Is it the new "rounder" ball?

Splottboy

Been a few, shall we say, "Goalies Errors" this weekend.

Maybe, just MAYBE, it's the new rounder ball that apparently flies faster than usual?

Ok, straw-clutching perhaps, but if it looks straight on from the goalies point of view to be travelling at "normal speed", maybe they should try to react a touch quicker...

Lots of moans about the ball prior to the first games, so might be something in it.

brin

Splottboy wrote:

Maybe, just MAYBE, it's the new rounder ball that apparently flies faster than usual

Lots of moans about the ball prior to the first games, so might be something in it.

sorry splotboy had to chuckle at that comment from a welshman, considering the shape of the balls you are used to see on a field of play.
know what you mean tho, there was a few raised eyebrows when the ball was revealed, but, if multi million ££££ footballers can't control it, or catch it.......... :oops:

rick_chasey

The complaints were about the ball's flight in the air, which apparntly is not AS predictable as others. It wobbles and shakes in mid air more, basically.


Green's hororshow and the Algerian keeper's gaffe were bog standard rubbish goalkeeping mistakes.

The ball wasn't even in the air for Green, and the shot against the Algerians went exactly where any keeper should expect it to end up.

Anyway, they spend all that money on a ball because they WANT it to be more unpredictable.

Goals are always more fun than saves, let's be honest.

Splottboy

My Dads from the Isle of Wight, so I'm the son of a Legal Immigrant!

I had real trouble originally adapting from Rugby Union to American football.
Took a couple of weeks but eventually went on to play for 3 seasons.

So, time to adjust would be the key.
Wonder how many teams were able to have access to the new, rounder ball?

rick_chasey

Splottboy wrote:

Wonder how many teams were able to have access to the new, rounder ball?

Any team sponsored by Adidas....

(That'll be Germany then!)

Buckled_Rims

When i was a kid, my mum used to buy the extremely light and thin vinyl footballs from woolies that were no better then a beach ball and would fly off in any direction the wind took it.

I think my mum must work for Adidas as these look like the same balls

takethehighroad

Those balls used to STING when they hit you on the leg

RichN95.

Rick Chasey wrote:

Splottboy wrote:

Wonder how many teams were able to have access to the new, rounder ball?

Any team sponsored by Adidas....

(That'll be Germany then!)

They've been using it in the Bundesliga since December.

Frank the tank

Is it the new rounder ball?

No, just bad goalkeeping.

Cressers

No it was an equally bad choice of team by Capello. Now it seems he's fallen out with James. Either Capello should get in goal or not let personal disagreements get in the way of him choosing the best team he can.

daviesee

RichN95 wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Splottboy wrote:

Wonder how many teams were able to have access to the new, rounder ball?

Any team sponsored by Adidas....

(That'll be Germany then!)

They've been using it in the Bundesliga since December.

That's what I call preparation.
We go through this every 4 years. When will the national teams learn?

(That's assuming they are available. If they are not, that is what I call cheating)

john-e-big-guns

Ya can't be the good old case'ie...a good solid object to kick.... and heading one was brilliant esp; on the lace area kind'a left an inprint of scar tissue on ya forehead

Bring back the good old 'Case'ie

Lillywhite

Interesting that the commentators keep going on about the lighter ball when a free kick flys over the cross bar.

Lighter than what? The balls previously used in other World Cups, Champions League, Premier league, local park football et al?

The weight of the ball, according the Laws of the Game, has been the same since 1937, in other words, between 14 and 16 ozs, at the start of the game. However, one ball never gets used all match with the multi ball system employed by ball boys.

As for the roundest ball ever, what a load of tosh.

Let's see if the ball continues to misbehave when the Brazilians play their first match.

EKIMIKE

If anything, it looks like keepers are mis-judging the bounce of the ball. I was a keeper throughout my childhood and balls which bounce differently can be a real pain. Especially on a hard pitch.

I still think it's mainly general handling errors and poor decisions when dealing with shots. The Algerian keeper being a prime example - first rule of being a keeper is get your body behind the ball. That way, if you drop it or it comes through your hands, your body should prevent it going in the goal.

rick_chasey

Lillywhite wrote:

Interesting that the commentators keep going on about the lighter ball when a free kick flys over the cross bar.

Lighter than what? The balls previously used in other World Cups, Champions League, Premier league, local park football et al?

The weight of the ball, according the Laws of the Game, has been the same since 1937, in other words, between 14 and 16 ozs, at the start of the game. However, one ball never gets used all match with the multi ball system employed by ball boys.

As for the roundest ball ever, what a load of tosh.

Let's see if the ball continues to misbehave when the Brazilians play their first match.

The roundest ball is probably true - it also holds a more uniform round shape when struck, more importantly.

As for the weight, while the ball starts off the same weight, they all take on water when it's wet. This ball is the most 'waterproof' ball of them all, so does not take on much water, hence it staying a little lighter when its wet.


Having said all that, the keeping failures have nothing to do with the ball. It's just sh!t keeping.

Lillywhite

EKIMIKE wrote:

Especially on a hard pitch.

