RandyWanger
Je suis rôti de boeuf
Quellefuckingsurprise. Anyone who watches us knows we're poor in this area and have been for many years.
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[Albion] We have the worst record for both attacking and defending set pieces this season
- Thread starter albionalex
- Start date
Fiskmås
Well-known member
- Jan 2, 2020
- 174
As much as I love Gross, which is plenty, I'd like to see Gilmour get a run of games where he's in charge of the set pieces. Even though they didn't result in anything on Sunday, I felt like there were fewer completely fluffed ones and a couple were really classy.
Yes, yes, I know, you can hardly blame Pascal if the guys on the receiving end are running around like headless chickens, but what can it hurt? Maybe Billy is more on the same wavelength as the chickens. Can't really get worse, can it?
Edit: I didn't reload the page for a bit so I missed that you beat me too it @The Fits!
Yes, yes, I know, you can hardly blame Pascal if the guys on the receiving end are running around like headless chickens, but what can it hurt? Maybe Billy is more on the same wavelength as the chickens. Can't really get worse, can it?
Edit: I didn't reload the page for a bit so I missed that you beat me too it @The Fits!
Silverhatch
Well-known member
Delivery. 100% delivery. Pace and precision gets it done everyday. Seen enough of Ward-Prowse, TAA to know this to be true. We have decent headers of the ball at the club. Delivery… meh.
Stato
Well-known member
- Dec 21, 2011
- 6,590
Does Pascal have the best record for reaching a teammate because of the number of times he and Solly stand in the corner together and tap it to each other, or is this crosses? Both defending and attacking set pieces need improvement. You do wonder how much time RDZ allows for practising them. Maybe our first tactic should be to give him an hour off a week to go for a smoke.
Nobby Cybergoat
Well-known member
- Jul 19, 2021
- 7,031
It does. Look at Gilmour's cross the other day for the equaliser. He put real whip on it, the defender doesn't have the thinking time he would have done if that's more of a stand it up into the area type ball.
Most of the goals Liverpool or West Ham or Newcastle get from corners or free kicks is from the second ball anyway. But the point being is that the whip on the ball creates the chaos.
Gilmour gives it a proper ping. This we saw home to Newcastle. He should be on corners. It's Gross i'd want on the edge of the box to fire in a volley if the chance arises.
SockMonster
Well-known member
Cue missed penalty at the weekend!
Nobby Cybergoat
Well-known member
- Jul 19, 2021
- 7,031
Nobody scores them all (Well, apart from Toney and Le Tissier pretty much nobody), so i'm sure we'll miss, but Pedro seems to be made of the right stuff. A confident lad I think he'll end up with a very impressive career penalty record
albionalex
Well-known member
- Thread starter
- #68
This is what I was thinking. We do seem to take a lot of short corners.
Johnny RoastBeef
These aren't the players you're looking for.
- Jan 11, 2016
- 3,158
Agreed, Pascal's stats may be scewed by short corners, however he was second only to Kieran Trippier for xAG (Expected Assisted Goals) directly from corners last season. Trippier had an xAG of 4.8, Gross was second on 3.0. So he must be doing something right.
However, the short corners we persist with are in themselves a possible indication of a lack of competent set piece guidance.
Goals following corners made up 13.9% of all the goals scored in the Premier League last season.
But according to Opta only 32.6% of short corners led to a shot from that passage of play, and only 3.3% led to a goal.
Whereas for crosses that came directly into the box from a corner, those figures rise to 38.5% and 4.1%.
So unless the opposition has switched off and failed to cover the short corner, meaning we have a numerical advantage to exploit, why are we bothering with short corners?
albionalex
Well-known member
- Thread starter
- #70
I guess this doesn't account for the ball going all the way back to the last man/keeper and both teams effectively resetting?
Bob!
Coffee Buyer
- Jul 5, 2003
- 11,141
el punal
Well-known member
On the other hand, we are third in the league and have scored the most goals. Not good enough - get Big Sam in now!
Johnny RoastBeef
These aren't the players you're looking for.
- Jan 11, 2016
- 3,158
Why not? If neither a goal nor a shot came from it then it's not as effective as a cross directly into the box, from which a shot and or a goal was created, and should be measured as such.
- Jun 27, 2012
- 13,914
I did deliberately say "...in the premier league" .
Anyway this whole thread is really searching for an excuse to handwring. ha ha.
We've scored 70 odd goals in the last 12 months. Who cares. ! *
* i know but come on.
When does a set piece stop being a set piece and start being open play? After the first header? Flick on plus shot? Rebound? Third or fourth pass on a short corner?
I ask mainly because, although we probably didn't score a set piece goal on Sunday we would not have equalised without the corner that proceeded it.
I ask mainly because, although we probably didn't score a set piece goal on Sunday we would not have equalised without the corner that proceeded it.
Johnny RoastBeef
These aren't the players you're looking for.
- Jan 11, 2016
- 3,158
This is the Opta definition.
'Set Piece goals/attempts are those where the ball starts from a dead ball situation such as a corner, a free kick, a penalty or a Throw-in and results in a shot before the phase of play has broken down into open play.'
They are refering to the attacking phase of play which continues only as long as the team is actively trying to score. As soon as an opposing player plays the ball, or an attacking player plays a pass that is purely aimed at retaining possession then the phase is over.
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Milano
Well-known member
We don’t just cross corners in for the same reason we don’t just kick goal kicks or free kicks long, because most of the time you lose procession and/or become overly exposed to the counter.
Mo Gosfield
Well-known member
- Aug 11, 2010
- 6,291
Whipped in with pace, with use of the in-step. Players need a ball they can attack. Not floated, not cut across ( Solly )
We seem to have moved away from the ' heady ' days of Dunk/Duffy/Hemed/Murray when every set piece was greeted with a degree of anticipation. Now, it seems a surprise if we ever get anything. Igor's miss v Athens was the norm. Good ball in, perfectly positioned, mis-timed/mis-directed finish ( and that is being kind )
Hmmmmmmmm
- Jun 27, 2012
- 13,914
Were those the seasons where we scored 34, and 35 goals - in total in the PL ?
Heady days compared to the goal famine of today where after 6 games we've scored 18 and last season only managed a mere 72.
Where did it all go wrong ?
re: "need a ball they can attack" - nearly every goal we've scored this season has come from pinpoint crosses (March v Wolves x 2 , Mitoma on Sunday, Gilmour on Sunday, Ferguson v Luton, Pedro v United) and Mitoma, Enciso, Estupinan and Gross are some of the best players in the PL to "whip in balls with pace" and then be attacked by some pretty prolific attacking players. Its just it often happens from open play. So what ?
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