Set pieces..

[Toffeelover]

Stats sometimes don't tell the full story either, all I'm aware of right now is in the last two games failure to defend 2 corners has cost is 4 points.

That's the only stat I'm currently interested in right now.

And those four points would have us sitting on 5th! RM wake up and smell the napalm.

 

[ijjysmith]

Stats sometimes don't tell the full story either, all I'm aware of right now is in the last two games failure to defend 2 corners has cost is 4 points.

That's the only stat I'm currently interested in right now.

I'd say failure to score the plethora of chances was the reason we didn't win either game.

 

[davek]

To me its ridiculous, if an easy goal can be prevented then you do your best to stop it. To just ignore it is arrogance by the management. Face it any whipped in cross, its like the Keystone Cops in our back 4.

How many years have we been saying that though mate? I remember Moyes' teams getting stick for their no show defending corners and free kicks.

It's well OTT the talk about set pieces. We have a +8 GD. That's the digits that concern me.

 

[AJC5]

So Everton have conceded one more goal from set pieces than league strugglers Leicester and Man City.

The distance between top and bottom in these tables is almost negligible. It's amazing how much discussion takes place over the issue.

Not really, Spurs are plus 8 goals, we are minus 5, that's a thirteen goal swing which given we have only lost 3 games equates to 10 to 15 points.

 

[Seamus Colemole]

How many years have we been saying that though mate? I remember Moyes' teams getting stick for their no show defending corners and free kicks.

It's well OTT the talk about set pieces. We have a +8 GD. That's the digits that concern me.

And it would be higher if we scored more and conceded less from set pieces.

The more goals we score, the less we concede, the more points we get and the higher up the table we are.

Common sense really.

Second to being the neutrals most entertaining team though obviously.

 

[davek]

Not really, Spurs are plus 8 goals, we are minus 5, that's a thirteen goal swing which given we have only lost 3 games equates to 10 to 15 points.

But that gap between Everton and Spurs only has them with a three point advantage.

We could equallly say that if Spurs were as good as us at open play football then they'd be well ahead of us rather than 3 points.

 

[ijjysmith]

Not really, Spurs are plus 8 goals, we are minus 5, that's a thirteen goal swing which given we have only lost 3 games equates to 10 to 15 points.

I might be joining the chat at the wrong time.

But we are plus 8. Spurs are plus 12.

 

[AJC5]

But that gap between Everton and Spurs only has them with a three point advantage.

We could equallly say that if Spurs were as good as us at open play football then they'd be well ahead of us rather than 3 points.

But set piece goals are easy to eradicate just by basic coaching and organisation. It is much much easier to coach Del and Ross how to defend corners than it is to coach midfielders how to play like them. When Everton won the league in 84 didn't Mountfield score double figures. Set piece goals are key against good defences in tight games. They change the momentum of a game.

 

[AJC5]

I might be joining the chat at the wrong time.

But we are plus 8. Spurs are plus 12.

Its just goal difference in relation to goals scored and conceded from set pieces.

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

I don't understand why Martinez get's stick for us conceding from a set - piece, at the end of the day players should be able to mark an attacking player, make a challenge in the box, and head the ball away, shouldn't need to practice that.

 

[ijjysmith]

Its just goal difference in relation to goals scored and conceded from set pieces.

Ah ok. Is that a real stat?

 

[Efcjake]

Tottenham are set-piece kings; Everton fail
Date published: Wednesday 16th December 2015 3:08

Perhaps the highlight of the weekend’s Premier League action came from Bournemouth’s 2-1 win over Manchester United. The Cherries made it back-to-back league victories at United’s expense, following up their superb 1-0 win at Chelsea with all the spoils against Louis van Gaal’s side. Though it was Jamie Redknapp pointing out what a corner flag is that caused a stir at the interval when the scores were level.
Of course, his point was that a lack of wind when Junior Stanislas’ corner looped over David de Gea to put the hosts in front meant the elements could be ruled out in the post-mortem as the Spaniard was unable to deal with the dead-ball situation. Ultimately, it was poor defensive play all round from set-pieces that saw United concede both goals on the south coast. Nevertheless, the club have only conceded three goals from set-piece situations in the Premier League this season.
While Van Gaal’s approach has become stagnant, it’s hard to argue that the Dutchman has not significantly strengthened the backbone of this United side. The club have conceded fewer goals (12) than any other Premier League team this season, while their previous resilience from set-piece situations has helped them gained a statistically calculated WhoScored.com strength of ‘defending set-pieces’.
At the other end of the pitch, though, United have faltered in their pursuit of goals, with the three goals netted from set-piece situations one of the poorer returns in the Premier League this season. This comes despite Van Gaal being able to call on Juan Mata and Bastian Schweinsteiger, two players renowned for the ability from dead-ball situations.

