> Football would be a nightmare if players were hanging out in the other team's box, waiting for the ball to be hoofed upfield to them so they could tap it into the back of the net
this is the commonly-held wisdom on offside, but I’m a little sceptical of it. 7-a-side, 5-a-side and futsal manage just fine without the offside rule (admittedly on smaller pitches). I suspect that 11-a-side would just look different without offside, it wouldn’t be a completely broken game. your best defenders would still have fair battles with your best attackers, and midfielders-midfielders etc
At least one forward would hang close to the opponent's goalkeeper, guarded by a defender. Teams would be spread in length over the pitch. There will probably be many special strategies. Maybe everybody would be in the box when the other goalkeeper kicks the ball. That's prevented by offside now. BTW offside works only in the opponent's half of the pitch.
Field size makes all the difference. Try to play on full-size football field for 90 minutes and you start to understand a lot of weird rules and tactics in football.
I don't think it would be completely broken, per se, but as a spectacle I think it would be ruined...Obviously not a big concern for 7-a-side, 5-a-side, etc.
Taking things to the extreme...because you'd effectively have a group of players in one box, a group of players in another box and not a whole lot in between. You'd remove the need for midfielders almost entirely and The game would become much more about who can hoof the ball furthest downfield and much less about strategy, which is what makes football beautiful. I guess the tldr version is the game would be simplified so much as to remove any nuance, thereby removing most of what makes it beautiful to watch.
this is the commonly-held wisdom on offside, but I’m a little sceptical of it. 7-a-side, 5-a-side and futsal manage just fine without the offside rule (admittedly on smaller pitches). I suspect that 11-a-side would just look different without offside, it wouldn’t be a completely broken game. your best defenders would still have fair battles with your best attackers, and midfielders-midfielders etc