How to put a stop to this throw-in nonsense that is ruining Premier League football | OneFootball

The throw-in scourge that is threatening to ruin Premier League football.

It isn’t a new thing.

The use of a throw-in as a major attacking threat.

Back in the day you had that bloke at Tranmere Rovers, Dave Challinor, who in the 1990s and early 2000s used a long throw-in to try and cause chaos in the opposition penalty area.

That was seen as fair game by many, a lower league tactic, especially when they played a top tier club and ruffled their feathers with the long throw-in bombed into the penalty area.

The stakes were raised though when a Premier League club then started to doing this as arguably their main attacking threat. Rory Delap was at Stoke City from 2007 to 2013 and I think fair to say that whilst it was amusing when watching on TV when Delap was upsetting certain teams and managers, nobody really thought this was great to watch on a regular basis.

Who though could ever have predicted that one day we would see a club such as Arsenal turn to the long throw-in as one of their main attacking threats? Indeed, last season it arguably was their biggest attacking threat. Certainly set-pieces overall had become Arsenal’s main focus of attack, which to be fair they did well, no doubt countless hours on the training pitch and their set-piece specialist coach integral to all of this.

With all Premier League clubs looking for any kind of extra edge to help them, the Arsenal plague has proved infectious beyond belief. It feels like now every Premier League team has a set-piece specialist coach and every PL club has a nominated first choice throw-in star. Newcastle United certainly have both of these now, with Martin Mark arriving as set-piece specialist coach and Dan Burn as throw-in first choice.

All Premier League clubs are doing it now seemingly, the long throw-in. Whilst we have also seen Newcastle United join in with new craze of kicking the ball out of play when the match kicks off. Instead of keeping possession, teams give it us ASAP on purpose. The idea is that if the ball can be hit out for a defensive throw-in as close to the corner flag as possible, it puts that team having to take the defensive throw-in under instant pressure, as invariably a throw-in from that kind of area will see the attacking team get possession in the opposition half.

Anyway, back to the scourge specifically of the throw-in.

As it happened, Newcastle United ran into arguably the very best proponent of this on Sunday, leading 1-0 at the time, Newcastle failed to defend the latest long throw-in from Michael Kayode and the chaos eventually led to a Brentford equaliser.

Now I am not just against this long throw-in scourge because of Sunday’s goal, though to me that match simply summed up why I hate so much this new craze that has swarmed the Premier League.

It isn’t that I think a long throw-in should be banned. That would be daft. Of course a team should be allowed to have a player or players to throw the ball as far as they like.

Rather, it is the length of time this all takes.

During the commentary on Sunday’s match, I heard a stat quoted that it takes over 40 seconds on average for Brentford to take a throw-in. I am not picking on the Bees here, it was just that was the stat quoted about them. I have no doubt that it will be pretty much a similar story for all of the Premier League clubs utilising the long throw-in on a repeated basis.

The game endlessly held up whilst the long throw specialist gets to the ball, cleans the ball, dries his hands as best he can, prepares his position to run from, then eventually sprints and chucks it as hard as he can.

It isn’t that different to watching a fast bowler in Test Match Cricket, though those matches last five days and not 90 minutes!

It is so ironic that this long throw-in nonsense has took over the Premier League at the very same time as there has been a clampdown on Premier League goalkeepers.

When you are watching PL matches now, if a goalkeeper has held the ball more than a few seconds, you will often hear the commentator say the keeper having to watch out as they can’t now hold the ball for more than eight seconds.

Yet in the very same games, you can have for example a left-back trotting over to the right attacking corner, or a right-back trotting over to the left attacking corner, maybe then taking even more than a minute to take a throw-in, with nothing said by the commentator!

My solution?

If you can say a goalkeeper only has eight seconds to release the ball, why can’t you say a throw-in has to be taken within say 15 seconds?

Why should you be allowed more than 15 seconds, never mind a minute or more, to take a throw-in???

Imagine if say every time a team got a goal-kick, the centre-forward trotted back from the other half to take it? I probably shouldn’t have mentioned this as it could be the next craze to cut the amount of time further that the ball is in play!

People endlessly moan about VAR and especially the time they take on major decisions. However, for me it is far worse when you are at a match and repeatedly waiting forever for throw-ins to be taken.

I would also extend this to corners as well, to an extent. I think far too much time is taken on them as well these days, though I think they deserve more time than on a throw-in, as a corner is something that has usually taken more effort and ability to win, than a throw-in.

I think Premier League goalkeepers only allowed eight seconds before releasing the ball is excellent.

I would then also make it fifteen seconds allowed to take a throw-in, or else the opposition gets the throw-in.

Whilst on corners ideally thirty seconds as the limit, though maybe forty seconds if I’m feeling generous. Then a goal-kick given instead if you take too long.

So of you have your long throw-in specialist close to where the ball goes out of play, then absolutely having the right to launch the throw deep into the penalty area, if doing so within 15 seconds.

Otherwise, I have this nightmare of a future where we would be watching a spectacle almost as rubbish as American Football, which to be is totally unwatchable. American Football a sport that isn’t played in the rest of the world because it is rubbish. Endless long breaks, interspersed with the equivalent of (proper) football set-pieces, the action lasting mere seconds each time before waiting forever for the next throw.

Part of the nightmare for me, is thinking of kids in the future. Rather than dreaming of emulating their favourite goalscorer or tricky winger, all of them competing to see who can take the longest throw-in. Plus of course then football clubs looking specifically for top of the skill set for potential signings, how far can you throw the ball?