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I agree that you shouldn't need to be told when to back-off, that should be understood by all players on the field. I do like the restrictions, however, because it's nice to have some sort of specific unified goal to be working at the time rather than just be knocking the ball around aimlessly. Can we get 9, 10, 11 consecutive passes? Can we get this crazy new combo to work? Can we take it back, switch it, and then do x, y, or z?



When you look at it that way, it's not so much "restrictions" as "challenges"...ways to make a game challenging enough to provide both entertainment and development. Those kinds of "restrictions" aren't there to hold the players back, but rather to give them a way to play their best without taking the easy route. Scoring goal #9 might not be anything to brag about, but pulling off that insane combo without losing the ball is. Whether put in by the captains or designed by the coach, they're a good way to get something meaningful out of an otherwise anticlimactic game.

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