That's only a fraction of the debate too though.
If no wall then where are the other players to stand? They're not just going to allow a free shot. if the attackers formed a wall as suggested and the defence lined up behind the kicker they'd all be offside, and arguably influencing the play...
Three years old but a quick google comes up with some Opta Pro stats that suggests the wall blocks a free kick 38% of the time, while the conversion rate in the same period was 5.7%.
#TeamWall...