So your assumption is way off the mark. Being undermined by a female can do a lot of damage but in my case, rebelling against control freaks is not not an after effect of it. Sorry but your theory is wrong. Perhaps I’m just a miserable asshole.

“1. Defence. It would destroy the concept of defense – why would a manager use more than 2 defenders in a game is he can increase his goal tally by adding more midfielders/attackers?”

As much as one once to score more goals, the idea of losing a game 5-6 is just as bad as losing it 0-1. A loss is a loss, but at least if you attack more and stop folding the tent and parking the bus, the chances of winning with style and enterprise increase.

My best example of what I mean is the Bundesliga from the 1970’s. Go to the following site in Germany http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=82918
and check out their seasonal archives for those seasons and check out the average scores in games per week. They will astound you as to the emphasis on offense. 7-4, 6-3. 5-4 were common scores in a league that had the Beckenbauer’s, Mueller’s, Netzer’s, Bonhof’s, Heynckes’s etc.
This was the greatest period in German footballing history and their greatest national teams came form this period. Did they let defensive and negative tactics dictate to them? No. They believed in outscoring the opposition but the teams still believed in defense. It’s just a great defensive game for a team was limiting the opposition to two or less goals a game, as opposed to a shutout today. Play with defense in mind but always keep the offense as your primary weapon and emphasis. I remember thebest goalkeeper I have ever seen Sepp Maier give up seven goals one game at home to Schalke. Did that make him any less a player? No, but even good teams could get blitzed on an off night. Back then teams played a true 4-3-3 and there was no such thing as a defensive midfielder. Today many teams use two of them in 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-2-2 formations. It sucks and it has taken the fun out of the game.

I grew up watching a show called Soccer Made in Germany so my first real exposure to the game was the Bundesliga in the 70’s. After you have watched that brand of football, everything else that has come since pales in comparison and absolutely stinks in comparison when entertainment value is measured.

Another example I’d like to use is watching the National Hockey League in the 80’s I was blessed to have been brought up in Edmonton Alberta which was the home of the powerfully awesome Edmonton Oilers of the 80’s which had the 6 best players in the world as well as the greatest in Wayne Gretzky. Back in the 80’s this team’s style of play and attack oriented play started a revolution of attacking hockey where goals were up 100%. Scores were 9-5, 8-4 7-3, 6-5 as opposed to the game today where average games are 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2. Yes defense was not as sophisticated as today
but the game was faster and much more wide open and highly entertaining. Yet I would put some of the defensemen and goalies from that period against any of the ones today who give up fewer goals but who see the third of the number of quality chances in a game. Defense was appreciated but offense was what brought the fans in and made those games exciting. Defense is for the birds and is for boring scared people. The game is for the fans and the fans need to get more for their money. I wished we got 2 or 3 goals a game today. More like 1 or 2 is the accurate number.

Why should Arsenal worry about not winning the league when in 4th place they secure themselves the riches of ECL.

Changing the rules will also favor the top teams since they have the best attacking players (who are the most expensive players to buy).

If an inferior team is playing for the 0-0 draw, the onus is on the stronger team to find a way around the proverbial bus. Remember, the weaker teams have 10 year plans for achieving success so it is imminent to them to stay in the league until they improve to mid-table, UEFA challengers – and this means get one pt from the big guys is crucial. Forcing them to open up their game would destroy small teams as they would be exposed by the superior opposition. Lastly, why wouldn’t a small team just park the bus even with the new rules. If they open up they lose and get zero pts, if they park the bus they may get zero pts from 0-0 or they may nick a goal in the end and get 3 pts from 1-0. I still have to hear a well formulated “algorithm” for tallying pts that deal with my above pts and avoid destroying small team who cannot afford the firepower up front.

@Natzca: You are right about the defense being important part of basketball. What I meant to communicate was that the defensive role of a player is often secondary to their offensive roles in basketball because of the fact that teams need 90+ pts to win a game and the fact that you cannot switch players easily in basketball when the possession changes the team from defense to offense. If MJ was a mediocre offensive player I am not sure he would be as famous as he is now. However, Paulo Maldini is a defensive (and overall football) legend despite severely lacking an offensive aura. Does that make sense at all?