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All the top sides & I mean ALL of them, have at least one player, sometimes 4-5 who are absolutely deadly at free kicks, both direct & balls into the box. Quite often the goal that breaks the deadlock in a game or wins it in the last minute is a free kick.

If two teams are similarly matched but one of them scores twice as many goals from free kicks, that team wins the trophies. Personally I don't think a side will win ever the league in the future without it.

So who's our free kick specialist?

thanks Joey

In no particular order cos I think they're good enough to share it:-

Tevez
Adam Johnson
Silva
Barry

Burt wrote:In no particular order cos I think they're good enough to share it:-

Tevez
Adam Johnson
Silva
Barry

Wonder how they stack up against Lampard & Drogba though mate?

The improvement in our corners in 4 months was nothing short of spectacular - after years without threatening from one. I'm sure we'll get the free kicks sorted, even without Garrido.

its a pity we can't bring garrido on for free kicks, then take him off again

john@staustell wrote:The improvement in our corners in 4 months was nothing short of spectacular - after years without threatening from one. I'm sure we'll get the free kicks sorted, even without Garrido.

which four months do you mean?

the last four months or the season? or the close season last year when we brought in Barry?

As I thought that I saw us threatening from corners from the get go last season

And the addition of Adebayor's front post defence allied to better aerial defence from the likes of Lescott and Kompany (and even ppl like Boyata when he came in) really did make us actually look much less susceptible to concede from soft corners for the first time in my recent memory

Ted Hughes wrote:

Burt wrote:In no particular order cos I think they're good enough to share it:-

Tevez
Adam Johnson
Silva
Barry

Wonder how they stack up against Lampard & Drogba though mate?

I'd say at least as good mate.

Burt wrote:

Ted Hughes wrote:

Burt wrote:In no particular order cos I think they're good enough to share it:-

Tevez
Adam Johnson
Silva
Barry

Wonder how they stack up against Lampard & Drogba though mate?

I'd say at least as good mate.

From my own point of view, if Drogba's on the ball for a free kick v us, I'm shitting myself & actually expect him to score & am relieved if he doesn't. I don't get that feeling with our players, more like a pleasant surprise if it goes in.

ant london wrote:

john@staustell wrote:The improvement in our corners in 4 months was nothing short of spectacular - after years without threatening from one. I'm sure we'll get the free kicks sorted, even without Garrido.

which four months do you mean?

the last four months or the season? or the close season last year when we brought in Barry?

As I thought that I saw us threatening from corners from the get go last season

And the addition of Adebayor's front post defence allied to better aerial defence from the likes of Lescott and Kompany (and even ppl like Boyata when he came in) really did make us actually look much less susceptible to concede from soft corners for the first time in my recent memory

We did improve in those areas but still ended up getting 'done' from the 2nd ball or short corners, still needs a lot of work. Lescott is a big asset at corners at both ends.

My OP was more to do with the comparison between us (at free kicks as opposed to corners) with the likes of Gerrard, Giggs, Lampard, Drogba, Van Persie etc who always seem to be about to score or land the ball right on someone's noggin when they take a free kick anywhere within about 25 yards of the goal. How many times have they done it for the 1st goal or the last goal?

Will we be able to achieve that on the training ground with the players Burt suggests or do we need to sign someone? Or alternatively are we, as usual, on the shit end of it rather than dishing it out?

Imho our only real threat in free kicks is Garrido - who sits on the bench.

I know Tevez scored from a free kick last season but I wouldn't shit myself if I was the opponents keeper. His free kicks aren't quality.
I'd much rather let Bellamy shoot them.

Can Silva hit them? Johnson?

We only see the ones that players from other clubs score.

We see all the shit misses our players have.

There are very few players who are a regular genuine threat from close range free kicks. Im pretty sure we can win things without a Beckham/Drogba style free kick taker / scorer.

Ted Hughes wrote:All the top sides & I mean ALL of them, have at least one player, sometimes 4-5 who are absolutely deadly at free kicks, both direct & balls into the box. Quite often the goal that breaks the deadlock in a game or wins it in the last minute is a free kick.

If two teams are similarly matched but one of them scores twice as many goals from free kicks, that team wins the trophies. Personally I don't think a side will win ever the league in the future without it.

