“The modern offside law continues to frustrate defenders and pundits alike, but the men who should benefit from it – strikers – have not exploited it to its full potential. First, some background on the offside law is needed, specifically the recent changes to it. Jonathan Wilson’s piece gives a history of the law along with some implication for tactics, whilst the Premier League’s head of referees Keith Hackett outlines the ‘new’ law in detail. In this article, we are dealing with a very specific outcome of the changes. Now, a player who is in an offside position when one pass in a move is played can go onto participate in the rest of the move as long as he doesn’t touch the ball from the initial pass.” Zonal Marking

The Question: Why is the modern offside law a work of genius?
April 13 2010. “Nothing in football is so traduced as the offside law. Most seem to regard it as a piece of killjoy legislation, designed almost to prevent football producing too many goals and being too much fun, while for the punditocracy it has become the universal scapegoat, the thing that “nobody understands”. Just because Garth Crooks doesn’t get something, though, doesn’t make it a bad thing. The modern offside law may be the best thing that’s ever happened to football, and it is almost certainly the reason Barcelona have been so successful with a fleet of players whose obvious asset is their technique rather than their physique.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson