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Set Pieces

DHSF

DHSF

Les Ferdinand
When are we going to fudgein sort out our set pieces? Games like these today could come down to set pieces. This is especially crucial when it is an attacking team like us who gets lots of set pieces and corners. We get seven or eight and they pose no fudgein problem.
 
I dont know how we dont score more from these or direct free kicks as in tight games sometimes these count more than nutmegs, flicks and dummies which we did so ineffectively today. We also have the talent and ability with players like Dawson and Kaboul who thrive on winning headers in defence surely that should be converted to at least 5 goals a piece per season.
 
It's baffling that we can see that set pieces are our single biggest weakness we have but the management cannot.
 
Our problem is apart from Bale, we have no one who wants to really attack crossess with their head. Adebayor is poor aerially and lennon, modric, parker, and vdv are all midgets. It results in playing short corners and having to be clever in order to get an attempt on goal.
 
to be honest, I think we would be better off taking a scrum than a free kick, and a line out, rather than a corner.

Failing that, instead of giving it to our celoebrated free kick specialists (who are so feckin pants its beyond reason) - why dont we get either Kaboul/Dawson or Friedel to simply leather the ball as hard as they can at the goal

all this clever brick, up and over the wall is a waste of time and effort
 
Mick

I agree to an extent. Id let BAE take a free kick or two.

Kaboul has taken a few but always hits the wall. I wish there could be an NFL type rule where you could bring on a "kicker" that way we could buy a Seb Larsson.
 
VolSpur said:
Our problem is apart from Bale, we have no one who wants to really attack crossess with their head. Adebayor is poor aerially and lennon, modric, parker, and vdv are all midgets. It results in playing short corners and having to be clever in order to get an attempt on goal.
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That is why you need to practive them. WE have Bale, Adebayor and the two CBS who are over 6 foot so you need to develop routines whereby, for example, a couple players make dummy runs etc to drag the big opponents out of positions to leave some free to meet the cross. Until we practice set pieces we should just take them short

And on a similar matter, is it me or does it look like Rafa and Bale have stopped practicing direct free kicks? I cant remember the last time we had one 20-25 yards out and looked like scoring. Bale used to score them with regularity at SOuthampton
 
I dont even get excited when we have a free kick near goal. Like the one in the 2nd half, you find yourself thinking,which one of the guys in that wall will Rafa hit?
They are just tinkle-poor. At least we have scored from a few corners this season, but still not enough for me
 
I'd let Modric take more set pieces; I think he'd be much more likely to deliver for us as he possesses greater technique. I also think he's taken corners before from which he has scored.
 
With the technical ability of our some of our players I can't believe that we have no-one who can consistently deliver dangerous corners or regularly trouble keepers from free kicks. It's been this way for quite a while now.
 
And week in, week out, we have exactly the same question asked; it's brick that the club aren't asking themselves the same question.
 
Tony Parks puts in better crosses during the warm up than our set piece takers, dunno why we all cheer getting a corner.
 
Modric should definately be taking all the corners and some of the freekicks,atleast with him taking corners we scored 3 or 4 goals this year.His free kick technique is also pretty good,scored about 5 or 6 of them when he was still playing in the croatian league
 
This is definately an area in need of major improvement. We need to be practising this every day at training, and have a better idea of what we want to do at free kicks. Amazing how little we manage to do with corners in particular. Really get fed-up of the failure to beat the first man even.
 
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I am sure we practice them I am certain we do. We are just brick at them. Normally I would be putting the blame on poor movement in the box but our crosses arent even getting past the first man (which is criminal).
 
Joking aside we look more of a threat from an opposition corner due to our speed on the counter.

As for free kicks we would be better passing them wide or backwards as they are simply ineffective and struck with really poor technique there simply a way for the opposition to typically get a goal kick.
 
It's always bleedin obvious what's going to happen from a free kick around the box. We need to mix it up so the opposition have to think about a runner, a lay-off or a training ground special like the one Hoddle scored against Manure at The Lane.
 
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