Set peaces

[B4ev6is]

Well guys we could need a couple of players that can take good free kicks corner kicks and more so pen kicks in case in cup competions if they go to pens. 

Well maybe if we can find next harry wilson that could make huge difference in league one level if from prem club or from own youth ranks or over european market.

In the end cost us promation but we do need find ways of scoring more goals from set peaces.

[Ram1988]

I think we need players who are good in the air to take advantage of Hourihane balls in from set peices.

[B4ev6is]

5 minutes ago, Ram1988 said:

I think we need players who are good in the air to take advantage of Hourihane balls in from set peices.

Well for me he wasted a lot of free kicks I just feel we need something a little bit different to keep opposition guessing.

[Dean (hick) Saunders]

If I took them it would certainly keep the opposition (and me) guessing where they would go..

[B4ev6is]

1 minute ago, Dean (hick) Saunders said:

If I took them it would certainly keep the opposition (and me) guessing where they would go..

I just feel that opposition knew were he going to put them and how easy they got them away or mark out or failed to beat first man.

[Boycie]

A good free kick is unstoppable.

[Ghost of Clough]

3 hours ago, Ram1988 said:

I think we need players who are good in the air to take advantage of Hourihane balls in from set peices.

I think we need to let Sibley be the main corner taker. His deliveries are better than Hourihane's

[Mucker1884]

An overrated art, me thinks. 
Idiakez was a dead ball wizard, yet even he was known to miss the odd 12 yarder! 👀

[jono]

What I liked with Ebiowe for instance, was his ability to hit cross at pace and flat. Too many of ours seemed to be looping and slow. We don’t so much as whip it in to the box as balloon it in gently 

[Sparkle]

We were rubbish at scoring from corners and crosses from free kicks last season - Cashin and Forsyth the main culprits - I expect that to change drastically next season, needs must and all that - Hourihane delivery was fine and Sibley when allowed was also excellent so that wasn’t the problem.

[B4ev6is]

2 hours ago, Sparkle said:

We were rubbish at scoring from corners and crosses from free kicks last season - Cashin and Forsyth the main culprits - I expect that to change drastically next season, needs must and all that - Hourihane delivery was fine and Sibley when allowed was also excellent so that wasn’t the problem.

What I mean is scoring goals from them mate.

[Sparkle]

1 hour ago, B4ev6is said:

What I mean is scoring goals from them mate.

Yes so was myself 

[JakeDCFC]

Best thing is to just have someone who can more often than not whip a good cross or ball in and have guys who are absolutely deadly in the air. Whether it is scored directly from the free kick or from a header doesn't matter too much to me but finding that consistency in terms of whipping it in is difficult and it doesn't help that we struggled with both of those things last season haha. Numerous creative set pieces definitely helps too. 

[PistoldPete]

[Alty_Ram]

2 hours ago, JakeDCFC said:

Best thing is to just have someone who can more often than not whip a good cross or ball in and have guys who are absolutely deadly in the air. Whether it is scored directly from the free kick or from a header doesn't matter too much to me but finding that consistency in terms of whipping it in is difficult and it doesn't help that we struggled with both of those things last season haha. Numerous creative set pieces definitely helps too. 

In an ideal world Jake 😊

I think this is the crux of it for me though. Teams watch us and know before they play us that we are not a big set piece threat, either directly or from getting on the end with a header. Our delivery seems pretty average but we don't have a dominant aerial threat so it all feels a bit 'hope for the best'. If you are Hourihane, who are you going to pick out ? If you don't have people who will win their share of aerial duels then it is even more important to get that delivery right. Many times we seem to just swing it in at no great pace and that's perfect for the defending side so invariably the ball either doesn't clear the first defender or we lose the aerial dual or get put off to the point of a tame nod into the keepers hands or whatever. A ball whipped in at pace and dip gives a far better chance of an attacker stealing half a yard on their marker and being able to make it count and in a crowded box a defender might also nick it past their keeper or scuff a clearance into someone's path.