So who's our free kick specialist?

This?

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Crossie wrote:We only see the ones that players from other clubs score.

We see all the shit misses our players have.

There are very few players who are a regular genuine threat from close range free kicks. Im pretty sure we can win things without a Beckham/Drogba style free kick taker / scorer.

I recon i see most free kicks taken by the top sides & they're way ahead of us. As are Everton & Villa. I'm not just talking about close range direct but any kind of free kick like the ones ending with headers which usually do for us.

All the top teams have several experts who score direct or assist almost every other game, often the 1st or last goal. It stands to reason that if we're to finish above those teams without having that level of ability, we have to be a percentage better than them at most other things to make up for it. That's possible again in the case of Liverpool as their team is shit but is a tough ask regarding both Chelsea & rags. Then we have Arsenal & Spurs who also have free kick specialists. It's giving our competitors a 10-20 goal start before the season even kicks off.

If we had someone with Drogba or Gerrard's free kick taking talent, I recon we'd win the league.

Ted Hughes wrote:

Crossie wrote:We only see the ones that players from other clubs score.

We see all the shit misses our players have.

There are very few players who are a regular genuine threat from close range free kicks. Im pretty sure we can win things without a Beckham/Drogba style free kick taker / scorer.

I recon i see most free kicks taken by the top sides & they're way ahead of us. As are Everton & Villa. I'm not just talking about close range direct but any kind of free kick like the ones ending with headers which usually do for us.

All the top teams have several experts who score direct or assist almost every other game, often the 1st or last goal. It stands to reason that if we're to finish above those teams without having that level of ability, we have to be a percentage better than them at most other things to make up for it. That's possible again in the case of Liverpool as their team is shit but is a tough ask regarding both Chelsea & rags. Then we have Arsenal & Spurs who also have free kick specialists. It's giving our competitors a 10-20 goal start before the season even kicks off.

If we had someone with Drogba or Gerrard's free kick taking talent, I recon we'd win the league.

I reckon crossie makes a good point there. Grass is always greener innit. OK, well not the grass, our pitch is better than most, but the point is there.

Can't agree with 'all the tope teams have several experts' in free kick taking. I want a list!

uwe's_skyblue_duvet wrote:

Ted Hughes wrote:

Crossie wrote:We only see the ones that players from other clubs score.

We see all the shit misses our players have.

There are very few players who are a regular genuine threat from close range free kicks. Im pretty sure we can win things without a Beckham/Drogba style free kick taker / scorer.

I recon i see most free kicks taken by the top sides & they're way ahead of us. As are Everton & Villa. I'm not just talking about close range direct but any kind of free kick like the ones ending with headers which usually do for us.

All the top teams have several experts who score direct or assist almost every other game, often the 1st or last goal. It stands to reason that if we're to finish above those teams without having that level of ability, we have to be a percentage better than them at most other things to make up for it. That's possible again in the case of Liverpool as their team is shit but is a tough ask regarding both Chelsea & rags. Then we have Arsenal & Spurs who also have free kick specialists. It's giving our competitors a 10-20 goal start before the season even kicks off.

If we had someone with Drogba or Gerrard's free kick taking talent, I recon we'd win the league.

I reckon crossie makes a good point there. Grass is always greener innit. OK, well not the grass, our pitch is better than most, but the point is there.

Can't agree with 'all the tope teams have several experts' in free kick taking. I want a list!

Off the top of my head: 1st choice takers Gerrard, Giggs, Drogba, Lampard, Bentley, Bale, Van Persie, Arteta. All proven goalscorers & assist makers from free kicks. There are more. You could even go further down the league, Danny Murphy, Bullard etc.

If we've signed Kolarov it's a step up but still not top 3-4 so far. Now Balotelli, that would be right up there.

Can Silva take a good freekick?

Kolarov certainly has a powerful shot. Has he signed now?

Bojinov's left foot wrote:Can Silva take a good freekick?

Kolarov certainly has a powerful shot. Has he signed now?

Never noticed him scoring myself but whether he's good at planting it on people's heads from a dead ball I don't know. It may be that he was outranked by others at Valencia & can do it if he gets the chance.

think we better add Kolarov to that list

brite blu sky wrote:think we better add Kolarov to that list

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