Wouldn’t mind seeing some stats on this, but it seems to be a feature of nearly every game I watch. Most teams we played this season seemed to favour it. Arsenal tried it time and time again versus PSG last week and Sunderland have apparently brought in their advertising hoardings ahead of their game tonight, to try and limit the distance Coventry can chuck it.

Gone are the days when it was a Rory Delap novelty act. Is it really that effective?

It really depends on the thrower. If it's Connor Roberts you're going to be waiting a while before you'll see a goal.

Interesting AG, I’m assuming they have loads of stats saying it’s x% more likely than just throwing it in, and it always causes panic, but when can you remember one truly working?

Also, going back to analytics, I notice teams are now throwing a previously neutral throw in to a man down in the corner because obvs you can’t be offside. We’ll see a lot more of this AI type coaching I think

Goliath wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 8:43 am

It really depends on the thrower. If it's Connor Roberts you're going to be waiting a while before you'll see a goal.

Might well be wrong but I suspect Connor stopped taking long throws due to physical issues. Javelin throwers are prone to a number of injuries.

ecc wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 8:53 am

Might well be wrong but I suspect Connor stopped taking long throws due to physical issues. Javelin throwers are prone to a number of injuries.

It might also be because they were incredibly crap

CharlieinNewMexico wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 8:45 am

Interesting AG, I’m assuming they have loads of stats saying it’s x% more likely than just throwing it in, and it always causes panic, but when can you remember one truly working?

Also, going back to analytics, I notice teams are now throwing a previously neutral throw in to a man down in the corner because obvs you can’t be offside. We’ll see a lot more of this AI type coaching I think

Set pieces more generally seem to be at the heart of a lot of goals. I watched the EFL highlights a few weeks ago and every other goal seemed to come from a corner or free kick.

You’ve even got Arsenal, recognised as having some of the more technically gifted footballers in the Premier League, having a lot of success from corners in the last few seasons.

Derby were the most heavily reliant on set pieces I’ve seen against us for a very long time. They had a particularly interesting approach to long throws. Even from the half way line they would throw it long to one of their tall full backs on the corner of the penalty area with a view to him trying to flick it into the box.

I remember Sean Dyche countering some criticism that we went through a season or two without scoring from many corners by saying that the stats didn’t support set pieces as being an easy way to score goals. Obviously the stats do now or so many teams wouldn’t be so heavily focussed on them.

Goliath wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 8:43 am

It really depends on the thrower. If it's Connor Roberts you're going to be waiting a while before you'll see a goal.

Harsh to blame Connor, he'd have been told to throw it in to a certain area. It's up to the players in the box then to win their aerial duels and make something of the throw in

bumba wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 9:01 am

Harsh to blame Connor, he'd have been told to throw it in to a certain area. It's up to the players in the box then to win their aerial duels and make something of the throw in

The problem being he couldn't throw it very far or with any power. It was like throwing a balloon in the wind.

Goliath wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 8:43 am

It really depends on the thrower. If it's Connor Roberts you're going to be waiting a while before you'll see a goal.

I’m nearly sixty, and I reckon my long throw won’t be far off Roberts efforts…

I don’t think it’s part of our game plan tbh…

That could possibly change considering the opposition we face next year.

When I saw it for the first time I remember thinking that Roberts’s long throw really isn’t.

Haven’t seen much to change my mind since.

Can anyone explain why refs allow so much time for a long throw to be taken? Players get booked for taking 10 seconds to do a normal throw in, but that rule seems to be ignored if you are setting up for a long throw.

I used to hate us facing long throw merchants in the old days but now I feel very relaxed.

Ian Hutchinson at Chelsea had a long one!

The long throw is a set piece - this usually means the ball ends up with Trafford.

Seriously, it’s something we need to get on top of - anything that can give us any kind of edge in the PL can’t be ignored .

I remember Delap throwing a long one in at the turf which led to a goal.

This was after we’d tried moving the advertising boards closer, but the throw in was taken at the exact spot where there was a small gap between them

This graphic I saw recently (before the last match week) seems quite relevant to this thread, and shows we must improve on them next season (3 relegated teams in the bottom 5). Only 2 teams in the PL have scored more than 1 from a long throw.

When I did my ref course we were told to watch carefully any long throw players.Often they hurl the ball one handed guiding it with the non throwing hand.I have seen this technique used on several occasions. It's difficult to spot.Lifting a leg when throwing isn't but often goes unpenalised

Delap was unbelievable. Former javelin school champion. They arrived flat, literally arrowed in.


No idea how many goals resulted from his throw-ins but must have been a few.

I think the beauty of a long grown is that it makes defences defend. It asks questions, sometimes causes confusion, gets players out of shape, camped in their half, etc.

You don’t see many goals from them, I agree, but nor do you see many scored from a short throw.

I like to see football mixed up a bit.

RVclaret wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 11:11 am

This graphic I saw recently (before the last match week) seems quite relevant to this thread, and shows we must improve on them next season (3 relegated teams in the bottom 5). Only 2 teams in the PL have scored more than 1 from a long throw.

Great graphic. We need to be studying all the top 10 and working on set pieces all summer.

We do need the raw materials to be successful too though. We need some big, tall signings in summer to get better at set pieces. The set piece coach can only work with what he’s got and the reality is we’re a pretty small team, especially by premier league standards.

I would like to see what happens if you left all of your players just outside the box for a corner. Defenders wouldn't be able to push and pull and they wouldn't know who to mark.

