Not enough "cheap" goals

Metal Green Mickey · Oct 22, 2014

Been wondering what the difference is between this side being able to get promoted and our actual championship side of 2001/02.

Quite simple I feel its our set pieces. I've watched us and other team take free kicks and corners and more often than not their teams delivery is better. It is whipped in with pace, where if you look at ours its floated in at present. It just isn't delivered with the same purpose, and in league two set pieces are what often separates teams at the top of the league.

Its just something I feel we need to address because we have people who can head a ball. As we don't appear to be a side that are going to score lots of goals we need to start getting these "cheap" goals from free-kicks and corners as it might just be the difference between 3pts, 1pts or a defeat!

Tugboat · Oct 22, 2014

We need goals from other players if we're going up.

Deacster · Oct 22, 2014

I agree. It could be fine margins and as others have said we need goals from midfield. The problem is the way we play they are usually way too deep to help on that front.

Eastbourne Green · Oct 22, 2014

Agree with OP. There always used to be an expectation something would happen from a corner with Adams, Trigger and Cocko attacking the ball. Equally when Wotton had a free kick anywhere between 20-30yrds out. Maybe we just need to identify who has the hardest shot and get them drilled on hitting the target. Want to at least make keeper work.

Greenskin · Oct 22, 2014

Many of the midfield goals and set piece deliveries that would have been of untold benefit to Argyle already this season are now on display at Oakwell unfortunately.

greeneagle · Oct 22, 2014

Made the first, scored the second last night. Still lost the game though. Water under the bridge, time to look forward.

esmer · Oct 22, 2014

A regular supply of goals from set plays are invaluable. It would be interesting to see a comparison between our last promotion season from this league and the current season. Without the Wotton/Coughlin corner kick combination we probably wouldn't have been promoted.

PAFC Andy · Oct 22, 2014

In terms of the power free kick, Reuben could be perhaps the man for the job. I think it was against Orient where from a free kick on the corner of the box, someone nudged the ball and he just smashed it as hard as he could. On that occasion it did go out for a throw in I think! :scarf: but he could work on hitting it in the right direction.

Stiffler · Oct 22, 2014

Whinge Whinge bloody Whinge.

People used to say Akos could not deliver a corner or always failed to get it past the first man!!

Ollieargyle9 · Oct 22, 2014

Ou freekicks especially annoy me along with failed clearances that fall to our man on the outside of the box, there should be no excuse for not hitting the target from these situations. Freekicks should test the keeper, the potential is always there for him to spill it into the path of one of our attackers then, there's no chance of that if I'm collapsed unconcious because Alessandra has lumped the ball at me in row Z.

Same goes for balls that only reach the edge of the area, hitting the target should be the only aim here. You never know who it will hit or where it will end up then. If it's sailing over the bar from the moment it leaves our player's foot it will stay sailing over the bar.

Corners and freekicks played in for a header I'm more forgiving on as long as they clear the first man. Although I would prefer it if we started drilling the ball in rather than floating it, it gives the defender less time to react if it's directed quickly into the forward although at L2 level I would say it's hard to find a winger with that kind of accuracy drilling the ball in.

Womble · Oct 22, 2014

Stiffler":2w6xvik4 said:
Whinge Whinge bloody Whinge.

People used to say Akos could not deliver a corner or always failed to get it past the first man!!

Genuine post or wind up???

Its hardly a massive whinge - our set piece delivery really does leave something to be desired - it needs improving. I think its a fair comment rather than a whinge.

Also agree with the Akos comments - his set piece delivery was frequently poor (although his skill in open play was immense).

jerryatricjanner · Oct 22, 2014

Greenskin":2gh5z0ie said:
Many of the midfield goals and set piece deliveries that would have been of untold benefit to Argyle already this season are now on display at Oakwell unfortunately.

True but his departure has enabled us to strengthen several other positions making us a stronger team overall.

r4h4al · Oct 22, 2014

Yeah I agree, we need better deliveries into the box, and don't play it short because I personally can't that and most of the time it doesn't work, whereas if you play an old fashioned ball into the box, most of time somebody gets on the end of it.

Cobi Budge. · Oct 22, 2014

Bobby is a good player but his 'floated' free kicks and corners seem a bit pointless.

The Doctor · Oct 22, 2014

Norburn delivered some good corners earlier in the season (when he was playing). I thought that Bobby Reid's corners were good in the last couple of home games too; although they were more floaty, they seemed to deceive people in the flight of the ball. I think we just need to forget about fancy moves, short corners etc. and simply put the ball into the centre 6-12 yards out, preferably with pace.

Free-kicks in central positions: Okay, I accept that every now and again someone (e.g. Luke Young once or twice last season, Tyler Harvey once this season) scores with a curling shot over/around the wall, but at League 2 level it is far more common to see such attempts fly high and wide or strike the wall (actually not just at League 2 level). It seems to me to be a much better approach to either smash the ball goalwards (the Wotton approach) or to try to put the ball into the area between the edge of the six yard box and the penalty area and see what happens. Argyle have players who can strike the ball hard (Thomas and Harvey both seem to have particularly fierce shots but McHugh also has a powerful shot on him). I would simply get someone to smash the ball goal-wards.

As you can tell, I'm not a fan of fancy set pieces (from a League 2 team)...!

Not enough "cheap" goals

Metal Green Mickey

Tugboat

Deacster

Eastbourne Green

Greenskin

Guest

greeneagle

esmer

PAFC Andy

Stiffler

Ollieargyle9

Womble

jerryatricjanner

r4h4al

Cobi Budge.

Guest

The Doctor