Not all change is bad in football.
Unlike VAR, which is fine in theory but a disaster in practice, with games being re-refereed in front of a bank of TV screens, the idea of a sin bin is a potentially worthwhile one in my book.
I’ve always thought the introduction of a ten-minute period where players sit it out like rugby or hockey is a good idea, so I’m not against the introduction of the blue card on a trial basis.
Referees would be allowed to temporarily exclude a player from the field for 10 minutes if he commits a foul which prevents a dangerous attack, or if he protests a referee’s decision too violently.
The first element is a trade-off between a yellow, which is no great hardship for stopping an attack, and a red for incidents so reckless or dangerous that only dismissal suffices.
In situations where a professional foul halts an attack which, on balance, looks likely to lead a serious threat to the opposing goal, then its punishment enough to reduce the guilty team to ten men for a short period.
It isn’t so harsh that it completely transforms the game like a red card, but still gives an advantage to the side penalised by having their attack thwarted.
As ever, everything would depend on the referee’s interpretation and opinion. Given that’s always subjective and that VAR may be involved, then it could turn into a circus.
And following a vociferous social media backlash to the reported proposal, it now appears that IFAB will shelf the concept altogether
On balance though, I like the idea and think it’s worth a trial period.
The appointment of Neil Warnock as Aberdeen manager aged 75 proves experience still counts in football.
But even bosses with solid lengthy groundings in the game can come adrift very quickly; just ask Derek Adams and Jack Ross.
Adams’ departure at Ross County in midweek after a 5-0 weekend thrashing at Motherwell (his third spell in charge) came after just twelve games.
Ross was dismissed after just seven games in charge at Dundee United following a brutal 9-0 hammering at Tannadice from Celtic.
Adams said his former club Morecambe were 100 times better than County after a defeat to Dundee in his fifth game as boss and claimed that the standard of Scottish football was “shocking”.
That sealed his fate.
Ross told me after the Celtic farrago that certain players had cheated him, while a County player informed me the players didn’t like Adams.
On the face of it both were respectable managers; Adams with over 700 games under his belt and Ross had almost 300. Both had operated at high levels.
But to succeed as a gaffer requires not just coaching skills, but first-class man management abilities.
There’s a delicate balancing act between inspiring and deflating players, some of whom will have robust personalities and some who will be shrinking violets under any form of scrutiny.
If big characters in a dressing room with secure contracts in their possession down tools for the manager, then it’s game over.
It’s always easier to bin the boss than punt players who want the gaffer gone.
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