**Official 2014 FIFA World Cup Thread**

[Ratt Mhule]

It should be like hockey. Once you get to a certain area on the field, the rule no longer stands.

[EbylHusker]

If you say so.

[Ratt Mhule]

Just an opinion. Im sure FIFA isn't going to change the rule bc someone who rarely watches the sport doesn't like the rule.

[EbylHusker]

The offsides rule makes soccer what it is, rather than kickball up and down the field like a bunch of high school idiots.

[ShawnWatson]

Just an opinion. Im sure FIFA isn't going to change the rule bc someone who rarely watches the sport doesn't like the rule.

Watch out Po, we are dealing with a hyper-sensitive soccer fan.

[Ratt Mhule]

 

Just an opinion. Im sure FIFA isn't going to change the rule bc someone who rarely watches the sport doesn't like the rule.

Watch out Po, we are dealing with a hyper-sensitive soccer fan.

 

 

[EbylHusker]

You could always try addressing the point and actually discussing it. If you want soccer to be people just kicking the ball up and down the field and cherry picking as much as possible, then yes, remove offisides. It would ruin the game, though.

[ShawnWatson]

You could always try addressing the point and actually discussing it. If you want soccer to be people just kicking the ball up and down the field and cherry picking as much as possible, then yes, remove offisides. It would ruin the game, though.

I don't think what Po said would result in cherry picking, do you actually know what the offside rules are or what cherry picking means?

[Ratt Mhule]

You could always try addressing the point and actually discussing it. If you want soccer to be people just kicking the ball up and down the field and cherry picking as much as possible, then yes, remove offisides. It would ruin the game, though.

 

I already addressed the cherry picking.

 

"I can see them calling it if a guy is just standing on the other side of the field, but when you get closer to your goal it should be cut out like hockey. The offense should not be penalized for the defense not knowing where the offensive guys are on the field."

 

In hockey, you can not get behind the defense in the neutral zone. Once you get passed the blue line, the defense is responsible for knowing where the other players are and actually defending them. Im saying there should be a line in soccer that is CLOSE to the goal where the offensive players can go wherever they want and not worry about if they are behind the last defender in order to gain a scoring advantage. This may create more scoring opportunities which would make more people want to watch the sport. Sorry, but its boring to watch guys running around for 90 min and only 2-3 goals being scored the whole game.

[Ratt Mhule]

And maybe if there were more goals, the players wouldn't celebrate every goal like they just won the world series

[EbylHusker]

The defense in soccer is responsible for knowing where the offensive players are and defending them, too. You're basing your entire point on misunderstanding how defenses and offenses actually work in soccer.

 

Part of the dynamic in soccer, and one of the things that separates good teams from average teams, is an organized defense that can communicate and properly run an offsides trap at any location. If you break that ability up, even if it's closer to the goal, you completely hamstring defenses and fundamentally alter the dynamic of the game. Even that would serve to essentially destabilize defenses and just make the game more chaotic, which isn't better.

 

And yes, there would still be cherry picking and the long ball would be far more prevalent, because there would be no way for the defense to hold the offense forward up the field. Instead of having to make an incredibly skilled, weighted pass, you could just kick the ball down there just about wherever and have a much greater chance of having your guy get it. So it rewards sh#t play, not skill.

[Ratt Mhule]

Okay. I don't really care enough to get into a huge debate about it, so Ill just bow out now and concede the debate to you

[EbylHusker]

There's nothing to concede? I invited you to discuss the topic and you did. I responded, and now you're "bowing out?" Ok...

[ShawnWatson]

The defense in soccer is responsible for knowing where the offensive players are and defending them, too. You're basing your entire point on misunderstanding how defenses and offenses actually work in soccer.

 

Part of the dynamic in soccer, and one of the things that separates good teams from average teams, is an organized defense that can communicate and properly run an offsides trap at any location. If you break that ability up, even if it's closer to the goal, you completely hamstring defenses and fundamentally alter the dynamic of the game. Even that would serve to essentially destabilize defenses and just make the game more chaotic, which isn't better.

 

And yes, there would still be cherry picking and the long ball would be far more prevalent, because there would be no way for the defense to hold the offense forward up the field. Instead of having to make an incredibly skilled, weighted pass, you could just kick the ball down there just about wherever and have a much greater chance of having your guy get it. So it rewards sh#t play, not skill.

Again, what Po said would not result in cherry picking, I'm not sure you are able to wrap your head around what cherry picking actually means.

 

Po is talking about when the ball is in play around the goal. It would definitely change the game and would result in one or both defenders being closer to the goal when the ball is in play close to them, but again that is not cherry picking.

[zoogs]

The counterargument to that would be the game would devolve into bombarding the ball down towards 'near goal', however that's defined, and then play it to the guy who's behind everyone else for scores.

 

I'm a rather casual soccer fan though, so I can't claim to speak accurately about any hypotheticals and consequences and so on. Lacking that, I'll defer to some more seasoned thoughts on it, which seem to be universally in favor:

 

http://world-soccer.yoexpert.com/understanding-soccer/i-hate-the-offside-rule-in-soccer-what-is-the-use-314.html

 

In the first instance: the offensive team is essentially prohibited from what we used to call "cherry picking." That is, they cannot simply park a forward player in the defensive end and wait for the opportunity to play a ball to him after it comes into their possession. No, they must develop scoring opportunities moving forward more as a unit. This encourages, even necessitates, sequences of short passing to move the ball upfield and towards the opponents goal. Such play at its most highly developed is fundamental to what we call the "beautiful game."

http://www.sounderatheart.com/2010/1/12/1247997/more-than-you-ever-wanted-to-know

 

The offside rule attempts to prevent soccer from descending into a game of long punts towards crowds of players milling bout the goal, as is essentially equivalent to American Football's strict rules on the forward pass.