so that all players remained 10-yards (?) from the ball when a penalty is being taken.

Correct.

It is also the area for which I was defensively responsible during the latter stages of my playing career.  Come into the 'D' and you are mine.

Pure filth

AndyG

How did All of the officials miss Maradonas "hand of God" ? 

SoundAsa£

JohnnyJoeyDeeDee said:

Some distant memory that one purpose of the 6 yard box was to allow less physical contact on the goalkeeper within that part of the penalty area than in the rest of it

?

bobmunro

SoundAsa£ said:

JohnnyJoeyDeeDee said:

Some distant memory that one purpose of the 6 yard box was to allow less physical contact on the goalkeeper within that part of the penalty area than in the rest of it

?

That was one of the other purposes - the keeper was safe from being barged if he was in the goal area.

Dave Rudd

bobmunro said:

SoundAsa£ said:

JohnnyJoeyDeeDee said:

Some distant memory that one purpose of the 6 yard box was to allow less physical contact on the goalkeeper within that part of the penalty area than in the rest of it

?

That was one of the other purposes - the keeper was safe from being barged if he was in the goal area.

I wish I'd said that.

Dave Rudd said:

JohnnyJoeyDeeDee said:

Some distant memory that one purpose of the 6 yard box was to allow less physical contact on the goalkeeper within that part of the penalty area than in the rest of it

Oh well.  That didn't last long.

Perfectly correct.  You are allowed to charge the goalkeeper if he has the temerity to leave his goal area.

Simpler times.

rina

throw ins are presumable a throwback to the days when rugby and football were splitting into separate games

Dave Rudd

rina said:

throw ins are presumable a throwback to the days when rugby and football were splitting into separate games

Yes, good answer.

There were different sets of rules/laws back at that time and, initially both throws and kicks were allowed.

Interestingly, whenever the ball went out of play along the touchline, the throw was awarded to whichever team got to the ball first.

This is why we use the term 'touchline'.