Our attrocious set piece routines

[RafaShanks]

Set pieces can be crucial, especially in very tight games like today.

 

Why do we continue these pathetic "touch off" freekicks, which give the opposition wall the opportunity to charge the ball?

 

Does my friggin head in.

[Guest Snorky]

Set pieces can be crucial, especially in very tight games like today.

 

Why do we continue these pathetic "touch off" freekicks, which give the opposition wall the opportunity to charge the ball?

 

Does my friggin head in.

 

Said the very same thing myself. Annoying is not the right word.

[floyd]

touch ball to player, player shoots ball at player 2 yards away.

[Jim D]

I think it is something that we should be practising on the training pitch every session. Most of the time it almost seems that our routines are manufactured, that we just make it up there and then on the pitch. There is no thought or imagination put into them and as a consequence they have become very predictable. Look at Villa this season, over 50% of their goals have come from set plays. If we were anywhere near that ratio, considering the amount of corners and free kicks we win then I'm sure we would be somewhere near the top. It might have been the difference between us converting those draws into wins.

Edited February 10, 2008 by Jim D

[Guest Rafa's Red Army]

f***ing terrible as always.

[dorgie]

Of the group of teams that we unfortunately find ourselves in competition with for 4th place (particularly Everton & Villa), we are a distance behind them in how we execute our own attacking set pieces.

[DazzlaJ]

Why Gerrard didn't tkae that free kick direct I'll never know.

[dorgie]

Why Gerrard didn't tkae that free kick direct I'll never know.

 

Don't you just get that "oh fu_ck" feeling every time we get a free kick outside the box and Gerrard & Riise stand over it. Oh for a bit of variety. Even Andy Gray has got fed up saying it's pointless "shifting it" at this stage.

 

On another note, Gerrard seemed very reluctant to shoot from outside the box today (from general play). There were a couple of Olympiakos/2005 Cup final balls played to him today & he just passed them to somebody else instead of shooting. The last one that he played to Kuyt was a great chance for him to shoot but he declined.

Edited February 10, 2008 by dorgie

[Guest dKing]

"Why Gerrard didn't tkae that free kick direct I'll never know."

Spot on mate.

 

It's to take the wall out , is what will be said But what about the 3 guys charging the shooter down from 3 yards away!!!!!!!

 

"Of the group of teams that we unfortunately find ourselves in competition with for 4th place (particularly Everton & Villa), we are a distance behind them in how we execute our own attacking set pieces."

 

Martin O neill sides are so Totally set piece orientated its embarrassing in my opinion , hard work rate and set pieces and the Blues aren't far off this ethic either

[Guest RedLegend]

Martin O neill sides are so Totally set piece orientated its embarrassing in my opinion , hard work rate and set pieces and the Blues aren't far off this ethic either

 

Nothing wrong with being good at set-pieces.

[Swipe]

Said the same during the game.

 

So ofen Riise's lay off is too heavy anyway.

 

Just t*** the thing.

[Maldini]

We've been a lot better from set pieces this season than in previous years.

[dorgie]

Villa have scored more goals than us this season. Just shows you how important set pieces are in the Premiership. You don't have to go to the extremes that Fat Sam & Martin O' Neill do in training for set pieces, but I think with players like Skrtel, Hyypia & Crouch in our team, we should be getting a better goal return from corners & free kicks.

[Earl Hafler]

The freekick Agger scored from in the CL was a good one - they're like rocking horse s**t though.

[Guest dKing]

"Nothing wrong with being good at set-pieces."

never said that!

[Swipe]

Villa have scored more goals than us this season. Just shows you how important set pieces are in the Premiership. You don't have to go to the extremes that Fat Sam & Martin O' Neill do in training for set pieces, but I think with players like Skrtel, Hyypia & Crouch in our team, we should be getting a better goal return from corners & free kicks.

 

Was a corner today which arrived in the box and the chelsea defender cleared, although that clown riley gave a goal kick.

 

Was interesting to see Skrtel making a good run towards the ball.

 

Looked promising and if he can add more dynamism in terms of attacking the ball at corners that'll do nicely

[Dan]

Was ok against Newcastle and Arsenal.

 

We don't have anyone capable of getting it up and over with a dead ball.

[DazzlaJ]

Was ok against Newcastle and Arsenal.

 

We don't have anyone capable of getting it up and over with a dead ball.

Gerrard done it at Villa

[Dan]

Gerrard done it at Villa

 

From further out than today's spot.

 

He also banged em in from Riise's touch as mentioned.

[Guest dKing]

the distance and position of the free today was perfect for a direct hit!!!!!!!!!

[DazzlaJ]

the distance and position of the free today was perfect for a direct hit!!!!!!!!!

 

I thought so

[Rimbeux]

The only time we've been good at set pieces in my memory was during JB's pomp. Before that we used to play near every free kick or corner short and get back to pass and move, now we struggle to beat the first man and everyone knows we move it two yards left or right to the the wall out and no ref ever blows up for blockers not being ten yards.

[Skillz]

I thought SG should of gone direct but perhaps that was due to respect for Cech who would of been very hard to beat from there.

 

I am a huge supporter of Rafa but I would like him to bring in a specialist forward coach well versed in the English league. For me this is an area Rafa is struggling in and it could improve us immeasureably.

 

What's Kenny doing these days?

[Rimbeux]

I thought SG should of gone direct but perhaps that was due to respect for Cech who would of been very hard to beat from there.

 

I am a huge supporter of Rafa but I would like him to bring in a specialist forward coach well versed in the English league. For me this is an area Rafa is struggling in and it could improve us immeasureably.

 

What's Kenny doing these days?

 

I'm not sure it's so simple as a forward coach to make the strikers score more, it starts from the back, how high up the back line are prepared to play, how we use the ball from the back going forward, how we move and support the man with the ball. It looks to me like many of the players have a breather when we have the ball and do their running around when we dont. Maybe we're simply not capable of running about fast enough for 90 mins.

[MFletcher]

I think we'll play a higher line once Agger is back in the team.

 

Either way, our set pieces improved this season. Recently they've gone off the boil, but Gerrard was whipping some decent deliveries in yesterday. Our free kicks do annoy me though. You'd think someone would wander over, say "I'm taking this" and at least try and bend it over the wall. We may have scored by shifting the ball from that distance against Arsenal, but their wall opened up like the Red Sea to allow that ball to go into the net.