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Set Pieces

Hootnow said:
That isn't the problem though, not the main one anyway. The main problem is that 70% of the set-pieces don't clear the first man. The second problem is then that the players don't attack the ball very well. That is if we even manage to get enough men in there.
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This. If you can't even get the ball past the first man and near the penalty spot then you're hardly gonna score anything. It just seems as if we tell our tall players to 'get up there', yet they don't go looking to attack the ball. Someone like Vidic runs through defenders to meet the ball, throwing his body around without a care for his own safety. None of our players are anywhere near that proficient from an attacking set piece.
 
Judging by the decline in quality of dead-balls by Rafa, Bale and Modric since they signed for us I suspect that training is still just as relaxed as Rafa claimed in this interview from last season.

Rafael van der Vaart: Harry Redknapp is better than Jose Mourinho | The Sun

...The Dutch playmaker said: "Harry is a very special man, that's why I already feel at home at Spurs. It feels like I'm back on the street. There are no long and boring speeches about tactics, like I was used to at Real Madrid. There is a clipboard in our dressing room but Harry doesn't write anything on it!

"It's very relaxed. The gaffer gives us the line-up 20 minutes before we go out to do our warm-up. And the only words he speaks to me are 'You play left or right, work hard, have fun and show the fans your best'. Then the defenders get an instruction about who to mark at corners and free-kicks — and that's it."

The Dutch Master, who has hit seven goals already this season, says training at Tottenham is equally low-key. He added: "It's not that we do nothing — but it's close to that.

"For instance, last weekend Gareth Bale scored a header against Blackburn from my corner. But we didn't train one minute on it, it was pure luck. Good kicking, good heading, nothing more...
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The fact that ARSEnal went above us in the league thanks to a goal scored from a corner just emphasises how important an aspect of the game it is and perhaps Harry should crack the whip even if it doesn't make him quite so popular with his players.
 
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I remember, as a 16 year old, playing senior football in the Norwegian 6th tier years back.

We trained two days a week, plus matches, but when we trained, we actually set aside 10-15 minutes for corner practice. The quality was so and so, but at least we made an effort to improve, and to teach each and every player what to do and where to run.

Surely that's possible for professional footballers as well!
 
I am starting to notice that the man taking the corners is only a small part of the problem we usually have only Kaboul who even attempts to attack the corners. Also I agree with what punk said we should be taking inswinging corners basic football knowledge knows that those are harder to defend at least that we maybe we can get an own goal by a failed defensive header
 
As much as I love Modric, I do not want him to take a corner ever again as long as he is wearing our shirt. For someone with such great technique it is a bloody miracle that he can be so brick at taking corners. It's really not hard to clear the first man. I take corners frequently for my team and of course I bodge up the odd one but most of them are on the money and give my team at least a chance of getting a header on target. And I am a brick amateur player. So why the fudge can't a sixty grand a week professional do it?
 
They should take someone out of the crowd to take the corners. They couldn't do any worse and at least we'd get a laugh.
 
Also last night in the first half I counted we had had just 4 players in the box for one of the corners. Saha, King, Kaboul and Bale.
 
It's not only the set piece quality, but also the intent of the players moving in to their box.

Watch Chelsea, and they all purposely mark out their space in the box to attack, and you see John Terry and Drogba bellowing out instructions to other players ensuring everyone knows where they need to be and getting everyone pumped up.

With us, everyone trudges in to the box staring at their shoes scratching their arse. So very little predatory instinct as well. King for example saw Begovic was coming to the ball and simply turned the other way and started to slow down his run. Begovic spilt it and had King not been completely asleep there may have been a goalmouth scramble, that kind of scramble that Stoke benefitted from in the reverse fixture.

Kaboul is the one player that looks like he wants to be there and to make something of the opportunity, everyone else is fudging brick and should be embarassed.
 
spurspinter1 said:
It's not only the set piece quality, but also the intent of the players moving in to their box.

Watch Chelsea, and they all purposely mark out their space in the box to attack, and you see John Terry and Drogba bellowing out instructions to other players ensuring everyone knows where they need to be and getting everyone pumped up.

With us, everyone trudges in to the box staring at their shoes scratching their arse. So very little predatory instinct as well. King for example saw Begovic was coming to the ball and simply turned the other way and started to slow down his run. Begovic spilt it and had King not been completely asleep there may have been a goalmouth scramble, that kind of scramble that Stoke benefitted from in the reverse fixture.

Kaboul is the one player that looks like he wants to be there and to make something of the opportunity, everyone else is fudging brick and should be embarassed.
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spot on. There were a few VDV put into great areas in the 2nd half yesterday and only Stoke players were there to attack it
 
In the NFL they have people in charge of specific area of the game - for example 'special teams co-ordinator' (which is sort of like a set-piece for them). I wonder if it's worth employing a coach that is purely in charge of organising our players for set-pieces, and who can draw up different tactics and ploys?

Coming out the ground yesterday I said to my mate that set pieces can make the difference between a team challenging for the Champions League places; and challenging for the title. If we were truly proficient at them, we could have stopped quite a few goals against us from the smaller clubs - and perhaps broke the deadlock against a top side that we were evenly matched against. The modern game is all about fine lines, and when you practically give up the advantage of attacking corners and free-kicks then you're bound to lose out on a very important aspect of winning football matches.
 
They should change the rules to align it with NFL and you would be allowed to bring on a kicker - i.e. in that case we buy Larson from Sunderland.
 
SteveAWOL said:
BAE should be allowed to take them more often based upon his one effort last night which was arguably the best of the bunch but sadly no one had anticipated what a good delivery it would be and made a decent run.
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His corner was met with ironic cheers as it beat the first man. Another awful corner moment came when Begovic spilled it in the box and there wasn't a Spurs player to be seen to punish him.

One of my fondest Spurs memory is the Anderton/Sheringham corner routine - they made it look so easy but you know they must have put in serious time on the training ground to perfect it. A lot of things frustrate me watching Spurs, but things like scuffing a shot or misjudging the flight of a ball are forgivable. Not putting the effort in in training (throughout a full season) to help improve an area of our game that is so evidently lacking is not.
 
via Twitter: OptaJoe: 121 - Spurs have taken 121 corners since they last netted a goal from a corner situation in the Premier League. Distant.
 
I can see Drogba, Terry or Cahill or perhaps all of them scoring from a set piece against us. Whoever it was suggested tweeting every current Spurs player and telling them to practice set pieces, that's actually not a bad idea.
 
Don't forget that in the first half against Stoke, Saha deliberately faced up to a Stoke player and blocked him, leaving Kaboul a free run

Kaboul smooshed the header against the bar from about 14 yards IIRC... but the ref blew up for the block

It looked like they had worked on it, as Saha blocked the guy so neatly

But maybe Saha was just looking for the nearest barber's shop?



That quote above from Rafa that we do fudge all in training has angered me A LOT
 
I keep saying this until I'm blue in the face. Everytime a player take a corner and it fails to get past the first man the player should be fined
 
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