strobe_z Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 I've been wondering about this for a while.. does the offside rule really matter? Would the game of soccer be better off without it? We've seen lots of "good goals" called back because of an offside call... even some of which were indeed offside. Sure it would make for a major change in tactics, but it would reward creative teams I'd think. There's a ton of rules in different sports that have gone by the wayside 'in the name of progress', some good.. some less so probably. Is the "offside" concept just a throwback to some "gentlemen's game" where you make sure the defenders have a fighting chance? Is it still a legitimate concept? Now I know there's always the 'purist' ideal that the laws of the game are inviolate and that if it's in the rule book it must be followed, but I'm more interested in hearing if people think no offsides would add scoring to the game and wether or not that would be a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ref Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 I will categorize myself as one of those purists. No offsides will be such a different game that hardly could be called soccer. Small kids in mini fields play with no offsides. Remember the NASL that had offsides starting at the 35 yard line rather than center line. With no offsides the defenders can't move up and participate in attack. At least one attacker is going to be glued onto the opposing goalkeeper all the time. It is called the seagull position. I believe a new rule coming out of Fifa is that on throw-ins opponents must be at least 2 yards away from thrower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strobe_z Posted July 10, 2005 Author Share Posted July 10, 2005 I guess it would change the game so much. It's just that it seems a shame to call back a goal when someone's toe is offside. Having said that, a rule is a rule - it shouldn't matter HOW MUCH offside you are. I'd imagine though that we wouldn't see the same kind of "close" goals with no offside rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obdfan Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 i think it would not do much. instead ogf playing ofside trap, teams that rely on this would just play deeper into their half of the field. and if you watch european soccer, you can see that when teams defend they are deep in their half, with defenders positioning themsleves on the edge of the box, plus with keepers that are alert to pick up anytihing if it gets through Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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