[Albion] Surely we must have some decent free kick takers in this squad?

portlock seagull said:

Maybe it’s a lot harder than many make it look? To get up over on target at pace enough to beat a top class keeper like Allison.

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Sheebo said:

That’s out of order - Sandra is not only a bloody good accountant, she okayed in goal for her school team in 1973-1978 and was always goalkeeper of the year.

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Seagull58 said:

Dunk doesn't try to do that though. He hits them straight at the wall and hopes they get out of the way.

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Seagull58 said:

Dunk doesn't try to do that though. He hits them straight at the wall and hopes they get out of the way.

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doogie004 said:

Don’t really matter who takes our set pieces that remain an absolute embarrassment

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Mustafa II said:

This problem would have been comprehensively studied both on and off the training pitch.

For whatever reason, Dunk was decided to be our best player to take the shot in those particular scenarios today. The reason is likely to be success rate in training, or perhaps there was a flaw identified in the opposition's defending of set pieces that we tried to exploit.

Either way, Dunk's taking of freekicks has been studied, planned and practiced. It was not a decision Dunk made on a whim.

If he scored, which could have happened, this thread would not exist.

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Seagull58 said:

As Toyah would say, "it's a mythtery". His technique is to hit it dead straight at the wall and hope that it magically parts. Was he Moses in a previous life?
Gross would certainly take a better direct free-kick and I'd be very surprised if Joao Pedro couldn't produce a better effort (he's only useless from inside 6 yards).

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edna krabappel said:

Look, I would love it if he did, and I will happily eat my hat if that happens.

It just seems odd that there doesn't seem to be a single player in the squad who could curl one- or smash it- into the top corner. Mac Allister used to take them, and I'd guess Enciso would fancy his chances if he was fit, but other than that, clearly nobody else is interested. Bizarre.

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edna krabappel said:

Once again, I'm blown away by the fact that, upon being awarded a free kick in a decent attacking position, the players on the pitch (and presumably the coaching staff) are happy to stand back and watch while Lewis Dunk lines it up. Happened on Thursday, happened again today, and has happened on various other occasions over the years. And I genuinely have no idea why.

He once pea-rolled one into the Liverpool net while Alisson was busy sorting out a wall and didn't realise the whistle had gone, and he managed to toe poke one past the West Brom keeper at the Hawthorns, only to be thwarted by a typically abysmal piece of Lee Mason refereeing. But neither of these suggest he's some kind of free-kick maestro. Opponents do not put their hands on their heads despairingly at the very concession of a free kick, fearing a Cristiano Ronaldo special. Or even a James Ward-Prowse or a Kieran Trippier. I just don't understand how we end up concluding that Dunk is the man.

Is he somehow incredible at taking free kicks in training? Is he that much of an ego merchant that nobody dares to say "No thanks, skipper"? I'd be stunned if that was the case, as he certainly doesn't come across as the Big I Am type. So how are we in this position? I know you can take goals conceded back to the Nth degree if you really want to. But the fact is, we had a free kick in a promising location today. Even if you'd given it to somebody who'd curled it up and over the wall and missed the goal by ten feet, it would have been a goal kick, we'd have trotted back into position, and Liverpool wouldn't have been able to counter. Instead, Dunk punts it hopelessly straight into the wall again, it eventually bounces to a Liverpool player, and they break upfield, ultimately resulting in the defensive clusterfuck that created their equaliser. Surely, SURELY you'd back March, Groß, Adingra, Mitoma, Joâo Pedro...in fact any number of players to do better than Dunk did. He did the same towards the end in Marseilles, biffing it into the wall and putting us back under pressure.

It's a total and utter mystery to me that they all stand there and go "Yeah, this one's yours, skip". It's painfully reminiscent of when Roy Hodgson decided his favoured corner taker was Harry Kane.

Love you, Lewis, but please leave the free kicks to somebody else.

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jonny.rainbow said:

This thread is ripe for a bouncing when Dunk scores from one this season.

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albionalex said:

Gross has scored free kicks for us before.

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jonny.rainbow said:

This thread is ripe for a bouncing when Dunk scores from one this season.

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albionalex said:

Gross has scored free kicks for us before.

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