Are poor coaching techniques at fault

[claret59]

An interesting set of stats for the PL this season show Arsenal top of the league with 14 goals scored from set pieces whilst the clarets are second bottom with just 2 goals. Conversely the most set piece goals conceded show Burnley second most with 18 conceded against Man City with just two. I know stats can be misleading and many factors can effect results but it is revealing that we are virtually top of one list and bottom of the other. Is coaching, or lack of purposeful coaching to blame? Why are we so bad at scoring from free kicks and so bad at defending them?

[dsr]

I think the answer is as simple as saying that tall players are better headers of the ball than small players.

[kentonclaret]

At least Dara O’Shea managed to convert a corner at Anfield last Saturday into a goal. Burnley’s first goal from more than 120 corners taken this PL Season.

[Funkydrummer]

I'm afraid that situation will remain whilst we persist
with Brownhill taking most freekicks and corners.

Shame to say really, poor lad.

[RammyClaret61]

If something is poor, then there’s a fault.

[Quickenthetempo]

Modern managers/coaches don't want players who can head a ball.
They want the best tippy tappy players.

[bfcjg]

City and Arsenal can afford the very best players. A good analogy is when you were at school playground and 2 captains picked their teams from the assembled volunteers, our players would be selected at the end alongside the likes of Sheffield players, etc

[LincsWoldsClaret]

Set pieces are crucial. It shows the value of players like Twine who can put a dead ball exactly where they want - despite being lightweight in other areas. Brownhill is awful with a dead ball but ultimately the blame lies with VK for persisting with a sub-standard set piece coach, regardless of last weeks fluke goal.

[evensteadiereddie]

I'm afraid coaches can only attempt to get the best out of what they have to work with.
If your defenders are costing many millions of pounds, you'd expect them to be more efficient than less expensive ones. That's not the be all and end all but it's not a bad starting point.

[Jakubclaret]

I'm afraid coaches can only attempt to get the best out of what they have to work with.
If your defenders are costing many millions of pounds, you'd expect them to be more efficient than less expensive ones. That's not the be all and end all but it's not a bad starting point.

The thing is though everybody starts off somewhere & the defenders which are worth millions of pounds didn't go bed worth nothing & in the middle of the night their value hasn't soared whilst they've been asleep & woken up. Somewhere early on the coaches have helped the players develop probably from a very early age to current. Good coaches will always push the boundaries towards improvement even when things look like a lost cause.

[Big Vinny K]

You can lead a horse to water….
But a pencil must be lead
(Mr S. Laurel)

[summitclaret]

Our defending of corners is consistently atrocious, including the crazy use of zonal marking, midgets marking giants and letting the opposition get in first to block Trafford. It a disgrace.

[CaptJohn]

I've been watching the Clarets for over 60 years and cannot recall us ever being this exposed at set pieces. It's bizarre that we've gone from being very good at set pieces under SD, to being terrible under VK. Both managers were robust defenders who know the importance of being strong and disciplined at set pieces, yet one chooses to ignore it and the other used it to great effect to stay in the PL for so many years.
I had a chat a while back with someone involved in the Goodison Gang and told him that they'd smash us at corners. He laughed and it came to pass.

[RVclaret]

I've been watching the Clarets for over 60 years and cannot recall us ever being this exposed at set pieces. It's bizarre that we've gone from being very good at set pieces under SD, to being terrible under VK. Both managers were robust defenders who know the importance of being strong and disciplined at set pieces, yet one chooses to ignore it and the other used it to great effect to stay in the PL for so many years.
I had a chat a while back with someone involved in the Goodison Gang and told him that they'd smash us at corners. He laughed and it came to pass.

All to do with the profile of player and partly why Dyche favoured two big units up front. It was often looked over just how good Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes were at helping defend set pieces. This team just doesn’t really have that height or physicality does it? Dyche chose to build a squad based on physicality rather than technical skill and when it worked we often overpowered teams (inc set pieces), albeit when it didn’t work it was a tough watch. His Everton team now are the same, struggling to score from open play but seem to score from a set piece every other game. Luton have the third most set piece goals in the league, have you seen their team? All massive and combined with an excellent set piece taker in Doughty. We fall short on both fronts.

[Big Vinny K]

Looking at our corners this year I think out best strategy would be to turn around and boot it over the stands on to Belvedere road or Brunshaw Road.
At least then they can’t break on us.

For opposition corners we should check out the Zaire 1974 World Cup approach and replicate what they did with the free kick they were facing on the edge of their own box.

[claretonthecoast1882]

Looking at our corners this year I think out best strategy would be to turn around and boot it over the stands on to Belvedere road or Brunshaw Road.
At least then they can’t break on us.

For opposition corners we should check out the Zaire 1974 World Cup approach and replicate what they did with the free kick they were facing on the edge of their own box.

The Zaire free kick is still to this day one of my favourite football clips

[NottsClaret]

It was quite often a nervy watch last season every time we conceded a set piece.. particularly at Bramhall Lane. We got away with it partly because we had so much possession and also Muric to his credit improved noticeably over the season.

This season it's been ruthlessly exposed. We have less possession, concede more set pieces and the opposition are massively more skilled at exploiting our weakness. We're basically starting at least a goal down every game because of it.

[Foshiznik]

It's no surprise that those same players who can't defend set pieces also aren't very good at scoring from them at the other end.

[boatshed bill]

Does there really have to be blame and fault attached to everything the club does?

[warksclaret]

We are not even doing the obvious, and its as if no research has been done v the opposition. You would have thought for Arsenal O Shea is told to pick up Gabriel, Esteve picks up Saliba. Then who is going to make sure Trafford is not boxed in. Then one player on each post.That would be the first step. Lets see if these happen for Saturday

[northeastclaret]

I watched Bishop Auckland last week and every single corner in the match from both teams was threatening at pace in the ideal zone to attack. Five different players took about over a dozen corners . If lower league players can do it why can’t professionals who have the luxury of practicing every day ?

[Westleigh]

Is this the 1st time we’ve employed a ‘set piece coach’,because he seems to be a dead loss.

[Rileybobs]

The Zaire free kick is still to this day one of my favourite football clips

I heard on the Guardian Football Weekly podcast a week or so ago that the Zaire defenders knew the rules but were trying to waste time as their military dictator president had threatened the squad that they and their families would be harshly punished if they lost by four goals or more to Brazil, having previously been humiliated 9-0 against Yugoslavia. I think they were 3-0 down at the time, which was the final score.