One stat that seems to pass people by this season is the number of corners we get EVERY game. Today alone we had 12 to Arsenal's none. We had 19 in the carling cup final and in many close games we have had substantially more than 10 corners in a game. I used to take the approach that you should probably score from every 10 corners you get, as that is a lot of pressure for one team to take and deal with. Who is to blame? Personally, I think Adam, who is useless in all anyway, can not for the life of him put consistent decent balls in the box. Saying that though, can't beat the 1st man Gerrard isn't much better and can't be bothered to go on about Downing anymore. The lack of goals from corners has irritated me all season, anyone else felt the same? Maybe we should re-sign Hyypia, he knew what to do when its put in there. Also, well done to Arsenal today, Defended/saved good chances and for having Persie up front, great player who scores anything.
How would that help if the ball isn't getting 'in there'...? I disagree on Downing's corners though, least he beats the first man. Gerrard's got better but still not good enough. Adam is shocking in absolutely every possible footballing way. He is slow, can't tackle, shoot and his passing is not great. He tries to do everything on his own and wants to be Roy of the Rovers in every game. I have been describing him as a good squad player and back-up for Gerrard but I no longer believe that is fair anymore, he isn't that good!
Even if we have a decent ball in, who can actually head the ball on target? Since Hyypia and Torres have left, we don't score that many goals with the head. Kuyt, Agger, Suarez aren't great headers of the ball. Only Gerrard and Skrtel can attack the ball and score with the head. Hopefully Carroll can start doing something useful as well.
Picking up on the point on Carroll, has he actually forgot how to attack a football? All his headers always loop up over the goal. If you look at his goals for Newcastle 65% of them are headers where he's attacked the ball.
Skrtel's the one who looks dangerous from corners for me. I tend to watch him and ignore the rest of the team in the box.
Since when? All Downing's corners go straight to the first man, well the first opposition man, he can never get them to a team mate on pain of death. Today Adam got them all past the first man, past the last man, and past the box! you'd think after taking the first half dozen, he'd have worked out the right amount of pressure to hit them with! Is it not the definition of insanity to repeat the same task and expect a different outcome? Every other person in the history of sport would have tried something different at least once, not Adam! he must have come down on the same yard of pointless grass with at least 6 corners. In the 80's, there use to be a fanzine, and I think it was a blueshite one, called "Another wasted corner" we have embraced that ethos, and then some.
Was an 80's Liverpool fanzine hence my Another Wasted Corner post (see above ^^). ****e corners never cost us points then tho and it wasn't just that today, they don't help granted but missed pens and failing to convert any of the multitude of good crosses today is what cost us. Slag Adam all you want but with a decent goal scorer he could have had 3 assists from his crosses first half alone then we'd all be saying well done lad and Downing, Kuyt and Hendo the same. Our profligacy in front of goal is unreal. Had we had RVP today just how many would we have beaten them by? 5.0? 6.0 maybe?
He needs to watch some video's of Soto attacking the ball from corners, for me he was one of the best at beating his man and getting some power on the ball. Agree with people saying Skrtle is the only one worth watching at corners, and that's not a good sign considering we're not exactly a short team. I'm hoping this Coates lad will get a few goals from corners (when he eventually starts playing!) - from what I've seen of him his timing of runs from corners looks impressive. Carroll just ****ing stands there hoping the ball will land on his head, when it does it goes looping over the bar Make a run FFS lose your defender and bang, power it in the net. Schoolboy stuff that big strikers should be doing at ease. To be fair though, our set pieces have been terrible, so he must get frustrated. Bellamy seems the only one with any consistency from corners.
Corners are something that really irritate me. If you have ever heard me talk about this in the past then you would know. Gerrard is of particular annoyance when it comes to this, same with set-piece delivery (don't mind him having a go at goal so much though). Hitting the first man is not language for the first man the ball comes to, it means the man closest to the corner taker that is in the area. Downing's corners are very rarely cleared by this person. I'll admit his corners are not great and are usually cleared, and that is ignoring when he hits them too long, but he does clear the first man more often than not. Now, if you was to talk about crossing during open play then yes, Downing hits the first man every time! Charlie Adam's set-pieces have been atrocious. Fergie's "£10m for his corners" comment is getting repeated by commentators too just to make it that much more annoying. Generally, set-pieces or not, our crossing is awful. Enrique and Glen Johnson have been poor too. What is it about our players needed to take one or two more touches or beat a man before crossing...? The only playing that does not look to do this is Gerrard but he is usually the opposite and hits it first time not giving the attackers chance to get a run on the defenders. This should suit Andy Carroll if only he stayed in the box! We also seem to lack good attacking headerers too. Skrtel seems to be our main threat but why isn't that Carroll? Kuyt is pretty good in the air but is not first choice nor the tallest.
We must have stuck ten grerat crosses in yesterday alone...it only seems so bad because we haven't got a forward who has a clue where the feckin goal is.
I wouldn't say ten 'great' crosses but do agree that if we had a poacher we would have won. I do always say it takes two to make a cross but, of course, you could turn it around and ask why we are crossing a ball to no one?
As I said earlier had RVP been playing for us yesterday he'd have been like a pig in **** and I'd put my mortgage on the fact he'd have got a hat trick from crosses alone. We haven't been short of chances all year and yet we are something like 5th lowest scorers in the league. The whole point of football is to score more goals than your opponents...doesn't get much simpler than that.
Can't argue with that Plus the goons would be relegation fodder A goalscorer, a goalscorer, my kingdom for a goalscorer.....anybody got Robbies number?
Sums it up really, when you see our strikers missing penaltys and sitters and then RVP touch the ball twice and score two goals. We need a forward.
We can dream eh mate its just so annoying that we taught the goons a footballing lesson yesterday and came away with absolutely nisch I think your Shankly quote is very apt at the moment as well
