Timekeeping in English stadiums

[Daniel]

NA soccer fans like top bitch and moan about some aspects of the game which aren't "traditional" like in other parts of the world, and this usually goes down to smaller details that foreign fans don't really care about.

I've seen a whole lot of threads on timekeeping and clocks counting up, down or sideways. For example, it seems that for the first few games of the season, the CCR crew forget that the clock can count to 90 and set it to 2 x 45. In MLS, the early clock-counts-down adoption rubbed many "purists" the wrong way.

However, I've seen in some English stadium (Highbury for sure, possibly Old Trafford) their time counting down. Why is this, especially when it counts up on TV? And is it widespread in England? in Europe?

[Blue and White Army]

I've also noticed Highbury counts down.

[Desigol]

It does count down!

[Free kick]

I had to think for a second to recall whether or not the clock at Centennial counts up or down. It does count up as per traditional. But I am not so sure that many of these issues are soccer versus hockey/basketball/football related but rather relate to European customs versus North america. I seem to recall, in the past, seeing international hockey games involving Canada that were played in European arenas whereby the clock counted time up to 20 minutes rather than down to zero.

Yeah, I would have to agree that some ( not all) of the moaning about "this and that aspect of the game which isn't traditional" can be a bit much. I think that some of it is rooted in an inferiority complex. Afterall, what really counts is the way the game is played in the pitch.

One of these traditional elements of Europe that I don't like is the way team standing ( Notice that I didn't say Tables ) is reported. I really like to see win and loss in side by side columns. It makes for more meaninfull comparaison and easier to interpret performance. The reason, I define success as a team that wins more often than it loses and I don't really care about the ties/draws. Therefore, the wins and losses columns should be side by side.

[DJT]

For me it has nothing to do with being "traditional". I like counting up because when a goal is scored you want to look at the clock and see that it was scored in the "35th minute", not "with 10 minutes left in the first half". Furthermore, for the same reason I like counting up to 90 rather than 45 twice, because I prefer to see goal times like "75th minute" rather than "30th minute of the second half". (Sure, you can do the simple math in your head to convert from one to the other, but why bother? [])

Regarding what Free kick brought up about the WDL vs. WLD format, it took me a while to get used to WDL but now I like it much more, at least for soccer where draws are more common and usually more meaningful (ie. in away matches).

Likewise, I just love the single-table/home-and-away format, no playoffs, separate cup competitions, promotion/relegation, continental competitions,... virtually everything about the way things are usually done outside Canada and the US. My preferences have nothing to do with being a "Euro snob", however, as I grew up following North American sports before learning and finally preferring these other systems.

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by DJT

Likewise, I just love the single-table/home-and-away format, no playoffs, separate cup competitions, promotion/relegation, continental competitions,... virtually everything about the way things are usually done outside Canada and the US.

I agree with that in principle since I have always found that playoffs are fraudulant if you look at it with the true spirit of competition in mind. Why should a team that excelled over a short 4-8 week period be declared champion over a team who was the best over a period of 6-8 months.

But the true benefit of a system involving separate cup competitions, promotion/relegation, continental competitions etc is that you create any more meaningful games and you can sustain interest for many more teams and suporters and for a longer period of time. The problem is that you dont have these things in North america and I don't see NHL teams in Mexico and Cuba on the horizon. Similarly, I don't sence a big urge from Central american soccer teams to play against Cnd clubs. In fact, I'll bet that they would rather face SA competition. Hence the only way to sustain fans interest for longer periods is to have some sort of play off system. If you took the NHL and and created a single table with home and away balanced schedules, you would often have 75% of the teams eliminated by half way mark and all but 2-3 at the end of the season. The arenas would be empty by January.