Football without offside

[URZZZZZ]

Serious question, could you imagine football without the offside rule. Would it make the game better or worse?
Would certainly be a load more goals.

[AthleticoSpizz]

plenty of fun


They should try it in pre-season friendlies

[URZZZZZ]

I honestly think it would make the game better in general, just my opinion mind you

[TBM]

Worse

You'd just have 1 bloke stood in front of the keeper the whole game

Plus it would be too open and slow, like playing 5-a-side on an 11-a-side pitch

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Yep - a team would post a couple of big'uns up in the opposition box and punt the ball forward to them at every possible moment.

So defences would respond by leaving 3 players back all the time to matrk them, and the game would become a lot less fluid and a lot more about big humping the ball forward to big hulks.

Plus Stoke would win the Champions League.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Both teams, surely A L?

would one not negate the other?

Worth a go

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Both teams, of course, yes. So defences would stay back, and the game would flow a lot less - but there'd be lots of hoofing from one end to the other in the hope that the big attackers would get their head on it.

[AthleticoSpizz]

just like 1970's Elm Park

Good times, proper fans etc

[creative_username_1]

Have you seen Gaelic Football, it'd be like that.

[stealthpapes]

Have you seen Gaelic Football, it'd be like that.

I agree.
I was trying to remember the gaelic offside rule and its incredibly limited.

[Green]

just like 1970's Elm Park

Good times, proper fans etc

Yes

[creative_username_1]

Have you seen Gaelic Football, it'd be like that.

I agree.
I was trying to remember the gaelic offside rule and its incredibly limited.

more people on the pitch, it's an exciting fast paced game but maybe not for the purists

[Schards#2]

I was living in Barnet in the early 1990's and went to a few of their games in the Conference when that league was experimenting with no offsides from a free kick. Made the game worse IMHO, every freekick was launched as close to under the crossbar as possible while half the defence stood on the goal line.

[Barry the bird boggler]

I was living in Barnet in the early 1990's and went to a few of their games in the Conference when that league was experimenting with no offsides from a free kick. Made the game worse IMHO, every freekick was launched as close to under the crossbar as possible while half the defence stood on the goal line.

So everyone got to watch Stoke tactics every week. Worked for them.

Personally I think football should simply remain the same but be played with a beach ball (women's game should of course go down the beach volleyball route)

[Green]

I was living in Barnet in the early 1990's and went to a few of their games in the Conference when that league was experimenting with no offsides from a free kick. Made the game worse IMHO, every freekick was launched as close to under the crossbar as possible while half the defence stood on the goal line.

Smashing little club tbf.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

What about a rule where you can be offside for 10 seconds before you have to be onside again.

A bit like basketball where you're only allowed in that bit in front of the net for a short while at a time.

Can you imagine trying to manage and administer that?

[Nameless]

Hockey scrapped offside, and you can take free hits to yourself, and hits from the side. Both have really speeded up the game.
No idea whether it would work in football but I suspect it would take some time for managers to work out ways of being creative.
Players would never get the hang of it and you would still see centre backs standing with their arms raised appealing for offside....

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Hockey scrapped offside, and you can take free hits to yourself, and hits from the side. Both have really speeded up the game.
No idea whether it would work in football but I suspect it would take some time for managers to work out ways of being creative.
Players would never get the hang of it and you would still see centre backs standing with their arms raised appealing for offside....

Not sure. The "keeper can't pick the ball up after a back-pass" rule change only took a season or so to become fully part of football.

I think the main difference is that in hockey you generally can't lift the ball above head height (except in some circumstances), unlike football where the hoof forward for the big blokes standing in the box would be the order of the day.

The beautifully-timed diagonal pass to eat the offside trap is a thing of joy - I'd hate so see that disappear and be replaced by more and more hoofball.

[PistolPete]

Hockey scrapped offside, and you can take free hits to yourself, and hits from the side. Both have really speeded up the game.
No idea whether it would work in football but I suspect it would take some time for managers to work out ways of being creative.
Players would never get the hang of it and you would still see centre backs standing with their arms raised appealing for offside....

I posted this on here a few years ago, I'd like to see it trialled at a low level for sure.

[Royalist]

I'd change corners. If the ball goes out whilst inside the box the corner is taken from the edge of the 18 yard box. Putting it behind next to the post shouldn't push the ball out wide that much!