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A question from a novice about the offside rule

Manchester City's Sergio Aguero has continued his incredible run of form. (AFP PHOTO / IAN MACNICOL)
Roar Guru
29th October, 2014
31

It should be obvious from my profile photo that AFL is my passion, but this isn’t one of those annoying “my code is better than your code” contests.

I’m asking a question which I hope you will consider and give reasoned answers to.

Why does world football have an offside rule?

My background in sport is mainly in women’s field hockey, which has often been referred to as “soccer with sticks”.

I played goalkeeper for many years as child, adult and finally as a veteran. The rules of hockey and the game structure and objectives are virtually identical to world football – identical with the same number of players in similar positions but a slightly smaller pitch and goal.

When, as an adult, I began to take a serious interest in world football and became a foundation member of Melbourne Victory, I was amazed at how readily I was able to appreciate the subtleties and almost chess-like build-ups involved in general play. It was so similar to what I had seen and learned in my years playing Hockey.

The major difference was that, in the 1990s, field hockey abolished the offside rule.

As a goalkeeper, the removal of offside required me to alter my game slightly, but not grossly so. All the rules about obstructing the custodian remained in place but all of a sudden I found that my position became far more critical in setting up defensive patterns and strategies.

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I had to be ready at any moment to leave my line and attack the ball to kill a forward move, far more than previously. My penalty box (we actually had a semicircle and not a box) became mine to patrol and guard with the aid of my full backs to ensure passing angles were kept covered and scoring opportunities minimised. Overall, scores went up slightly but not excessively, though the speed of the game and the effectiveness of the transitional play were greatly increased.

Tradition is a wonderful thing and, after last week’s Melbourne Derby in particular, only a complete fool would suggest you need to change something which patently isn’t broken. But I couldn’t help but think that world football could become an even greater and more exciting experience if players could legitimately receive the ball at any time in any position.

New strategies would appear. Coaches would have to plan for a far greater spread of players on the pitch, which would open up play and make midfielders and backs in particular really have to work harder, smarter and faster.

My question goes out to all of you. Those who feel the rule should be left alone and those who feel it should change – why do you feel the way you feel?

How do you think it would change the game and would that change be positive, negative or fall somewhere in between?

I do not in any way consider myself an expert in world football and am only too ready to accept that there might well be important aspects I am missing which could change my views. That is why I am hoping you will join this discussion and share your wisdom, so newcomers like me can appreciate even more a game we have come to love.

Thank you for your time, and best of luck to the Wanderers in the ACL.

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