u/Strategist21

The Ghost Striker is a proposed tactical idea that exploits the offside rule and possibly allows a striker to get involved in play directly from an offside position.

It starts by placing a striker deep into the opponent's half, far behind the offside line (let's call him the Ghost Striker). Then playing a through ball behind the defense and having a winger run after it. The idea is that even if a defender gets to the ball faster than our winger, we can simply wait until the defender touches the ball, and then our Ghost Striker can legally attack him. That could create a 2v1 situation near the opponent's goal, possibly allowing us to win the ball and score easily.

The linked article explains it in more detail, including a short video animation.

Do you think this could work? And if yes, could it lead to a change in the offside rule?

Could this technique change the way professional teams execute throw-ins? It seems like a loophole in the rules that could allow throw-ins to be as dangerous as corner kicks, because they could really be kicked!

The idea is actually very simple. The player taking the throw in (”the thrower”) stands on the sideline right next to his teammate (”the kicker”). As the rules state, all opponents must stand at least 2 meters from the thrower. The thrower takes the ball with both hands above his head (just like in a normal throw-in) and simply drops it, so the ball falls on the ground just inside the pitch. The kicker can then kick the ball into the play from half-volley.

That effectively transforms a throw-in to a situation very similar to a free kick. It basically allows teams to kick the ball into play instead of throwing it using hands, thus making throw-ins more powerful and therefore more dangerous. It also enables crossing the ball into the penalty area even after a throw-in far away from the opponent’s goal.

It could also have modifications and huge tactical implications, that effectively exploit the offside rule, long-range throw-ins and more. If you want to explore these ideas, you can read about them in the linked article. There is also a (rather poorly edited) video version of the basic idea here.

Do you think this idea could really work?

Do you think this strategy could work? The article says that there is way to pass to an "offside" position legally by exploiting the rule that defines the "first point of contact" with the ball. It states that if you touch the ball "continuously" for several seconds before passing, your team-mate can run behind the defense without being penalized for offside. Is that really possible? Could this be a real strategy?