Psychologically, the timing of a goal can have a huge impact.
An early goal by an unfancied team can spur them on to greater things, or galvanise the superior opposition to dispense with complacency.
A goal a minute before half-time is always a killer - most teams and managers use half-time as a mental “rest point”, and evaluate the 45 mins overall, before deciding the second-half approach.
By scoring on 44 mins you can really disrupt the other team mentally, and it’ll often be followed by a goal early in the second half.
The very fact that the goals are so few (relatively) per game, means that the particular timing of each one becomes crucial to the overall flow and tempo of the game.
And there’s nothing like being on one or other end of a 91st minute winner in a close-fought game.
I think GorillaMan nailed it with the ‘Charlton v Sheff Wed’ game. Without knowing when the goals were scored you would have no idea just how exciting a game it must have been.
For another example, because the great Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has just retired, I present the 1999 European Cup Final:
Manchester United 2 - 1 Bayern Munich
Sheringham (90+1) Basler (6)
Solskjær (90+3)
I watched that game with a bunch of Leeds Utd supporters and we were all out of our armchairs and shouting and screaming like it was the best game we’d ever had the opportunity of seeing.
The frustration and anticipation (only 1 decent strike could change the game) of the first 90 minutes contributed to the elation of the last 4. If you don’t know, Leeds Utd fans are very opinionated about the fortunes of Man Utd, but on that glorious European night we were all wanting a victory for Premiership football. Probably the only time that will happen.
You and half of Manchester, and that was probably it, chowder.
I was living there, and I will admit that it was one of those annoying situations where people who take no interest in football whatsoever became ‘fans’ for one night.
Used to be true, but many have been enticed by Siberian money-laundering
Top of the league And for the first time in ages, it looks like we’ve got a team who aren’t afraid to actually attack. Counago, Lee, Haynes, Clarke, Legwinski…it feels like a luxury to be able to list proven goal-scorers like that!
Same at Eastlands, under Pearce, City were too defensively minded.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked Pearce but he wasn’t the manager for us at the time, he/we had no dosh to spend on players and that hampered him an awful lot.
Sven on the other hand has spent like no tomorrows since Frank took over,bless his little plastic bootees
I’ll admit Sven is doing okay so far but there’s a long way to go. You might finish one place above Wigan though ;).
Peterborough have started… averagely. It’s about time Darren Ferguson started using his contacts! Our owner is aiming for Premiership football in five years time…
We did beat Southampton in the first round of the Carling Cup though. That’s not bad.
Quidditch score times are recorded wih precision to the second and include the size and composition of the wand of the wizard or witch responsible for the goal, penalty goal, or snitch capture.
You forgot to mention that the snitch itself remembers not only who captured it (in case of a dispute as to who captured it) but also what he caught it with.
Interesting that nobody has pointed out that the times of each score are unofficial. Some on these boards would tell you that making goal times official would radically alter the fundamental laws of the game.
The half-time score and the full-time result are clearly defined without the necessity for goal times. Those betting on the first goalscorer need only to know that O’Brien scored before anyone else. They don’t require the information that he scored in the 6th minute. None of these examples call for the use of a clock, whereas those punters in the ‘time of the first goal’ betting market must know exactly when that goal hits the back of the net.
Therefore the times of each goal are very, very official.
Many clubs run a sweepstake where each match ticket is assigned a time - down to the second - and if your ticket matches the time of the first goal you win £1000.
And for the first time in ages, it looks like we’ve got a team who aren’t afraid to actually attack. Counago, Lee, Haynes, Clarke, Legwinski…it feels like a luxury to be able to list proven goal-scorers like that!