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Northern Canary

Free kick specialists

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Can''t remember us having scored direct from a free kick since that Mulryne one against Grimsby about 5 years ago!

We definitely need someone who can take a decent free kick and corner. The team''s use of dead balls in the last couple of years has been nothing short of terrible. Most of last season the corner takers couldn''t get the ball over the first defender.

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Ashton is pretty good at dead ball. We need to win the free kicks first........

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Deano had a go which flew just wide before the corner for the equaliser against Boro.  I think the David Beckham''s of this world (where you can be almost guaranteed a good chance of a goal every other free kick) are very very rare.  Mulryne was meant to be our free kick "specialist".  How many did he actually score for us though?  IMO it''s not a free kick specialist we need; it''s a crossing specialist.  Someone who can whip a good ball in and give players the chance to attack it in the air.  That would be nice to see.  Also someone who takes a good corner!

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Deano
Huckerby
McVeigh

Just three current players i can think of

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Ian Crook good at free kicks??????

I know a lot of people are going to challenge me on this, but the fact is that Crook was actually very average at free kicks. Neil Adams was actually far better.

Crook was actually the king of near misses from free kicks. He would put it just wide or just over the bar or bring a goodish save from the goalkeeper and then give a theatrical head in the hands pose.

I can only remember him actually scoring one at home to Nottingham Forest. He also hit the bar with a good one away at Ipswich and that actually was just about it in his whole Norwich career.

Ian Crook good at free kicks....don''t make me laugh.

 

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i think safri will be the main person to take free kicks next season, i saw him take 1 in the reserves and it was extremaly close. also against middlesborough ashton took a free kick that was reasonably good. i did happen to notice we lacked taking good freekicks and sometimes corners, in the championship if we improve this it could mean alot of goals.

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Didn''t Mulryne score one in our Championship winning season against Gillingham at home when we won 3-0 after a turgid first half?

Its got to be Deano. Hux doesn''t seem to generate the power.

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[quote]Deano had a go which flew just wide before the corner for the equaliser against Boro. I think the David Beckham''s of this world (where you can be almost guaranteed a good chance of a goal every other...[/quote]

Very true DumbleDelia. Not since Steen Nedergaard have we had a player who can deliver a good pinpoint cross with both power and accuracy. How ever many did he ping into Iwan to smash in with his head?

Bentley would deliver a good cross last season about 1 in 8, but that wasn''t good enough. Helveg, towards the end of the season started to find Deano''s head, which resulted in a couple of goals.

If we had a Steeno or similiar whipping direct crosses to Ashton he will thrive on it. Thats what we need in the right midfield position! Hucks attacking on the ground on the left and someone else hitting crosses in from the right. Deano and Leon pouncing wherever possible! CCC beware!

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Deano is the penalty king - 100% record? But I have yet to see him blast or curl one from 25 yards. Perhaps one of the newcomers has the ability, - it''s something to find out quickly, and practise. Mullers lost it some time ago and is gone anyhow. How many reasonable efforts did we have on goal from free-kicks last season, or even the promotion season.

I seem to remember that Beckham used to stay behind on his own for quite a while to practise his free-kicks, and this may have influenced Mullers to do the same.
Most practitioners seem to have been midfielders, perhaps because they have to learn more tricks in their passing. How about Hughes or Jarrett, or Marney if he comes? Perhaps we need a curving ball specialist where appropriate, and a powerful "thumper" otherwise. Safri did the latter once, but does he do it from a deadball situation?

I think that a lack of a good free-kick taker hampered us last year, especially when I think of some great goals scored from distance against us!

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This is one area where Helveg would have come into his own as he could land a cross on Deano''s head but hey.

We do need to improve our deadball play and perhaps Hucks should take more responsibilty.  What we do not need is a deadball specialist.  The direct free kick flatters to deceive.  For every goal or even near miss, there are many more than sail harmlessly away.  I get really frustrated at the way every free kick in range is a pop at goal as it is predictably a waste.  By and large free kicks are easy to defend against as the defence knows a shot is coming.

With a good arial presence, we should be looking to get free kicks in the box and see what can be created.  We have predatory strikers and players such as Doc who can greate some mayhem in a crowded box.   Goals are more likely from that route than a thirty yard pop even by Safri.

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