Topping the list for goals scored are, somewhat surprisingly, Tottenham, with nine goals from set-piece situations. Eric Dier’s near-post header in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle further highlighted just how effective Spurs now are from free-kicks and corners. Given they netted just 15 times from these situations in the league last season, the hard work put into improving their fortunes from free-kicks and corners on the training ground is paying off.
Furthermore, only Crystal Palace (0) have conceded fewer goals from set-piece situations (1) than Spurs in the Premier League this season. Clearly, manager Mauricio Pochettino was adamant that improvements were needed at both ends of the pitch and the north London side are profiting as a result. It’s no coincidence that Spurs have gained WhoScored.com strengths of both ‘attacking set-pieces’ and ‘defending set-pieces’.
Conversely, Everton are one of the worst performers from set-piece situations this season. Only Swansea (9) and Norwich (8) have conceded more goals from free-kicks and corners than the Toffees (7). Meanwhile, only Swansea and Watford (both 1) have netted fewer goals from set-piece situations in the Premier League than Everton (2). Leighton Baines’ return from injury will undoubtedly improve the latter figure, though manager Roberto Martinez recently lamented the former.
Speaking after their recent 1-1 home draw with Crystal Palace – a match in which Scott Dann opened the scoring from a corner – Martinez said: “It is very easy to highlight the moment we conceded. I thought we were fantastic defensively until that point.” The Everton boss has a point, considering his side shipped just nine goals from set-piece situations in the Premier League last season. A lack of concentration has hindered the Merseysiders’ push for a European spot and until this area is improved, it will hold them back.
Their city rivals don’t fare much better with these situations, with Liverpool shipping six times from set-pieces in the league this season, the latest of which came in the 2-2 draw courtesy of a howling Simon Mignolet error. A lack of awareness at set-piece situations seemed to be the order of the day in the Premier League this past weekend, with two of the three errors that led to an opposition goal by goalkeepers both resulting from a corner.
A final word on Norwich, who feature highly for both goals scored (7 – second to Spurs) and conceded (8 – second to Swansea) from set-piece situations. The Canaries clearly have the ability to hit the back of the net from free-kicks and corners – Robbie Brady in particular impresses having played 12 key passes from set-piece situations, one of the better returns in the Premier League this term.
Ultimately, though, there is still work to be done on the defensive side of their game by Alex Neil and co. as Norwich look to consolidate their place in England’s top tier. Solidifying the defence from free-kicks and corners would be as good a place as any to start.
Ben McAleer
All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find live in-game data as well as player and team ratings. You can follow all the scores, statistics, live player and team ratings with their free app.

Bastards, I was all over the net putting in hundreds of combinations for "Goals conceded from set-pieces 2015/2016 Premier League" and then they decided to do an article on it today. Went through about 30 whoscored.com pages looking for the stats to get @davek off me case. I'm taking credit for this article.

 

[mlyons]

What's with the headline being "Everton fail"? Shouldn't it be "Swansea fail"? They're worse at it, and it's clearly having a much bigger impact on their season.

I'm kind of with @davek here; there's more of a perception than a reality that set pieces are ruining are season. I think we clearly have a problem defending headers from crosses, and set piece goals are a symptom of that, but I don't think targeting set pieces specifically as the problem makes much sense. If spending time in training on set piece routines means we spend less time working on things like keeping fitness levels up, developing Lukaku's first touch, working on Barkley's decision making, or Stones heading the ball, is that really a good trade off?

 

[riddick]

How many years have we been saying that though mate? I remember Moyes' teams getting stick for their no show defending corners and free kicks.

It's well OTT the talk about set pieces. We have a +8 GD. That's the digits that concern me.

Honestly can't remember a Moyes team ever not being solid at defending corners. When they had Cahill, Jags and Lescott there was never a point where I was even remotely worried.

Even if we we neither scored or conceded more than the other we would be better off than where we currently are.

 

[mightymoyes]

What's with the headline being "Everton fail"? Shouldn't it be "Swansea fail"? They're worse at it, and it's clearly having a much bigger impact on their season.

I'm kind of with @davek here; there's more of a perception than a reality that set pieces are ruining are season. I think we clearly have a problem defending headers from crosses, and set piece goals are a symptom of that, but I don't think targeting set pieces specifically as the problem makes much sense. If spending time in training on set piece routines means we spend less time working on things like keeping fitness levels up, developing Lukaku's first touch, working on Barkley's decision making, or Stones heading the ball, is that really a good trade off?

You don't think the players could fit an extra hour or so a week in practising defending them?