A stadium clock could count down the time so everybody knows the situation, although the referee would need the ability to pause it for his seemingly obligatory lecture before each corner.
On the subject of goal kicks, what happened to the rule that goalkeepers had to get rid of the ball within six seconds of it being in their hands? It's about time referees starting enforcing this again.
2. Limit the number of passes in a team's own half
This is the most radical and contentious suggestion but in a bid to avoid a repeat of the snooze-a-thon Spain produced against Russia, let's give it a go. Spain made a record 1100 passes, mostly in their own half — honestly, have you ever seen a side pass so much for so little reward? I literally fell asleep on my couch during this match.
So here goes — restrict a team to six passes in their own half unless they're losing. If rugby league players can count to six, there shouldn't be any issues with footballers losing track of the number of passes. So use it or lose it. And once the ball has been played out of a team's half, it can't be kicked back in the same possession.
I've watched just about every game of the World Cup and the fast-forward button takes the greatest and lengthiest hammering when teams are in possession in their own half. This is the single idea which could potentially most increase the action quotient in football.
Then again, this rule may prove unworkable and only create further problems, such as making it easier for teams to park the bus or forcing the less technically adept to revert back to Route One football. But the suggestion is a reaction to the frustration of watching defenders endlessly passing the ball back and forth along their backline.
3. Crack down on jersey-pulling
Corners seem to have become more akin with Wrestlemania than football in recent years, particularly with all this shirt-pulling nonsense. There was a time when impeding a player by pulling his jersey warranted an automatic yellow card but referees seem more lenient now. It's time for a return to the more strict approach. Hand ball is a real grey area but shirt-pulling is black and white — it's not something you can do accidentally. If players know penalties will be awarded if they're caught tugging an opponent's jersey during a corner — and that would happen far more frequently with VAR — then they'll stop doing it.
4. Keep "injured" players off the pitch longer
This is a favoured tactic of the time-wasters and aggrieved players who think they've been fouled. We all know the vast majority of these players are not badly injured at all but if they want the game stopped for their histrionics, then once they've been treated and are off the pitch, they can stay off for two minutes. That should make them think twice before indulging in such theatrics.
5. Ensure substituted players run off the pitch
Unless a player is injured, there's no excuse for a game to stop for longer than necessary because a substituted player is strolling to the sideline, sometimes shaking hands with teammates and/or the referee en route. Referees should make them run — and that means at a decent pace, not the kind of "run" that's actually no quicker than a walk. Book anyone who takes too long — again, this would quickly sort the issue, especially if the player being substituted has already picked up a yellow card.
6. Reduce extra time down from 30 minutes
Twenty's plenty.
7. Introduce the ABBA penalty system for shootouts
Using the traditional ABAB system, teams going first win almost two-thirds of all shootouts. You could argue teams going second should be psychologically stronger but ultimately ABBA shares the duress more fairly. ABBA has already been adopted by other competitions and the World Cup should follow suit.
