Referees have been instructed to let games run for longer in an effort to clamp down on time-wasting, meaning contests are now spanning close to or beyond 100 minutes in most cases.
It made for a nervy finish at The Hawthorns last Saturday [12 August] as Albion desperately held on for a 3-2 win against Swansea City in a game they led by three goals at one point.
Discussing the rule changes in his Express & Star column on Wednesday [16 August], Robertson said: “A quick word for the new lengthy stoppage time that has been introduced as law to our game. I think it’s abysmal.
“If it’s for genuine time-wasting there should be a booking and add on the minutes. But a game to me should be 90 minutes and time for whoever’s been injured.”
Mixed reaction
Teams throughout the English Football League are having to adapt to the new initiative, which has had rather mixed reviews since being rolled out at the start of this season.
Manchester United defender Raphael Varane feels players are now at even higher risk of burnout due to the additional minutes being played, while others – Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp among them – have argued it is ultimately a good thing.
Whichever side of the divide you stand on, it certainly makes for gripping conclusions to tight games, as was the case at the weekend when Albion edged out Swansea.
All three of the Baggies’ games this season in all competitions have been settled by one-goal margins, so there has been something to play for in the dying embers in each of them.
The hope is that in the long term, added time will slowly revert back to the norm once players stop time wasting. If that is the case, maybe even Robertson will see that the rule change is a positive for the game.
