Defending Set Pieces

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 4,616]

Our defensive frailties and the introduction of VAR have been discussed a lot on here over the summer, either with their own threads or having hijacked another. One thing that hasn't really been done is merging the two together, with a particular focus on set pieces.

Set pieces account for somewhere between 1-in-3 and 1-in-4 goals in professional football, and someone on here wrote yesterday that we conceded 17 goals from set pieces last season, which is pretty high for a team who won the league.

But will VAR have an impact, either positive or negative? Most research tends to say that with VAR, teams risk conceding more penalties from defending set pieces as blatant shirt pulls that a referee would normally miss can be spotted more easily on a replay (although some studies argue there's little difference).

So this means the art of defending set pieces changes as teams have to mark better and grapple less, which on paper may lead to more goals. Generally as a team who relies more on the technical side rather than the aggressive physical aspect, does this mean we risk being penalised less than other sides who do pull, grab and wrestle a bit more?

But regardless of VAR, the amount of goals scored from set pieces in football has generally been on the rise over the past few years, and the ability to do well at set pieces in both an attacking and defending sense is something that, in theory, is a result of preparation and time on the training ground as opposed to spending loads of money of players. Paying particular attention to this, mainly sorting the defensive side first, is something that could prove invaluable this season. It's said that, due to prize money and the financial rewards of staying in the league, that every goal in the Premier League is worth at least £2m, so putting extra hours in on the training ground as opposed to spending Villa-esque sums could prove a lot more cost-effective under this thrifty regime.

So will we be better at defending set pieces this season? Or will we continue to struggle?

[Petriix 3,219]

Quote

Set pieces account for somewhere between 1-in-3 and 1-in-4 goals in professional football, and someone on here wrote yesterday that we conceded 17 goals from set pieces last season, which is pretty high for a team who won the league.

17 out of 55 is a little less than 1 in 3, so nothing out of the ordinary. I very much hope that the coaching staff undertake a thorough analysis of every goal we concede and implement to the best of their ability a programme of training to ensure that (both individual and team) tactical deficiencies are addressed and rectified. Obviously this has to be balanced with other things in training, we don’t want to be focussing too much on the negatives.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 4,616]

24 minutes ago, Petriix said:

17 out of 55 is a little less than 1 in 3, so nothing out of the ordinary. 

I was referring more to the total rather than the proportion (although it is closer to the top end of the scale).

[king canary 8,755]

1 hour ago, Petriix said:

17 out of 55 is a little less than 1 in 3, so nothing out of the ordinary. I very much hope that the coaching staff undertake a thorough analysis of every goal we concede and implement to the best of their ability a programme of training to ensure that (both individual and team) tactical deficiencies are addressed and rectified. Obviously this has to be balanced with other things in training, we don’t want to be focussing too much on the negatives.

17 was joint 5th highest in the league last season- so a little out of the ordinary.

[Thirsty Lizard 3,215]

Really isn't a surprise that we're not brilliant at defending set pieces as overall we're a pretty short team. 

Of course, the fact that a relatively high number of goals we conceded were from set pieces means that we must be much better than average at defending in open play.  And since somewhere between 66% to 75% of goals are scored in open play it's much better that it's that way round. 🙂

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,424]

I understand the club have been giving their coaches extra set piece training and have even hired consultants to help with set pieces. 

Ultimately, Norwich are a small and slight team so will always suffer at set pieces.

Unfortunately it is an area where many Premier League clubs are now focusing on, with many teams bringing in set piece coaches and dedicating analysts to research. Liverpool’s throw in coach is a sign how seriously they take all aspects of the game. 

[Half Ar5ed Hipster 82]

29 minutes ago, Bethnal Yellow and Green said:

even hired consultants to help with set pieces. 

I mean that’s money for nothing and your chicks for free right there.

How hard can it be to jump up when the ball’s kicked up and forward or to lay like a log behind the wall when the ball’s played De Bruyne?? 

