Match Day Thread Watford v Southampton 28th June 4.30pm

I'm still shaking my head at the stat revealed in commentary after JWP's absolute stoater. He's now only one behind MLT in terms of goals from direct free kicks; six versus MT'S seven. How did Matty only get seven!?

 

I've been wondering about that. Haven't we got a supastato to give us the full story?

 

As they said in the post-match analysis on Sky/Pick, a lot of Matty’s free kick goals involved someone else touching the ball, the most famous example being the one where someone (can’t remember who, sorry) touched it back to him and he flicked it up and volleyed it over the wall into the net. He did quite a few variations on that IIRC, and obviously only 7 direct shots from the dead ball which went in.

 

Makes some kind of sense, I do remember the flick up and volley, splendid effort!

 

Against Wimbledon 94?

 

It was, on here:
https://www.southamptonfc.com/news/...-kicks-southampton-football-club-3-april-2020

 

Strange that that he never attempted it again after if went in. Only time he ever tried it.

 

They missed out two words: Premier League.

there were no free kick goals, no goals, no football before that started

 

This is a major bugbear for me. I think that football was more competitive before the Premier League. The quality of football has been enhanced but the sweet moments such as seeing Leicester come out top are fewer and fewer.

 

Jim Magilton. I believe he now manages Ipswich.

 

I remember that as the laziest performance by any visiting team I can remember. Bizzare and almost made the win feel unwanted.

 

Hope he goes on to form a lasting legacy there.

 

Rickie Lambert also came to mind for me. Memory obviously playing tricks but it seemed that whenever we got a free kick just outside the area, the score was pretty much nailed.

 

Rickie scored 7 direct free kicks for us, 1 in the FA Cup (3rd round v Luton), 1 in League One (v Leyton Orient), 1 in the EFL Cup (First Round v Torquay), and 4 in the PL (v Liverpool, Chelsea, Palace, and Stoke). Strangely, all 7 were at St Mary’s.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ric...pos/0/trainer_id/0/minute/0/torart/207/plus/1

 

Free-kick numbers for Rickie & Matt are strange, in that it always feels like there was more than the actual figure. Can never get my head round the real stats, feels far too low.

 

But hardly any of them count as they werent PL

 

Still more than half, but it doesn’t really make sense does it!

 

The other thing about Rickie’s free kick goals is that if he scored one, we never lost.

 

The one at Stamford Bridge is testament to that.

 

We have been truly blessed in the penalty taking department over the years, but have you ever really considered who was the best out of Matt & Rickie? They both had this unfathomable confidence when the ball was placed on the spot. Both have amazing records. Obviously Matt has more, only one miss, and all in the top flight. But Rickie's I find more exciting, because more often than not the keeper would guess the right way and still not be close to putting a palm on it. Something very satisfying about having someone like that in the team, and a rarity.