Improving our set plays - Take it short.

Should we just play it short from set plays?

Knocking it to Saylor or Williamson on the edge of the box and hoping they'll win headers to knock down is a **** tactic. It's ok for the
odd one every now again, but we've been trying it for too long now, and it's far too easy to defend.

I personally think we should pile our two strikers plus our two center backs and one other player into the box to draw the oppositions defense in. Leave our fullbacks back plus a defensive mid back to defend. Then have someone like Cabaye on the ball for the free kick and Ben Arfa next to him, plus the defending players can also aid.

--------------------| GOAL |---------------------

-------------Saylor-Colo/Willo-Ba-Cisse-----------

----------------------Other mid--------------------


--------X-
----Cabaye----------Ben Arfa---------------------------

-------------------------Defensive mid--------------------

-----------Santon-----------------------Simpson--------------

X = Where we've won the free kick. Pretend this is a set piece.

I know this looks weird, and don't take the positions of most of these players too seriously. This is not a line up, this is just how we can set up for a random set piece.

We should get players in and around the box to draw the defenders in, I was thinking our two strikers and centerbacks, plus one more player, because only putting 4 players in will mean that the opposition is free to send players out to try and nullify our threat outside the box.

Then play it short (Cabaye to Ben Arfa then go from there) and play it as if it's just a bit of build up play, and try and work our way into the box, or focus the oppositions attention on what we're doing with the ball outisde the box, while the players in the box move around, and make themselves more difficult to mark and try to find a bit of space. Then maybe a player on the outside can whip a ball in and try and find a player in the box to score.

Or perhaps we can just try our luck smashing the ball in from a long shot, force the keeper to save or that a ricochet lands to one of our players to tap in.

If we play it short there are plenty of options, and since it's not really all going to be a 100% planned routine, the opposition cannot watch replays of our previous set plays and know exactly how to defend against it. Like the 2nd goal vs Spurs. We played it short, and since it wasn't all planned, the opposition could only try and guess what we'd do, and the result was a penalty and a goal.

Anyone get what I'm saying. We'd be better off forcing the opposition back into their own box, so they're trapped back, and try and work the ball in with skill, or try a long range shot. We don't try enough long range efforts, and our 2nd goal vs WBA shows that if you shoot, you score. Sometimes it's all about the skill, and we have a few players that can strike it well from range, and sometimes all you need to do is drive a shot or a cross in with power, and it will take a deflection or the keeper will have difficulty seeing it.

 

Any tactic would be better than the 'float to Williamson' tactic we use... so we should use short set plays to our advantage

 

If you watch all the best set piece sides, variety is the key. You have to mix it up and have more than one threat. We are very predictable. If you use the same set piece over and over, teams are well prepared before a ball is kicked. Some short, some long, different people attacking the ball and so on would be the way I'd go. With technology and analysis the way it is in the game, there is no place to hide. Of course you have to ensure you don't overload players with information but having 3-5 variations with different signals for each seems pretty simple to me.

Even when I played Saturday northern alliance and sunday pub football when younger, we had two or three set piece routines.

I am stunned we have one not very good one!

 

For me, set pieces should be simple. Get everyone around the box apart from the 2 full backs. The 2 centre mids around the edge of the box to pick up clearances. Everyone else in the box. Then the taker just whips it in with pace, not aimimng for anyone, just putting it onto an area. Even with **** deliveries, you would sooner or later get a lucky break and a goal from a ricochet/deflection/knock down. It's that easy. The fact we have scored 1 set piece goal in a season and a half is absolutely vile and an ongoing embarrassment to Pardew and his staff, really horrific from them.