The 'Away' Goals Rule

[AustrianAndyGull]

Surely it is about time that the 'away goals rule' was scrapped as it is totally unfair and can completely destroy games of football. I believe the rule was implemented to encourage the away sides to be more attacking and thus creating better games of football and also rewarding the away teams for doing so.

I see problems with this.

What if the home team scores an own goal in the 1st 5 minutes or concedes a penalty early on that wasn't one but the ref gives it and it is converted. Then the away team can defend for the rest of the game with a 1 goal lead knowing that it counts double when they go into the home leg. Hardly promoting attacking football.

On the flipside, if a team is 1 or 2 up at home and going into the last 30 minutes or so they may decide to shut up shop as they are so frightened of giving away that away goal thus promoting defensive football, totally contrary to what UEFA had in mind when they brought in this rule.

Take Steaua Bucharest last night, hardly created any chances and then one dodgy corner defended badly from Chelsea and it's 1-1 on the night and 2-1 to the Romanians on aggregate meaning Chelsea needed to win 3-1 instead of 2-1 on the night. Why? If it was 2-1 to Chelsea on the night then it should have gone to extra time and pens and not Steaua go through on an away goal that could have been scored in a variety of different ways and not necessarily as a result of incessant attacking.

Take Inter Milan v Spurs, Inter did amazingly to get it back to 3-3 and so rightly it went to extra time being 3-3 on aggregate but Spurs got an 'away' goal effectively killing the game there and then. To Inters credit they fought back and got a 4th goal so in my book it should have been 4-4 and penalties.

Take Arsenal at Bayern the other night. They won 2-0 so if the away goals rule was scrapped then it would have been 3-3 on aggregate and extra time.

Scrapping the away goal would also effectively 'do away with' games like the Bayern v Arsenal one that almost become dead rubbers and meaningless because the losing team from the 1st leg has a somewhat unassailable deficit to overcome because of the away goal.



I just think it's time it was scrapped completely and a goal is a goal and not two goals. Football would benefit and so would the fans and again in my mind it's just plain and utter common sense that people who get paid millions cannot seem to see. What are your thoughts.

[Alpine Joe]

Football would benefit and so would the fans and again in my mind it's just plain and utter common sense that people who get paid millions cannot seem to see

Some interesting observations from Andy, and there probably isn't a perfect solution that would suit everyone. Had he gone one step further to consider who pays the millions rather than who receives them, then I think he would realise that it's very much a case of 'he who pays the piper calls the tune'

It's the big global TV and media companies that have brought the millions into football. They hate extra time; it plays absolute havoc with their schedules. An extra 30 minutes can stretch to at least 45 mins once the penalty shoot out is organised and completed. Desperate decisions on which programmes to drop completely and which to be rescheduled, annoyed viewers who find their favourite programme now won't be aired and advertisers who find their advertisement is not being shown in the time slot that they'd paid for and is now being shown to a sports audience that their product isn't aimed at.

Then the away team can defend for the rest of the game with a 1 goal lead knowing that it counts double when they go into the home leg.

Of course an away goal scored in the first leg doesn't really count double and there's no such rule. If we imagine the away team wins the first leg 3-2 and the other away team wins the second leg 2-0, then if away goals really did 'count double' you'd be looking at a 6-6 aggregate score after the two legs, and we all know it doesn't happen like that and in reality there's a clear winner.

The current system doesn't worry me unduly in that both clubs are equally aware of how important an away goal might or might not prove to be.
Andy's alternative of lot's more games going to extra time throws up just as great if not more unfairnesses to me based on a big advantage being given to one side purely on their name being drawn out of the hat second.

In these two-legged ties if we get two evenly matched teams who are still level after 180 minutes then it is the team drawn out of the hat second that gets an extra 30 minutes home advantage. It's already widely accepted that being at home for the second leg rather than the first is an advantage in itself. Then should that extra 30 minutes on your own ground not be enough (as remarkably it wasn't for Inter Milan last night) then the penalties will be taken at the end with your own fans behind the goal (I think they toss a coin to decide ends for finals held at neutral grounds) to help you out even more.

I quite agree with Andy that there are things we can pick holes in with the current system, but it's tough to devise a system that can't be seen as giving an advantage in one way or another to either side while keeping all parties happy.

[AustrianAndyGull]

That's a very good point about the home team in the second leg having the home advantage in extra time. I'd actually not thought of that AJ and you are right. I suppose they could maybe go straight to penalties with the respective teams taking them in front of their own supporters where possible and then that would be fair-ER and would give the tv companies an extra half an hour to shove Coronation Street in there.