NewClaret wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 11:35 am

Great graphic. We need to be studying all the top 10 and working on set pieces all summer.

We do need the raw materials to be successful too though. We need some big, tall signings in summer to get better at set pieces. The set piece coach can only work with what he’s got and the reality is we’re a pretty small team, especially by premier league standards.

Michael Keane is the answer to this.

I’ve heard Pulis saying that he discovered Delap’s long throw ability randomly in training like it was some sort of deep secret. But he was taking long throws when he broke onto the scene at Carlisle. They definitely improved as far as shape and velocity at Stoke, though.

Pub team tactic. Rovers and Sheff U both use it.

When we signed Roberts, I can remember seeing a video of him throwing it towards the penalty spot and Swansea scored from it.

RVclaret wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 11:11 am

This graphic I saw recently (before the last match week) seems quite relevant to this thread, and shows we must improve on them next season (3 relegated teams in the bottom 5). Only 2 teams in the PL have scored more than 1 from a long throw.

Not too surprising the relegated teams are at the bottom, it points more at how few corners they've had rather than not being good at them.

Think I read somewhere a while back that the average scoring rate from corners was about 3%. Even Arsenal, where people have been making a lot about how good their corners are, have only averaged a touch under 5%. That's scoring fewer than one in 20 corners.

It obviously helps, particularly when you're not scoring many, but no-one has worked out how to score really regularly from set pieces.

aggi wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 1:55 pm

Not too surprising the relegated teams are at the bottom, it points more at how few corners they've had rather than not being good at them.

Think I read somewhere a while back that the average scoring rate from corners was about 3%. Even Arsenal, where people have been making a lot about how good their corners are, have only averaged a touch under 5%. That's scoring fewer than one in 20 corners.

It obviously helps, particularly when you're not scoring many, but no-one has worked out how to score really regularly from set pieces.

While true, Forest have only had 3 more corners than Southampton, 6 more than Ipswich and 9 more than Leicester, yet have scored 12 goals from them, compared to 6/5 from the others. One team has been pushing for Champions League and the other 3 where they are (obv more to it than just this).

Just to mention that amongst the many unbelievable stats that we have produced in this amazing season, our record of not scoring from a corner in 45 consecutive games will take some beating!
Had we scored just one goal in those 45 games we may well have won the title.

GDK wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 10:22 am

Can anyone explain why refs allow so much time for a long throw to be taken? Players get booked for taking 10 seconds to do a normal throw in, but that rule seems to be ignored if you are setting up for a long throw.

Agree. Often there long thrower is a full back and suddenly, it become OK to cross the pitch, as though it is a corner.

Only one thrower was better than a corner and that was Rory Delap. Straight and true throws. None of the breezy take an hour to come down and get caught bemy the keeper, throws.

RVclaret wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 11:11 am

This graphic I saw recently (before the last match week) seems quite relevant to this thread, and shows we must improve on them next season (3 relegated teams in the bottom 5). Only 2 teams in the PL have scored more than 1 from a long throw.

As often proves to be the case the 3 teams relegated from the PL are the 3 lowest scoring teams in the division. We would need to improve our GF column in other areas as well not just from set pieces.

Sunderland have moved the advertising hoardings for tonight’s game.
Remember when we did that. It didn’t end well!!

GDK wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 10:22 am

Can anyone explain why refs allow so much time for a long throw to be taken? Players get booked for taking 10 seconds to do a normal throw in, but that rule seems to be ignored if you are setting up for a long throw.

And in that time the player taking the throw has slowly crept 10 yards up the touchline. Coventry and Derby were very good at doing it.

morninbob wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 1:40 pm

When we signed Roberts, I can remember seeing a video of him throwing it towards the penalty spot and Swansea scored from it.

Was it when he was in their under 11's? It might have been a smaller pitch

Goliath wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 6:44 pm

Was it when he was in their under 11's? It might have been a smaller pitch

I think it was Barnsley away, it was a massive throw TBF.

morninbob wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 1:40 pm

When we signed Roberts, I can remember seeing a video of him throwing it towards the penalty spot and Swansea scored from it.

Somehow better for Wales too!

If we'd scored 3% of our corners last season that would have contributed 7 goals. We averaged 5.26 per game , Leeds averaged 7.11. So they'd have been closer to 10 goals on 3%.

Next season is going to be really hard, if we could add even 3 or 4 goals to our total through corners it would be well worth working on.

CharlieinNewMexico wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 8:45 am

Interesting AG, I’m assuming they have loads of stats saying it’s x% more likely than just throwing it in, and it always causes panic, but when can you remember one truly working?

Also, going back to analytics, I notice teams are now throwing a previously neutral throw in to a man down in the corner because obvs you can’t be offside. We’ll see a lot more of this AI type coaching I think

That always seemed a pretty obvious thing to do tbh. A player down in the corner will take a full back with them, making more space. They'll also be playing everyone onside in the next phase, especially of the throw goes somewhere else.

RVclaret wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 11:11 am

This graphic I saw recently (before the last match week) seems quite relevant to this thread, and shows we must improve on them next season (3 relegated teams in the bottom 5). Only 2 teams in the PL have scored more than 1 from a long throw.

I wonder if teams play for the second phase hoping to pick up the second ball around the edge of the box and create again rather than hoping to score direct from the actual long throw itself.
I presume those stats are for goals scored in the 1st phase?

The trouble with Roberts throwing is that they’ve become shorter, we call them the Roberts Long short throw ins.