When it comes to throw ins, if any of you go to the gym, all you have to do is tricep exercises and maintain the correct grounded stance. 

No penalties are ever awarded in the premier league in Norwich’s favour so that doesn’t need to be practiced. 

A deceased sphere technician consultant is clearly why we have no money for a defensive mid. 

 

[nutty nigel 7,902]

Sometimes it's like watching a car crash. You know what's coming but can't stop it. We all knew about that Millwall centreback but couldn't stop this goal: -

I assume the idea was to defend the second ball. 

Pulis kept Stoke in the PL for years by assembling a team to attack and defend set pieces. Their fans hated it in the end.

This season I think we will be inventive with attacking set plays but maybe struggle a bit defending them.

[ThorpeCanary 71]

We committed the most fouls of any team last season as well so more opportunities to concede from them. Whether thats an issue or not would have to be balanced against the merits of a high press.

[wcorkcanary 4,784]

An early foul , high  up the pitch is a  valuable tool to prevent a counter attack, if committed  early enough, and without  malice or endangerment  , will often  escape punishment.  Hands up, sorry ref, sorry player.....carry on, nice lads those Norwich Players.

[pete 371]

Expect us to concede plenty of set piece goals.  What we need to be is more clever when we get set pieces especially at corners just lumping it into the box giant defenders against our relatively small strikers will not work out well.   Free kicks we should be ok with Moritz and Mario.

[Woodman 92]

Sometimes it's more about the second phase of a set piece.  We have players capable of winning the first header, but then getting to the cleared ball earlier or preventing it from coming into the danger area is something I think we could improve.

[Crafty Canary 547]

Watching the Charity Shield highlights makes me wonder how we will deal with the pace of Liverpool’s attacks. We could suffer a hiding however matches against the top sides are free hits as they will not determine our survival chances.

I’ll take a 3-1 defeat as a respectable result.

 

[BobLoz3 609]

On 03/08/2019 at 20:11, Half Ar5ed Hipster said:

When it comes to throw ins, if any of you go to the gym, all you have to do is tricep exercises and maintain the correct grounded stance. 

 

 

I think that somebody coming in to 'coach' throw ins is actually pretty clever. I often watch us and we end up giving the ball away from throw ins more often than not.

The coach would be less about the technique of the actual throw and more about where players should be, if performing an attacking or defensive throw in. That kind of thing.

It may sound like a waste of time but football teams tend to get more throw ins during a game than corners etc. So, it's back to what Farke et al talk about, and that's marginal gains. If you can make a certain element of your game better than every other team then why wouldn't you do it?

[wcorkcanary 4,784]

19 minutes ago, BobLoz3 said:

I think that somebody coming in to 'coach' throw ins is actually pretty clever. I often watch us and we end up giving the ball away from throw ins more often than not.

The coach would be less about the technique of the actual throw and more about where players should be, if performing an attacking or defensive throw in. That kind of thing.

It may sound like a waste of time but football teams tend to get more throw ins during a game than corners etc. So, it's back to what Farke et al talk about, and that's marginal gains. If you can make a certain element of your game better than every other team then why wouldn't you do it?

Marginal Gains, yet again, to quote Tescos ....every little....

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 4,616]

18 minutes ago, BobLoz3 said:

I think that somebody coming in to 'coach' throw ins is actually pretty clever. I often watch us and we end up giving the ball away from throw ins more often than not.

The coach would be less about the technique of the actual throw and more about where players should be, if performing an attacking or defensive throw in. That kind of thing.

It may sound like a waste of time but football teams tend to get more throw ins during a game than corners etc. So, it's back to what Farke et al talk about, and that's marginal gains. If you can make a certain element of your game better than every other team then why wouldn't you do it?

Also, like I said in the opening post, each goal in the Premier League is 'worth' at least an average of £2m in terms of prize money. One goal from a throw-in routine devised by the throw-in coach every five years probably covers the cosy (unless the goal is in a 2-1 defeat, of course).