Although all pitches, seen so far, appear to have a good layer of grass, the sub-base is clearly very hard since the most noticeable problem is long cross field passes bouncing, before reaching the intended player, and then going over his head and out of play for a throw in. :twisted:

ExeterSimon

Players (especially goalkeepers) moaning about the ball is something that pops up everytime there's a tournament.

Much like 1966, England going out on penalties, The Sun going even more xenophobic, people pretending to like football etc.

Lillywhite

Rick Chasey wrote:

As for the weight, while the ball starts off the same weight, they all take on water when its wet. This ball is the most 'waterproof' ball of them all, so does not take on much water, hence it staying a little lighter when its wet.

I take your point, but have they been watering the pitches pre-match? We havn't seen any rain and with the multi-ball system the ball seems to be changed every minute or so, so hardly much chance to soak up any moisture.

EKIMIKE

The ball doesn't seem to be moving especially in flight. I'd argue ball movement whilst in flight is more about the strike. Hit your average football with a pure enough strike, through the middle, hard, without much spin then it will move in the air significantly. Take a particular look at how Cristiano Ronaldo strikes a dead ball.

I think there's alot to be said for how Goalkeepers are trained. For me it was always the focus on shot stopping. Very little handling excercises or drills. It really does count for alot. It might sound a bit pathetic but last night i noticed the German Keeper Neuer was trying to get a quick throw away, couldn't so did a little switch around his back with the ball. It's a basic ball handling drill.

There's alot to be said for hand-eye co-ordinaion and awareness of the appropriate hand positioning. IIRC England Rugby team under Woodward employed the services of an expert who focussed on handling skills and peripheral vision. The idea being to make hand movements/control second nature, particularly with a 6ft 6 flanker charging down on you.

Ben6899

Take a top-end Mitre Delta football from 15 years ago and the Jabulani (sp) World Cup football and put them both through a single match – no multi-ball – and compare them both before and after the match.

Before the match, they will both be size 5 however; the Delta will weigh ~16oz and the Jabulani ~14oz. The Jabulani WILL be a truer sphere than the Delta – the improved stitching techniques and patch shape/size allows this to be the case.

After the match, the Delta will possibly weigh more than ~16oz if the conditions have been wet and I would expect to see little or no difference to the Jabulani. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the Delta is even less spherical than before.

By the way, we’re talking mm here and not necessarily noticeable to the naked eye.

When hit true, a lighter football will have more tendency than a heavier one to be affected by the air through which it is travelling… compare a 10bob swirler from the BP garage with a comparatively expensive £10 JJB offering; at least it’s possible to hit the god-awful JJB football in a straight line!

EKIMIKE

What i'm saying is take a Mitre Delta and a Jabulani and i bet you could get both of them to move pretty significantly with a good strike.

Anyway, i'm not saying a ball is a ball. I've played with too many footballs to realise it's not thaty simple. I just don't think ball movement has been a big issue with the Jabulani yet. Even if it does move alot, i doubt it's hugely different from what keepers have been dealing with in their domestic leagues for the past few seasons. I mean the 'Teamgeist' used in 2006 was increbidly advanced and that's been around for 4 years now.

Ben6899

EKIMIKE,

I agree it's lame to blame the football. But there is truth in the "roundness and weight" debate.

And yes, spank a Mitre Delta well enough and the 'keeper's getting nowhere near it!

bompington

I'm not following the world cup that closely so I'm a bit mystified by this (I was camping up a mountain in Glencoe with my daughter on Saturday night), but exactly what sort of ball is a rounders ball anyway? Can't they just play with a football?

rick_chasey

Lillywhite wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

As for the weight, while the ball starts off the same weight, they all take on water when its wet. This ball is the most 'waterproof' ball of them all, so does not take on much water, hence it staying a little lighter when its wet.

I take your point, but have they been watering the pitches pre-match? We havn't seen any rain and with the multi-ball system the ball seems to be changed every minute or so, so hardly much chance to soak up any moisture.

They do wet the pitches beforehand.

Lillywhite

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37427129/ ... ts-soccer/

Out of interest, none on this thread has mentioned the behaviour of any football at altitude.

rick_chasey

Dutch keeper didn't have a problem with it did he?

Lillywhite

Rick Chasey wrote:

Dutch keeper didn't have a problem with it did he?

Hardly had much to contend with. I reckon the Danes will do well to score a goal in their next two matches.

rick_chasey

Lillywhite wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Dutch keeper didn't have a problem with it did he?

Hardly had much to contend with.

*shrugs* neither did Green :P

Lillywhite

Rick Chasey wrote:

*shrugs* neither did Green :P

Quite honestly, the standard of play and entertainment to date in all matches has been shocking. I'm glad I havn't paid to watch it. :twisted:

brin

Wrong shape ball, ball to light, noisy grounds, altitude.....FFS! ain't it the same for all the teams? All these excuses used to gloss over the stark reality..... we just not as good as we think we are, simple!
Like i said in an earlier post, they play well in the premier league alongside other national footballers, but put them together and their weaknesses get exposed.
No fears of getting through to next stage, but i'm afraid thats as far as we'll go.