Don't know if anyone else has noticed but why don't we have more shots from freekicks anymore? most of the time we try and be too clever which is great when it works but it hardly ever does.Perfect example was at the weekend when we had a freekick,perfect position for Lambert but we left it for Fox to chip in.Don't get me wrong it's good to experiment sometimes but not all the time especially when we have Lambert on the pitch. P.S this is not negative it's just an observation
I disagree I think Lambert has become more choosy when to take direct free kicks. I feel the one on Saturday was slightly too far out. Clearly Adkins has worked on some free kick ideas on the training field and it's good to keep the opposition guessing. I still feel Lambert will strike them in the right positions
Yes maybe he has become more choosy but i do feel he has so much ability when he strikes a ball that it's a waste not using that talent more! also think that the one against Blackpool was a perfect distance out for him to have a pop,plenty of distance to get it up and dipping.
Most of our goals come from those floated crosses into the back. No harm in taking more opportunities to do them.
Having Fox and Lambert standing behind a free kick is a massive advantage. Rickie can hit them as well as anyone but with him the keeper knows that he's going to strike it right footed. If it can go left or right then he has to fill the wall to cover both players, which gives Jos and Jose the freedom of the box.
Maybe he didn't try a shot from that one because he had only just got back from his hip injury, and didn't want to risk straining it again?
If he wasn't fit enough to take a freekick he wouldn't be fit enough fullstop.Far more complex movements for a footballer to take in a match than a freekick.
We generally just need more long range efforts. I do think he should have taken a shot from that free kick against Blackpool.
spidy has such a sweet shot, and playing on the wing he has more chance of cutting inside and having a pop- but he does not, I can not understand why
I do miss seeing Rickie line one up, but I guess we needed some variation. I don't really care too much if he misses, because if he gets it anywhere near right, he gets the crowd going. When he gets it right, which admittedly hasn't been as common as before, it's a real jump-out-of-the-seat moment. He strikes free-kicks almost as well as Matty used to, and that isn't damning him with faint praise.
I do like us sometimes trying different things from free-kicks, but without a doubt in my opinion, Lambert should have had a go at goal from the free-kick in question here. I though it was placed perfectly for him, enough room to bend the ball right around the wall without having to then get to curl back in again.
This is the same Morgan Schneiderlin we're talking about, yes..? The player who can spray accurate passes about like confetti, but can't score for toffees..? He might well have a sweet shot, but it's either straight at the keeper or wide. His magnificent Saints goal count..?
I have seen Lambert score some cracking goals from positions like that, but then I have seen him hit many wide or high. It may be that they have done the math and reckon that we have a better hit rate with the chip-in to the box. Still, not as exciting as when Rickie stands behind the ball though.
corners and free-kicks we are starting to do more silly fancy tricks that dont work and dont come off - a simple shot or cross would do
Lambert has such a powerful strike that I would like to see him take more shots from outside the area in free play. I know it's harder for a striker to have the space to do it often like a late on coming midfielder, but getting him into these areas would give teams another thing to think about.
I think that Saints are too complicated sometimes because we see ourselves as a 'passing side'. Arsenal also have this problem of trying to pass the ball into the net. Sometimes sudden shots from further out can unnerve the opposition and may even produce a result. Look at Hammonds' shot which started our campaign.
