I also believe it's to fabricate drama. If you're one goal up and suddenly realise you need to defend for 10 more minutes, whilst the other team realise they have 10 more minutes to find the equaliser... it's a massive momentum shift!
If Newcastle play every away game as they did last season, fans will need to take sleeping bags - at Arsenal they started time wasting on the journey down, went via Aberdeen, I think the ball was in play for an all time record low, it was dismal, every decision contested, every throw in lasting two minutes, every free kick needed explaining and the trainer, doctor, entire medical team on the pitch.
Chelsea's spending hits £887 million in just over a year and some clown on Sky Sports News says it's down to their "genius recruitment policy". Last season their policy was, "hijack every Arsenal deal", this season it's "hijack every Liverpool deal". I cannot see why Caciedo and now Lavia would opt to go to Chelsea over Liverpool. It has to be wages in that tax free offshore account.
I think it's great that we get all this time "added on". And I put that in inverted commas because I think it's a slight misnomer. If you really think about it, it's no different to stopping the clock while the ball's not in play or while players are being generally time-wastey. You still effectively get 90minutes of actual playing time. I also like that the refs are finally punishing dissent. The last few seasons I have grown sick of players making card gestures, mobbing the ref & wagging fingers. Same goes for managers who constantly stray outside their technical area and even on to the pitch whenever they feel like. Sure, the refs may make dodgy calls, but that's been the same since the birth of the game. Nothing new there. I think the vast majority of fans in the stadiums and viewers at home would like to get their money's worth and not put up with having to watch an extra 10 minutes of general shiathousery from the players and benches.
Some things in football never change, VAR is still abysmal, Wolves robbed at Old Trafford.
Are you talking about the Onana incident? That was Hooper's call. VAR just suggested he look at it again. He didn't and stuck with the on field call. After booking O'Neill for hurling abuse at him. In reality it was the equivalent of a late tackle and anywhere else on the field that would be grounds for a free kick/ card. Onana came so late and flattened two attackers and Hooper let it slide despite VAR's recommendation. The only thing VAR really has the last call on is offside decisions. The rest is ultimately down to the ref on the pitch.
I think it's great that we get all this time "added on". And I put that in inverted commas because I think it's a slight misnomer. If you really think about it, it's no different to stopping the clock while the ball's not in play or while players are being generally time-wastey. You still effectively get 90minutes of actual playing time. I also like that the refs are finally punishing dissent. The last few seasons I have grown sick of players making card gestures, mobbing the ref & wagging fingers. Same goes for managers who constantly stray outside their technical area and even on to the pitch whenever they feel like.
It's all in the interest of drama. Now I'm not saying it's a bad thing to implement, but having attended Ipswich's first game away at Sunderland where there was 13 minutes added on at the end, and actually played 15 extra. It's ridiculous. Our goalkeeper got a yellow in both matches so far for "time wasting" at the earliest possible opportunity to give it to him. I think against Sunderland it was around the 56th minute, and against Stoke again in the 50's. Basically the team in the lead has to get on with it instantaneously.
Our manager also picked up his first yellow of his career for showing just a little emotion at not having a blatant penalty awarded. Seriously, it was nothing. I'd say VAR would have overturned the decision... but who knows anymore.
Simply put, the new culture they want to push in terms of minimising time-wasting and respecting officials is great; but their implementation of it is worse than terrible.
They've come on too strong, and it's hard to agree with their motives when the officiating is this bad.
But the only people to blame for the excessive "added time" are the players & the benches. From my perspective it's an attempt to limit drama. At least drama of the non-playing kind. Not sure it favours either team especially. Winning or not winning. Rugby doesn't get this much stick when they stop the clock. Stopping the clock for 13 minutes is exactly the same as adding 13 minutes to the scheduled end time of the game. & folks seem to refer to it like it's the gold standard. It's exact the same thing with slightly different nomenclature. In footy the "added time" is calculated before the 90 is up. So any fannying about after that is bound to be added to the "added time". IIRC it was standard to add time even for substitutions. I think they had to start somewhere & Howard Webb's also said that he firmly expects "added time" to come down to around 5 or 6 minutes at worst. Teams (& fans alike) just need to get used to it really.
Wolves must be delighted with their apology from Jon Moss, or was Jon Moss the apology, all officials from the Man U v Wolves game have been dropped from this weekend's fixtures. It would be nice if they were made to explain why they gave the decision, or didn't give the decision. REfs still have their "Favourites", Casemiro committed the same fouls as others, the others were booked he got an arm round the shoulder from the ref, Rashford kicks the ball away, only ten yards, but that is now meant to be a booking, Bruno still moaning at every single decesion - he must forget there are cameras at the game. I hate the time wasting, a team winning 1-0 and just keeling the ball in possession is fine, instead of booking someone for taking too long over a throw in why not give the ball to the other team?? And how long is "too long?", Ben White was booked for taking six seconds over a throw in, that doesn't seem too excessive, worst of all, it's too hot for coffee and that cold coffee nonsense is just nonsense.