By Ian 'DoubIe SkuIIs' WiIIiams

F0TT|hP Th
8PPT h

For ihc mosi pari ihis ariicIc isn`i going io discuss ihc
moraI aspccis of fouIing - ihai is |csi handIcd wiihin your
Icaguc. Insicad ii focuscs on ihc risks and rcwards.
Running around puiiing ihc |ooi in ai random mighi |c
fun, |ui ii is aImosi ccriainIy incffcciivc.
So whai arc you irying io achicvc whcn you fouI?
IikcIihood is ii`s onc of ihc foIIowing ihrcc goaIs.
1actical Fouls: Somciimcs you arc Iooking io siun a
pronc opponcni who for somc rcason is in a dangcrous
posiiion shouId ihcy |c a|Ic io gci up. NormaIIy ihis is
|ccausc ihcy arc ihc onIy pIaycr who can scorc, siop you
scoring, or arc a|Ic io |Iiiz ihc |aII carricr. In gcncraI, you
don`i carc if you gci scni off and ihc main mcasurcmcni
of succcss is |rcaking armour. A KO or a casuaIiy is a
pIcasani |onus.
Kcy Playcrs: Mosi icams havc kcy pIaycrs. Var Danccrs or
Big Guys arc cIassic cxampIcs, |ui ii couId |c ihai supcr
ihrowcr or a onc iurn wondcr. Rcmoving your opponcni`s
kcy pIaycr(s) from ihc gamc can givc you a hugc
advaniagc. Bcing scni off can |c considcrcd a fair iradc as
Iong as you gci ihcm off ihc piich. NormaIIy you arc irying
io gci rid of kcy pIaycrs carIy on, so a knock oui docsn`i
aIways hcIp. Somciimcs ihcrc arc considcraiions
|cyond ihc currcni gamc. KiIIing a kcy pIaycr
now mighi givc you an advaniagc in ihc finaI...
Numbcrs: Somciimcs you arc fouIing jusi io iry
and gain an advaniagc in num|crs. If so, you wiII |c
Iooking for KOs and casuaIiics. Bcing scni off
wiihoui gciiing your opponcni off ihc piich as wcII
can |c a disasicr as you wiII havc givcn ihc
advaniagc away. This is a pariicuIar favouriic for
icams wiih chcap Iincmcn as ihcy can afford Iargcr
squads io a|sor| a coupIc of rcd cards. Rcmcm|cr,
if you arc going io fouI, ii aIways makcs scnsc io
iargci ihc mosi vaIua|Ic opponcni you can wiih ihc
Icasi imporiani of your own pIaycrs.
So you`vc workcd oui who you arc going io fouI and why.
Vhai arc your chanccs of succcss?
For as Iong as anyonc can rcmcm|cr, kicking a pIaycr
whcn hc is down has |ccn an inicgraI pari of ihc gamc. In
faci, many BIood BowI pIaycrs wouId happiIy siamp on
ihcir own moihcr, Ici aIonc a dazcd siar pIaycr hoIding his
|iis, if ihcy ihoughi ii gavc ihcm an advaniagc. Evcn ihc
daficsi Go|Iin knows ihai a wcII-iimcd kick can win ihc
aduIaiion of ihc crowd and may|c cvcn ihc gamc! Iovc ii
or Ioaihc ii, whcihcr you arc ihc |ooi or ihc |ooicd,
fouIing is a iaciic you jusi havc io undcrsiand.
Fan07_l6_l8 6/8/04 2:52 pm Page l6
Effcctivc Av is ihc Av incIuding modificrs (so fouIing an
Av 10 Trccman wiih 3 assisis is Effcciivc Av . Thc +1
fouIing |onus is incIudcd aIrcady).
Off Pitch is ihc chancc of gciiing your opponcni off ihc
piich ic, KO or casuaIiy.
So againsi a Human Iincman (Av 8) wiih 2 assisis your
opponcni has an cffcciivc Av of 6. Thai mcans you`vc goi
a 12/ chancc of gciiing a casuaIiy, 18.1/ chancc of a
knockoui (giving a 30.1/ chancc of gciiing ihcm off ihc
piich) and wiII ai Icasi gci a siun 2.2/ of ihc iimc.
For a diriy pIaycr againsi a Vood EIf Caichcr (Av ) wiih 1
assisi your opponcni has an cffcciivc Av of 6. Thai mcans
you`vc goi a hugc 32.2/ chancc of gciiing a casuaIiy, 26.1/
chancc of a knockoui (gciiing ihcm off ihc piich 58.3/ of
ihc iimc) and wiII ai Icasi gci a siun 88.9/ of ihc iimc.
Vhai do ihcsc num|crs mcan in praciicc? Onc way of
Iooking ai ihcm is io caIcuIaic whai I`II caII a raiio of
worih. Thai`s ihc odds of you |cing scni off againsi ihc
odds of aciuaIIy gciiing a casuaIiy. This is pariicuIarIy
imporiani if you arc fouIing io csia|Iish a numcricaI
supcrioriiy.
Thc odds of gciiing scni off arcn`i cxaciIy 1/6 or 1/2
|ccausc you can arguc ihc caII. So Iong as you can arguc
you shouId. Thcrc is no cffcci if you shouId gci scni off
yourscIf, oihcr ihan ihai you can no Iongcr arguc ihc caII.
So ii`s a 5/36 chancc, or 15/36 if ihc Eyc is on you, of
gciiing scni off.

1u 16.7 9.7 4.2 2.8 6.9

9 27.8 16.2 6.9 4.6 11.6
8 41.7 24.3 1u.4 6.9 17.4
7 58.3 34.u 14.6 9.7 24.3
6 72.2 42.1 18.1 12.u 3u.1
5 83.3 48.6 2u.8 13.9 34.7
4 91.7 53.5 22.9 15.3 38.2
3 97.2 56.7 24.3 16.2 4u.5
2 1uu 58.3 25.u 16.7 41.7
FouIing with a NormaI PIayer
Effective
AV
Break
Armour
%
Stun
%
KO
%
Cas
%
Off
Pitch
%
1u 41.7 19.2 11.3 11.1 22.5
9 58.3 25.5 16.1 16.7 32.8
8 72.2 29.4 2u.4 22.5 42.8
7 83.3 3u.8 24.1 28.5 52.5
6 88.9 3u.6 26.1 32.2 58.3
5 97.2 31.3 28.9 37.u 66.u
4 1uu 3u.3 3u.1 39.6 69.7
3 1uu 28.6 3u.4 41.u 71.4
2 1uu 27.8 3u.6 41.7 72.2
FouIing with a Dirty PIayer
Effective
AV
Break
Armour
%
Stun
%
KO
%
Cas
%
Off
Pitch
%
The Llces put the boot in uhilst holding off the rest of the tean.
Fan07_l6_l8 6/8/04 2:52 pm Page l7