Originally Posted by outsider
I think this rule is there for good reason, and is important. Does anyone else think the whole playing out from the back idea is far too rigid? Sure its great to see when teams have the kids capable of passing the ball to each other, but that is NOT the case across every team. There are EPL and A-League teams who don't play out from the back because their players aren't good enough, but little Johnny who only starting playing last year is expected to do this every week in his U9 game.
IMHO there is nothing wrong with a goalie playing a long ball from the back, hopefully off the floor, as long passing is an important part of the game. I bet most of the weaker teams across SAP concede the vast majority of their goals from failing to play out from the back, so why shouldn't they be able to change it up? Constantly conceding goals and "losing" games means kids lose confidence and don't enjoy the game. Let's teach them that there is more than one way to skin a cat. And lets not be so enslaved to that Dutch technical handbook our ex-pros are increasingly saying has sent our game backwards over the past 10 years.
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