But yes, overall it is unfair as it is now and surely there must be a fairer way of doing things but i agree that devising this fairer way may be more difficult than first thought.

[coley in stripes]

Good points Andy, but for some time now I have thought that league football should offer an extra point at the end of the completion of both games for an aggregate win. Would encourage more attacking...In which case the away goals rule would come into play...Good idea eh !

But it's not going to happen so I've just wasted about 2/3 minutes of my life typing this !!!

[chunkygull]

absolutely detest the away goals rule. always have, always will. it is totally unfair and ridiculous.a typical european thing.

how can a team win without actually scoring more goals.

some of the teams attitude to the games they hold an away goal in have been appalling, with time wasting and play acting.

it should be abolished and if neccessary penalties played at the end of the 2nd leg. without extra time.
even if my team benefited from the away goals rule i would still feel its a hollow victory. :no:

get rid of it. its just sh!t. end of!

[Dave]

You simply can not have replays in European football. Is losing a game on penalties any more fairer than losing the game on "away goals" Penalties are a complete lottery, atleast with "away goals" each manager knows if he gets his tatics right in the first leg, he has a very good chance of winning the tie from open play, rather than from spot kicks.

All the evidence we need is last seasons Champions League final when Bayern tore Chelsea to shreds in probably the most one sided final ever, how fair was it that Chelsea walked of as winners thanks to one moment from Drogba followed by spot kicks, which any team can win.

I think you will find that not having extra time in European matchs has got "nothing" what so ever to with T.V . It has "everything" To do with the clubs themselves and no one else. For example Man.u are in Spain Wednesday night for a 2nd leg match, the match is drawn and as already pointed out after 30 mins of extra time goes to spot kicks that is 45 minutes over time, which would amount to 1.5 hrs be time they out of the stadium with a plane to catch, which now means they arrive back at Manchester airport about 04.30am maybe later, rather than say 2am Thursday morning ( because the plane has missed it's take off slot) with a massive league match to play on saturday.

Thats a good example, say it is a top European club from England, Italty, Spain etc having to travel back from Russia after playing extra time and penalties. Trust me on this one, it is the clubs that do not want extra time and penalties, even if it does mean they are knocked out.

[chunkygull]

i would rather see penalties (and i hate them also) rather than away goals, with the earlier idea teams get to take them in front of their own fans if possible.

at least with penalties it is someone actually hitting the back of the net and actually in real terms scoring the most goals.

when teams go out of cups/tournaments on penalties or away goals i dont count it as they have lost the tie/game. i just look at it that they were knocked out on penalties/away goals.

away goals are just sh!t.end of.

[Dave]

Each to his own Chunky, the point is simple, there is no completely fair way to do it, there is no perfect solution you prove that yourself, you hate penalties but rather have something you hate, over something you hate more.You can not have replays in European football so there has to be a way of producing a winner after 2 games and as said which ever way you do it, someone will not be happy.

With penalties it only takes one player to slip and miss because of it and your out, with away goals it up to you as a manager, team and players. If your the away team in the first leg score as many as you can and in all likely hood your going through.

If your the home team it's up to you to defend well do not conceed and score at the other end, and your going through, no lottery, just football being decided from open play just as it should be.

We saw it it the last round, Man .u went and got an away goal and a draw, ok they had one sent off but the away goal did not help them in the end, and still might not have even if it had ended up 11.v.11 .

And at the other end of the scale AC Milan win the first leg 2.0 no away goal conceeded and lose the second leg 4.0, no extra time, no penalties needed.

[chunkygull]

yeah, some fair points there. i cannot disagree with your post.

the main thing i hate is the away goals rule does produce games with defensive football, time wasting and play acting. teams often score goals in an away leg then in their home leg dont come out and play, put 10 men behind the ball or start the antics.

my main gripe though is the ball has not actually hit the back of the net more times than the opposition so technically it is not a loss.

penalties is not a loss either it is not a part of the actual match. (although because the ball hits the back of the net it is the lesser of the 2 evils.) the match/tie is a draw not a loss. penalties in real terms are not part of creating or defending chances or opportunities. it is an unreal situation to be put in. you can practice day and night but nothing can prepare for it. it is always that moment, the atmosphere, the fans, the fatigue, the nerves and a bit of luck.

hence after a draw, teams get knocked out on away goals or penalties, they dont actually lose on away goals or penalties.