It's much the same with crossing. Putting a routine diagonal balls in when you have a beast of a No9 is probably fine because they'll win their share and create threat that way but if you don't win aerial duels then it's a wasted ball. If you have quick nippy forwards then you need to stretch that defence and give them a chance to get the drop on a backpedalling central defender.

Unfortunately teams don't fear us at set pieces and they are right not to. It seems to have been that way for a while now though, not just this current team. Looking back to when we looked genuinely threatening, with Harry Wilson there was always that sense of expectation that he may just score a worldie and that is another thing for the defending side to worry about, not just whether he might drop it on someone's head 6 yards out. Even going back to the likes of Bucko though. He was no any great height but for whatever reason he looked like he'd get himself into areas that might cause problems and he won more duels than he had any right to. Don't know if that was sheer belligerence and determination but he was always in there amongst the flying boots. We seem to have neither of these elements currently but and I'm sure that if we give the set piece taker a viable target then we'll have a whole lot more joy even with the same personnel taking the kicks. We're not going to win every game with champagne football and set pieces are a big part of the game at all levels. We need to get this aspect right or we are making life harder for ourselves.

[MadAmster]

On 03/06/2023 at 18:35, Ram1988 said:

I think we need players who are good in the air to take advantage of Hourihane balls in from set peices.

Bird takes good dead balls and, IMO, when Sibs was allowed the odd kick when Hourihane was off the pitch, he was excellent. 

[JakeDCFC]

1 hour ago, Alty_Ram said:

In an ideal world Jake 😊

I think this is the crux of it for me though. Teams watch us and know before they play us that we are not a big set piece threat, either directly or from getting on the end with a header. Our delivery seems pretty average but we don't have a dominant aerial threat so it all feels a bit 'hope for the best'. If you are Hourihane, who are you going to pick out ? If you don't have people who will win their share of aerial duels then it is even more important to get that delivery right. Many times we seem to just swing it in at no great pace and that's perfect for the defending side so invariably the ball either doesn't clear the first defender or we lose the aerial dual or get put off to the point of a tame nod into the keepers hands or whatever. A ball whipped in at pace and dip gives a far better chance of an attacker stealing half a yard on their marker and being able to make it count and in a crowded box a defender might also nick it past their keeper or scuff a clearance into someone's path.

It's much the same with crossing. Putting a routine diagonal balls in when you have a beast of a No9 is probably fine because they'll win their share and create threat that way but if you don't win aerial duels then it's a wasted ball. If you have quick nippy forwards then you need to stretch that defence and give them a chance to get the drop on a backpedalling central defender.

Unfortunately teams don't fear us at set pieces and they are right not to. It seems to have been that way for a while now though, not just this current team. Looking back to when we looked genuinely threatening, with Harry Wilson there was always that sense of expectation that he may just score a worldie and that is another thing for the defending side to worry about, not just whether he might drop it on someone's head 6 yards out. Even going back to the likes of Bucko though. He was no any great height but for whatever reason he looked like he'd get himself into areas that might cause problems and he won more duels than he had any right to. Don't know if that was sheer belligerence and determination but he was always in there amongst the flying boots. We seem to have neither of these elements currently but and I'm sure that if we give the set piece taker a viable target then we'll have a whole lot more joy even with the same personnel taking the kicks. We're not going to win every game with champagne football and set pieces are a big part of the game at all levels. We need to get this aspect right or we are making life harder for ourselves.

Completely agree with this. And yeah in an ideal world we would just have a playmaker who could consistently whip in a good ball to a dangerous area or was a serious threat to bang one in and also have a couple players in the box who could get on the end of those crosses very often but that's sadly not the case. That is one of the reasons why I love creative set pieces with a lot of movement to try to stretch out the defense or create some level of confusion. Mixing it up in that regard I feel can be very beneficial but ultimately will not be a cure until we get a playmaker in who is consistent on both of the levels I mentioned above. 

[BatRam]

What about harvey white 😂