Originally Posted by
bigmac
Yeah, that's the argument - but surely by being ahead of the play to begin with he gains the advantage of being ahead of the defenders.
Hypothetically let's consider someone playing up front alongside Thierry Henry (or some other very fast player). Henry is onside but his pace takes him clear of everyone, except his teammate. If his teammate had been onside, then the defenders would have arrived in the box at the same time to receive a pass, but because he begins from an offside position he gets there unmarked - is this not gaining an unfair advantage and therefore should be offside?